Minneapolis Public Schools Selects Staff Ombuds

Montquice McCoy has been named the Director and Staff Ombudsperson for the large Minnesota school district. She will serve about 6,500 district employees across 100 school sites. She joins Mitchell Roldán, who established the MPS Office of the Ombudsperson in 2019 and will now focus on families, community members and other MPS stakeholders.

Western Kentucky University Names New Student Ombuds

Emmeline Essler has been appointed the new Student Ombuds Officer for WKU. She follows Lynne Holland, who established the Student Ombuds position last year, while also serving as Assistant Vice President, Dean of Students, and Chief Diversity Officer. Essler joins Karl Laves, who has served as the Faculty and Staff Ombuds at the public university in Bowling Green since 2008. 

JIOA Article on the Creation of a Quasi-Ombuds Program

The latest article in the peer-reviewed Journal of the International Ombudsman Association looks at the efforts to establish a campus conflict management program. "Establishing a quasi-ombuds program at a large university by adapting Ury, Brett, and Goldberg’s dispute system design model: A practitioner’s experience" was written by Nkaze Chateh, the former and founding Director of the Conflict Resolution and Mediation Programs at Eastern Carolina University. 

Faculty Seek to Expand Ombuds Program at University of Pittsburgh

The Faculty Assembly at Pitt has created a working group to explore the creation of a centralized Ombuds program that would serve faculty, staff and students. Currently, the public university has only a network of school-based collateral duty Ombuds that provide services to graduate students and postdocs. (Pitt News.)

Job Posting: United Nations, Mali

The United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services is hiring a Conflict Resolution Officer to be based in Bamako. The position will provide Ombuds and conflict resolution services to UN staff in the region, primarily the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The position reports to the Regional Ombudsman in Goma, Salif Boïté. 

Chuck Howard, IOA's First Executive Director, to Retire

Charles Howard, the leading advocate for Organizational Ombuds, will step down as the inaugural Executive Director of the International Ombudsman Association at the end of the year. During his four decades as a litigator, he often served as independent counsel and consultant for Ombuds. In 2010, he wrote a landmark legal guide for the profession, which was published by the American Bar Association. After he retired from active practice, Howard became IOA's first Executive Director in September 2019. Since then, he has helped guide the IOA Board of Directors through a series of challenges, not the least of which was the association's response to the coronavirus pandemic. During his career, Howard spoke out about the flawed Ombuds program at BP, encouraged public school districts to adopt Ombuds programs, advised the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, defended the embattled Ombuds at the University of Mississippi, and urged IOA members to update the association's bylaws. 

Midwestern University Appoints Ombuds for Medical Residents

The private graduate school with campuses in Illinois and Arizona has designated Kate Jansen as its Ombudsperson for medical residents. Midwestern University sponsors ACGME accredited residency programs at four hospitals an one clinic, all in Arizona: Canyon Vista Medical Center; Kingman Regional Medical Center; Mountain Vista Medical Center; Midwestern University Multispecialty Clinic; and Verde Valley Medical Center.

Job Posting: One Acre Fund

The Kenya-based nonprofit organization that supplies smallholder farmers in East Africa with asset-based financing and agriculture training services is hiring its first Ombuds. The fund's Global Ombuds/Mediator "will mediate employee conflict and investigate conduct complaints and resolve them, usually through recommendations and/or mediation." The position is to be based in East Africa and Kigali, Rwanda preferably. 

Texas A&M Announces New Faculty Ombuds

John J. Buchanan has been named the Faculty Ombuds Officer for the state's flagship public university. Although Texas A&M has several Ombuds that serve particular schools or programs, Buchanan will serve faculty "at the university level." He succeeds George Welch, who served as Faculty Ombuds for the past three years.

Atlanta Public Schools Relaunches Ombuds Program

Deirdre Smith and Quinton Stroud have been selected to reestablish the Organizational Ombuds Office for the public school system in Georgia. Smith is the Organizational Ombuds and Stroud is the Equity Policy Analyst. Together they serve as a resource for 55,000 students and their families, and also employees and community stakeholders. The Atlanta Public Schools previously had an Ombuds program from 2014 through 2017. (APS Ombuds.)

