Many Organizational Ombuds are wary of social networking websites. The profession is built on confidentiality, discretion and informality. Web 2.0 presents an evolving landscape of privacy expectations and inadvertent electronic records. Nonetheless, some Ombuds are venturing on to social networking sites to stay connected with colleagues and constituents. This week's poll asks what sites you are using.Related posts: Ombuds Not Exempt From Influence of Internet; An Ombuds Guide to Internet Tools; Higher Ed Ombuds Are Embracing Social Media; Ombuds Blog Now on Twitter.
Rob Behrens, the Chief Executive of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, says that the number of complaints about universities in England and Wales has continued to rise as students have been forced to pay fees, become more knowledgeable about their rights and less deferential to authority. Complaints to IOA increased 23% last year and a similar increase is expected for the current year. Beherns, who took office in 2008, is considering two significant changes to the program: publishing details of decisions, naming universities; and/or publishing the number of complaints it has received annually for each university, together with details of the outcomes. Beherns concedes that universities don't like the idea, but says: "My job is not to be popular but to do things that would add to the credibility of the scheme." (London Independent.)Related posts: British Classical Ombudsman Reports Spike in University Complaints; British Higher Education Ombudsman Surveys Profession; Latest ENOHE Newsletter Traces Evolution of Campus Ombuds.
Jane Voichick, who has been a part-time Ombuds for the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2006, will step down April 1. The Provost will appoint a replacement to join other part-time Ombuds, John Mather, Richard Ralston and Kay Simmons. The position is available for retired faculty and academic and classified staff. (UW-Madison News.)Related posts: U. Wisconsin Adds Ombuds; University of Wisconsin Ombuds Annual Report Highlights New Goals.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is implementing a number of changes to improve its work internally and with beneficiaries. The foundation has an endowment in excess of $30 billion and has tripled its staff in the past four years. B&MGF's Chief Executive, Jeff Raikes, has already revised internal operations. In addition, Raikes promised changes by June to enhance communications with charities, including the possibility of an Ombuds position. As it considers an Ombuds program the Gates Foundation would be well advised to consult another leading nonprofit, the American Red Cross, which created an Ombuds office with similar objectives in 2007. (Chronicle of Philanthropy; Puget Sound Business Journal.)
Related posts: Philanthropic Foundations Urged to Implement Ombuds; Red Cross Issues Second Annual Report.
The Student Ombuds for the University of Texas at Austin has posted its intake form on its website. This is remarkable because few Organizational Ombuds publish their data collection forms. UT's form states that it is for demographic information only and should not include a name or other identifying information. In addition, the form creates a contact by stating that visitors agree to the office's policies which follow IOA standards. Lauren Bloom is the Ombudsman at UT Austin and her decision to be transparent and public about this routine Ombuds process sets an example for the field. (UT Austin Student Ombuds Intake and Info Form.)Related posts: Profile of U. Texas Ombuds for Students; University of Texas Ombuds Office Celebrates 40 Years.
The Chronicle of Higher Education runs a regular advice column. This week, graduate students with concerns about about their dissertation advisers get wisdom from Michele Goldfarb, associate ombudsman at the University of Pennsylvania. People come to her office, Goldfarb said, if they believe they have been treated unfairly in the academic workplace. "With the complainant's permission," she said, "the ombudsman will undertake an independent inquiry into the matter in order to develop an objective, impartial understanding of the situation, and then help develop some method for resolving the dispute. The ombudsman has no power to impose outcomes. Instead, the ombudsman uses a variety of strategies to help resolve conflicts constructively." That could include identifying your options, mediating a dispute, or alerting top administrators to the problems.
Goldfarb provides specific examples of how she might work with grad students in similar situations. (Chronicle Advice.)Related post: University of Pennsylvania Appoints Ombuds.
The International Ombudsman Association's sixth annual conference will be held at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, April 3 through 6, 2011. The 23rd largest metropolitan area has been called the most "green" city in the United States A theme for the conference has not be determined. (IOA Conf. Info.)
Related posts: Lewis & Clark College Launches Ombuds Office; Portland State University Ombuds Ready for Peak Season.
Elizabeth Walsh Pino passed away February 8, 2010 of cancer. In 1992, she created the first law firm Ombuds office at the Boston firm of Palmer & Dodge (later Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge). In 1998, she established and headed a global Ombuds program for the powerhouse consulting firm of McKinsey & Co. She was active in the International Ombudsman Association and other professional organizations. For IOA, she served as a Director, Assistant Treasurer and Co-Chair of the Finance Committee. In 2003, The Ombudsman Association honored her for outstanding contributions to the Ombuds profession. Pino served as an arbitrator for the Massachusetts Bar Association, worked with the Boston Bar Association Gender and Justice Committee on a model sexual harassment policy. Her legacy is preserved in part by the many articles she authored on the Ombuds role, including the often-cited piece she wrote with Howard Gadlin for TOA in 1997, "Neutrality: What an Organizational Ombudsperson Might Want to Know." As an instructor for IOA's Ombuds 101 program, she also taught many current practitioners. A funeral mass is scheduled for February 11, in Boston. (Boston Globe Obituary; NY Times 1994 article.)
The Board of Certification for Certified Organizational Ombudsman Practitioners Board (CO-OP) has announced that 96% of the applicants passed the first certification examination. Forty-seven people sat for the computer-based test betweenNovember 30 and December 5, 2009. Subsequently, a psychometrician with Schroeder Measurement Technologies, Inc., and a panel of Organizational Ombuds developed a passing score of 405 for the exam, which has a scaled score of 100 to 500. The CO-OP exam will be offered again in a paper-and-pencil format on the first day of the IOA Annual Conference, Thursday, April 8, 2010, at 7:00 am, in New Orleans. (The exam is not included in conference fees and conference registration is not required to take the exam.) Subsequently, the test will be administered in a computer-based format at many testing centers around the world. (CO-OP News.)
