IOA Opens Voting for 2019 Board

The International Ombudsman Association is holding its annual election for members of its Board of Directors. The timing is earlier than usual and the out-going management company will complete the election process before a transition. The election will fill three seats from a slate of four nominees for three-year terms starting in April 2019.  

FCO/Osgoode Adds a Spring 2019 Ombuds Certificate Program

Due to popular demand, the Professional Development Program at Osgoode Hall Law School and the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman and Osgoode Professional Development at York University will offer a course next spring, February 25 to March 1, 2019. The Essentials for Ombuds is a five-day intensive training collaboration in the heart of Toronto.

Job Posting: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

The public research university at the southern tip of Texas is hiring its first Faculty Ombudsperson. The full-time position will serve about 1,200 academic employees and practice to IOA standards. UTRGV has been considering an Ombuds for faculty and staff since at least 2014.

Kavli IPMU Designates an Ombuds

The Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, an international research institute affiliated with the University of Tokyo, has named Mark Vagins as its first Organizational Ombudsman. In a recent announcement to Kavli IPMU members, Institute Director Hitoshi Murayama said that the new Ombuds would help address internal conflicts and concerns:

Weber State University Opens Internal Search for Next Faculty Ombuds

The public university in Ogden, Utah will select a current, tenured professor to serve as its next Faculty Ombuds. The position serves a three-year term starting July 2019 and will fill a position currently held by History Professor, Kathryn L. MacKay. The new Ombuds will report to Weber's Provost and the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, and practice to IOA standards. (Weber Ombuds Announcement.)

Meet the New Ombuds at the University of Montréal

In June, Caroline Roy was appointed to a five-year term as the Ombudsman of the University of Montreal. Her mandate is to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of all university stakeholders by the university administration, of all situations experienced by each member of the university community. She works with the Advisor to the Ombudsman Monique Laforest, who served as Interim Ombudsman before Roy was appointed.

Job Posting: Virginia Tech

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the public, land-grant, research university in Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is seeking applications and nominations for the inaugural director of its University Ombuds Office. The new position will establish a program that follows IOA standards and serves faculty, staff, students, and other university stakeholders. Currently, VT has only a Graduate School Ombuds, Bryan Hanson.  

Ombuds at University of Toronto Posts 2018 Annual Report

UT Ombudsperson, Ellen Hodnett, reports that her office saw a 10% increase in cases in 2017-18 (a total of 374 compared to 339 in the prior year). The most remarkable change was a 25% increase in the number of graduate students cases. Hodnett made three recommendations regarding which all have been adopted by the university's administration.

Wake Tech Ombuds Starting Group for Community College Ombuds

Wake Technical Community College's Ombuds, Jerry Nuesell, is heading up a new group for colleagues at other community colleges. While Ombuds Offices exist at hundreds of traditional four-year institutions of higher education and graduate programs, there are significantly fewer programs at community colleges. 

Job Posting: Department of the Interior

The Department of the Interior's Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution (CADR) is hiring an Organizational Ombudsman. Based in Arlington, Virginia, the full-time position "works with other CADR staff to support the full range of conflict management and dispute resolution services and to identify opportunities and strategies to expand access to ombudsman services and improve the design and/or operation of the Department’s integrated conflict management system and further CADR’s mission."

Southwest Ombuds Retreat to Four Corners

Nineteen Ombuds from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah gathered in Santa Fe, NM October 25-27, 2018, at the Inn on the Alameda for an informal opportunity to connect and learn.

Job Posting: Northeastern University

The private university in Boston has opened a search for its first Graduate Ombudsperson. The full-time position will work only with graduate students and report as part of the Provost's office. It is not clear how the position will relate to Northeastern's Ombuds for faculty, staff, and administrators, Diane Levin.

Department of Energy Adds an Experienced Ombuds

Scott Deyo has been hired as an Associate Ombudsman for the DOE. He will be based in Washington, DC, and serve federal employees across the department, world-wide.  Deyo has served as the Ombuds for the National Park Service, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, and helped guide the creation of other federal Ombuds programs. He is a Past-President of the Coalition of Federal Ombudsmen.

Queen's University Assessing Its Ombuds Office

An external reviewer will conduct a thorough review of the Office of the University Ombudsman at the public research university in Kingston, Ontario. Stephen Strople, retired secretary general of McGill University and higher education expert, will look at the Ombuds' effectiveness, profile among the campus community, the communication of services, and future direction. All campus stakeholders will be queried.  

Job Posting: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

The worldwide humanitarian aid organization has opened a search for its first Ombudsperson. Based at the IFRC headquarters in Geneva, the full-time position will be "providing impartial and confidential assistance to employees in resolving employment-related disputes and complaints with the aim of improving the overall work environment, including personnel management and operational efficiency."