After an internal search, Jodi Goodman has been named the WVU Faculty Ombudsperson for a three-year term. She takes on the part-time Ombuds duties while continuing as Professor of Management in the College of Business and Economics. Goodman follows Tom Patrick, a law professor who has established the position in 2016.
Jeff Stransky became the Student Ombuds at UCalgary just about one year ago, succeeding, Kevin Wiens, who served in the role about three years. Stransky has worked at the university nearly two decades, primarily in enrollment and student advising. He is a graduate of the University of Waterloo. (LinkedIn.)
The International Ombudsman Association is seeking nominations for Directors who will serve a three-year term starting on March 31, 2020. There will be six open seats. Nominations are due by November 18; and voting runs from December 27 through January 31. New board members will be introduced at the IOA conference.
Lourdes Delgado-Cheers has been appointed a Global Ombuds at Pfizer and based in Denver. She reports to Sue Diviney, Vice President and Office of the Ombuds Team Lead. Delgado-Cheers has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for two decades and at Pfizer since 2007. Most recently, she was the North America Employee Relations Lead.
Veronica Cano has been appointed the first Faculty Ombudsperson for the public research university at the southern tip of Texas. In the new full-time role, she will serve about 1,200 academic employees and practice to IOA standards.
Last week the UofT Governing Council held its first public meeting of the academic year and the agenda was dominated by student mental health issues with student groups demanding reforms. During her report, University Ombudsperson, Ellen Hodnett, voiced her support for the administration's actions. In response, the largest student union criticized the Ombuds and called for an apology.
At the latest meeting of the Academic Senate at Marquette, the Committee on Diversity and Equity urged a reconsideration of university's closure of the Office of the Ombuds on September 6, 2019. The office opened in 2002 to serve faculty and staff; Kerry Egdorf was the Ombuds for 12 years. Other faculty at the senate meeting voiced support for the Ombuds program.
The International Ombudsman Association seeks proposal for its annual conference taking place March 30-April 1, 202 in Portland, OR. IOA's 15th Annual Conference, "Vision 2020: Innovation, Integrity, and Importance in Ombuds Work," will draw participants and presenters represent professionals in academia, corporations, government, non-profits, healthcare, faith communities, and many other organizations.
Michelle Quigg has been named the new Ombuds Officer for the large public university in Vancouver. She fills a position being vacated by the retirement of Joy Coben and reports to UBC's Ombudsperson for Students, Shirley Nakata.
The umbrella scientific organization for the U.S. will hold a summit in November to discuss plans to change the culture of higher ed that has tolerated sexual misconduct for decades. Action plans submitted by many universities show that Ombuds will be a critical part of these efforts. perhaps because of this initiative, some institutions are considering Ombuds for the first time. In addition, IOA will have representatives to explain and advocate for the Ombuds role.
AIA and SCS are seeking an Ombudsperson for their Joint Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, January 2-5, 2020. The Ombuds will be the point of contact for any complaints of harassment, including but not limited to sexual harassment, and for anyone who feels unsafe for any reason at the meeting. The Ombuds will operate pursuant to the new AIA-SCS Joint Annual Meeting Harassment Policy and serve on an as-needed basis for two months after the conference.
Emily Azevedo has joined the Athlete Ombudsman Office of the National Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs. Reporting to the USOC Athlete Ombudsman, Kacie Wallace, Azevedo provides independent advice to athletes and assists in mediating disputes.
Students are demanding changes to improve safety at the public research university in Salt Lake City. They are asking the President to take various accountability and transparency measures and allocate additional resources, including the appointment of the first Student Ombudsman.
The coastal county in South Carolina has opened an internal search for its first Organizational Ombuds. The new Ombuds will subsume the existing Ombudsman program for constituent complaints and offer a new Organizational Ombuds service for county staff. The position reports to the Clerk of Council and is expected to "seek certification as a Certified Organizational Ombudsman Practitioner" or comparable certification and training. Charleston would become one of a very few counties or municipalities with an Organizational Ombuds program.
EON, the group that advocates for and supports the development of emerging Ombuds and the Ombuds profession, is developing a set of resources to guide the creating of internship programs. An intership in an established Ombuds office is a significant learning experience for aspiring Ombuds. Yet many Ombuds are reluctant to take on an intern because of the time commitment and unfamiliarity with internships in general. If developed, EON's toolkit could benefit many.
The U.S. Department of Defense Field Activity that supports the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness is hiring a full-time Ombudsman. It is not clear whether this is a new DHRA position. Previously, the agency had hired Ombuds to mediate complaints between military service members and their employers. This posting seeks a more typical Organizational Ombuds.
J. Kathleen Moore has retired from her position as NIH Ombudsman and Director of the Center for Cooperative Resolution. Moore worked at the NIH for over three decades, as a counseling psychologist and then as NIH Senior Associate Ombudsman. In January 2016, she became Acting Director, and, following a nationwide search, was named NIH Ombudsman and Director of CCR. Julie Muroff has been appointed the Acting NIH Ombudsman and Director of CCR.
The for-profit online coding boot camp for adults based in San Francisco is hiring its first Ombudsperson. (Lambda is remarkable among unaccredited coding schools because it has no campus and it allows students to pay with an income share agreement.) The full-time position will provide dispute resolution services to about 1,000 students and "provide suggestions to the executive team in creating and/or changing policies that may surface as a result of discrepancies between the stated goals of Lambda and actual practices."
The department responsible for U.S. energy and nuclear safety policies is hiring an Associate Ombudsman. This will fill a position recently vacated by Bill Mauer, who moved the the Census Bureau. The job is based in either Germantown, MD or Washington D.C., and serves all DOE federal employees, world-wide. Some travel is required.
The private research university in Atlanta, Georgia is hiring an Associate Ombudsperson. The full-time position will report to Lynell Cadray who was appointed the inaugural Emory University Ombudsperson last month. It also seems that the position will be working almost exclusively with students, undergraduates and graduates. "As Director of Programs, [the Associate Ombuds] will manage university outreach, strategic planning, development and implementation of programs to educate the community on conflict management and the Office of the Ombuds."