Prior post: IOA Unveils Certification Program for Organizational Ombuds.
There are several professional associations for Ombuds (IOA, IOI, FCO, ACCUO, USOA). In addition, many Ombuds continue to maintain membership in professional organizations for their prior career (SHRM, NAFCM, ABA). Some also join professional groups in related fields (ACR, IACM). So, this week's question: What professional organizations have you joined?
The 7,500-student Jesuit Catholic university has been considering an Ombuds program since the concept was approved by the Academic Assembly three years ago. Recently, the propsal has been revived and the SU trustees have allocated money for an IOA-compliant office (estimated to be between $200,000 and $500,000). Nonetheless, it may years more before the office is created. The plan would create a part-time Ombuds that would serve exclusively faculty and staff. One of the leading Organizational Ombuds, Toni P. Robinson is an alum of SU Law School. (SU Spectator; MIT Ombuds Office.)
In her report covering the 2008-09 academic year, Nora Farrell said that concerns about academic advice rose 12% from the prior year. The Ombuds for students at Ryerson handled 586 matters and more than half involved academic issues. Farrell also saw marked decreases in cases involving admissions and curriculum advising. The published report also includes a response from the Provost and Vice President-Academic, and Vice President-Adminintration and Finance regarding the Ombuds' recommendations. (Ryerson Ombuds 2008-09 Report; Ryerson Eyeopener.)Related posts: Ryerson Ombuds Blames Professors for Rising Misconduct Charges; FCO Selects New Board and Officers.
The American Bar Association Section on Dispute Resolution convenes its annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency on April 8-10, 2020 (the same days as the IOA conference in New Orleans). The schedule for the world's largest dispute resolution conference is being finalized. Announced sessions that may interest Organizational Ombuds include:- Clientology: The Applied Science of Private Sit-Down Speaking with Clients
- Got Game? Using Game Theory to Understand, Manage, and Resolve Disputes
- Calm in the Face of the Storm: Spiritual Daily Practice for the Peacemaker
- The Art and Science of Communicating Across Cultures: Advanced Skills in Negotiation and Communication
- How to Help Clients Make Better Decisions Through Psychological Tools and Systematic Risk Analysis
- The Healthcare Follies: Teachable Moments For Negotiators and Conflict Management Practitioners
- Mediating the Non-Litigated Case: Commercial, Political, and Executive Disputes
- Gazing Into the Crystal Ball -- What Will Business Conflict Look Like in 25 Years?
Early registration is now open. (ABA ADR Conf. Info.)Related posts: ADR Conference in New York (2009); ABA Publishes First Book About Organizational Ombuds.
The association of mainstream media watchdogs dramatically reorganized and expanded its Internet site. ONO promises that the new site will be an important source for media criticism and a necessary companion for navigating the news. The site provides commentary by news Ombuds around the world, a public forum, information on members, and links to related resources. (ONO Press Release; Media Bistro.)Related posts: News Ombuds Also Vulnerable to Budget Cuts; Organization of News Ombudsmen Appoints First Executive Director; Organization of News Ombudsmen Director Argues for 'Cyberombudsmen'.
The latest issue of DC Military Journal features a story of Barbara I. Moidel, who has serve as the Ombudsman/Mediator at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. Moidel her career at the Navy's flagship medical center in 1980 in speech pathology. After mediating for other federal agencies, Moidel designed and created NNMC's Organization Ombudsman and Mediator Program in 2001, the Navy's first Organizational Ombuds office in a healthcare setting. The program later expanded to the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA, the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, FL, and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and will soon be implemented at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, CA, and the Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan. The NMMC program was renamed the Healthcare Mediation Program in 2007, but Moidel continues her Ombuds work with patients, family members and the public as Special Assistant to the Commander and Deputy Commander. She also serves as the Specialty Advisor to the Navy Surgeon General for Healthcare Mediation. Moidel earned her BS from Ohio University and a MA in Speech Pathology from Western Michigan University. (DC Military Journal; see also, Resolve Advisors Bio.)Related post: Navy Marks Ombudsman Appreciation Day.
Nearly eight months after soliciting applications for a University Ombuds, FCGU is now conducting on-campus interviews. The person hired will head an office established by Charles McKinney and currently run by Interim Ombuds, Melissa McIntosh. (FGCU Notices.)Prior post: Job Posting.
The International Ombudsman Association announced the results of the Board election which was reheld because of concerns about the publication of candidate information. The following individuals were elected to the Board of Directors for three-year terms beginning April 2010:- Wayne Blair, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Nick Diehl, National Institutes of Health
- Carolyn Noorbakhsh, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Donna Douglass Williams, World Health Organization
Also elected as the Associate Member Representative for a two-year terms, was Kerry Egdorf of Marquette University.
Prior Posts: Balloting Opens for IOA Board of Directors; IOA Voids Election Results, Reopens Voting.
According to their annual report, UWO Ombuds Adrienne Clarke and Assistant Ombuds Anita Pouliot handled 438 cases in 2008-09, a 4.5% increase from the prior academic year. Their summary of the year leads with a discussion of academic accommodations for students with disabilities and offers guidelines for promoting positive conversations around disability. The report also revisits the issue of faculty and administrative support for graduate students who are experiencing problems with their supervisor. (UWO Ombuds 2008-09 Report.)