Consultants Recommend Ombuds for School District 57

A Special Advisors Report for the public school district in central British Columbia, including urban Prince George, recommends creating an Ombuds program. The review was commissioned by BC’s Minister of Education, Jennifer Whiteside, in response to concerns about funding and graduation rates for Indigenous students in the district. The report found a wide range of concerns, including "No real mechanism for resolving disputes or addressing discrimination and systemic racism" and "a need to ensure that all District employees work in an open and free manner without fear of retribution." 

New Book Examines Work of Dutch University Ombuds

This week, VU University Press releases Ombudswerk in het hoger onderwijs: een praktische wegwijzer (Ombudswork in Higher Education: a Practical Guide) by Lies Poesiat, the Ombudsman for students and staff at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

The book looks at all aspects of Ombuds work:

Norfolk State University Announces New Ombuds

Ernestine A.W. Duncan has been named the Interim Faculty Ombuds at the HBCU in Virginia. She follows Erick S. Cage, who served as Ombuds since 2018. As the Faculty Ombuds, Duncan will serve as a resource for faculty, staff, and other members of the NSU community. 

Utrecht University Selects Two Staff Ombuds

Universiteit Utrecht, the public research university in the Netherlands, will redesignate its two current Confidential Advisors for Staff as Ombudspersons for Staff. The move bring UU into line with a new labor agreement that requires Staff Ombuds at major Dutch universities. Annemieke Meijer and Frans Pieter Sprik, who have been the Confidential Advisors for Staff for less than a year each, will move into the roles immediately. 

New Ombuds Will Restart Office at Wright State University

Greg Scharer, WSU's current Executive Director of Alumni Relations, has been selected the new Ombudsperson for the public research university near Dayton. He will restart a program that has been paused since the retirement of the founding Ombuds, Hazel Rountree, three years ago. As the Ombuds, Scharer will serve over 20,0000 faculty, staff, and students following IOA standards. He will continue to oversee the university's alumni relations program.

Registration Opens for Ombuds Day 2021

Ombuds Day 2021 registration is open! This year’s theme is “Ombuds: exploring options to resolve conflict together.” On October 14th, join ombuds and leaders from the tech, immigration, K-12 education, and long-term care sectors to understand how ombuds help stakeholders resolve problems. 

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Names Ombuds Team

Fulfilling a promise made to students last summer, Pitt Medicine has introduced a panel of six faculty who will serve as Ombuds. A website for the new program explained that, "Students may contact the Ombuds Office to discuss difficulties that have been unresolved elsewhere (such as the Offices of Learning Environment, Student Affairs, Medical Education, or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) or directly if for any reason they are fearful, embarrassed, or unwilling to contact those offices." The office appears to generally follow IOA standards and will serve as a resource for about 1,000 students.

New Ombuds at Northern Arizona University Posts Annual Report

Monica Brown stepped in as the NAU Faculty Ombuds in September 2020 after Bruce Fox completed his three-year term. According to an annual report Brown just released, she recorded 75 visits during the 2020-21 academic year, representing 50 unique visitors. This represents a 61.3% increase in unique visitors from the prior academic year and the highest utilization rate in four years.

Lehigh University Welcomes Two New Ombuds

Jennifer Swann has joined Anne Meltzer in the Ombuds Office at Lehigh. Together, they will serve about 9,000 faculty, staff, and students at the private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Job Posting: University of North Carolina at Greensboro

The public research university in central North Carolina has issued a request for proposals for an individual or company to serve as its Ombudsman. The search marks the culmination of years of advocacy by faculty and other stakeholders at UNCG for an Ombuds program. The initial contract will be for one year and may be extended. The UNCG Ombuds will report to the Office of the Provost and provide services to nearly 25,000 faculty, staff, and students. The contract will be awarded October 11, 2021.