Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Appoints Ombuds

Sarah Gill has been named the next Ombudsman for the non-governmental organization that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets. Previously, she was FINRA’s Senior Director for State Government Affairs. Meanwhile, Cindy Foster, who served as the VP and Ombudsman for over twelve years, has moved into another administrative position at FINRA. 

Auckland University of Technology Debuts Staff Ombuds Program

Wayne F. Marriott has been hired to lead the new Employee Advisory and Resolution Service at AUT for an initial 12-month pilot period. The new service, "EARS", offers confidential, impartial and informal support for nearly 3,000 AUT staff across four campuses. EARS will operate in compliance with the IOA Code of Ethics. 

UC Davis to Host Conversation with Ken Cloke

In celebration of Ombuds Day, the Ombuds Office at the University of California Davis is hosting a Q&A style webinar for Ombuds and other conflict management practitioners featuring Ken Cloke, internationally renowned author, mediator, and conflict management consultant. Designed as a professional development opportunity for Ombuds to learn from the decades of experience of a seasoned conflict resolution practitioner, this webinar will be a moderated discussion exploring Cloke’s strategies and techniques when mediating and consulting with individuals and organizations. 

Eastern Virginia Medical School Names First Ombuds

After a pandemic-interrupted search, Diane Holland has been appointed the first Assistant Director, Training and Ombudsperson for the public medical school in Norfolk, Virginia. Holland's work as an Ombuds will take a quarter of her time with the balance going to diversity-related training for about 2,300 students, staff, and faculty.

IOA Membership Tops 1,000

For the first time in its 17 year history, the International Ombudsman has enrolled more than 1,000 members. The achievement comes in the midst of a global pandemic, which has impacted many Ombuds programs. IOA has posted an infographic that members could find as a helpful supplement to the association's other recent marketing materials such as the video. (IOA Blog.)

Job Posting: Duke University

The private university in Durham, North Carolina is hiring a Student Ombudsperson. Last fall, a Hate and Bias Working Group recommended that Duke hire two full-time Student Ombuds, practicing to IOA standards. However, it is not clear whether the search will supplement or replace any of the four current part-time Ombuds.

Iowa City Schools Names First Ombuds

Janet Abejo-Parker has been hired as the first Ombudsperson for the Iowa City Community School District. In this new, full-time role, Abejo-Parker will serve as an independent and confidential resource for 2,200 employees and 14,000 students. She told the Cedar Rapids Gazette, “If people have gotten the run around or just don’t know what to do, that stops when they reach me. We will sit down, I’ll give you all the resources I could possibly find and I hope to answer all your questions.”

American Literary Translators Association Hires First Conference Ombuds

The nonprofit arts membership association for literary translators has engaged Caitlan Hendrickson as Ombuds for its annual conference, ALTA44, in October and November. The conference is hybrid and Hendrickson will be on site for the in-person days in Tucson, Arizona. ALTA is affiliated with the University of Arizona, where Hendrickson served as Ombuds from 2015 until earlier this year. ALTA has also released a video in which Hendrickson introduces herself. (ALTA44 Conf Info, YouTube.) 

Gallaudet University Dramatically Expands Ombuds Program

In response to growing demand for its services, Gallaudet's Office of the Ombuds has two new staff members: Norma Morán, Associate Ombuds, and SooHyun Tak, Ombuds Facilitator. Morán will be responsible for undergraduate and graduate student visits, conflict resolution and competence training, and data visualization, management, and reporting. In a part-time role, Tak will be responsible for facilitating circles which includes pre-, during and post-sessions. Both report to the University Ombuds, Liz Stone, CO-OP. (Gallaudet News.)

Professor Tapped as Next Ombuds at University of Nebraska Omaha

Jennifer Harbour, an Associate Professor of Black Studies, has been selected as UNO's new Director of Ombuds Services. She follows Connie Schaffer, moved to an administrative position on campus. In her new position, Harbour directs a program that serves faculty, staff, and students at the large public university. The office also includes two other collateral duty Ombuds: Tracie Anderson and Joseph Price.

Penn State Creates Ombuds Program for Grad Students

Pennsylvania State University has selected three faculty members to serve as inaugural Ombuds for a new Graduate Student Ombudsperson Program. The new program was developed by the Graduate Council with support from the Graduate School and will serve 14,000 graduate students. Penn State also currently has a University Faculty Ombudsperson, Mohamad A. Ansari.

UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Hints at Restoration of Ombuds Office

After the first in-person leadership team gathering since the COVID-pandemic began, University of California Chancellor Cynthia Larive laid out goals to improve student success on the bucolic, seaside campus. Among other goals, "Larive also shared that the campus is exploring the establishment of an ombuds office that could incorporate and augment UCSC’s conflict resolution model."

Brock University Ombuds Reports on Year of Expanded Program

When Kelly Barker became the new Ombudsperson for public university in St. Catharines, Ontario, one of her first initiatives was to expand her service to the entire campus. Now, after a year and a half in the role, she has published her first annual report. Most of her 348 cases in the academic year 2020-21 came from undergraduate students, but faculty and staff cases are growing.

Ombuds at University of Pennsylvania Notes Drop in Cases During Pandemic Year

In their annual report for 2020-21 academic year, the Penn University Ombuds Jennifer A. Pinto-Martin and Associate Ombuds Marcia Martínez-Helfman report that their cases fell 18% after a decade of growth. They attribute the decline to the campus shut down and anticipate a rebound in cases as the students and employees return.

Job Posting: University of North Carolina at Charlotte

UNCC is hiring its first dedicated, full-time University Ombuds. The position will serve all faculty and staff at the public university in North Carolina's largest city. Since 2019, the UNCC Ombuds Office has included Todd Steck, the Faculty, and Staff Ombuds, Diana Rowan, the University Mediation Coordinator. Both are also faculty. This will be the first external search for an Ombuds at UNCC. 

Job Posting: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education

ACGME, the not-for-profit that sets educational accreditation standards for US graduate medical education (residency and fellowship programs), is hiring a full-time Ombudsperson. "The Ombudsperson serves as the process content expert and primary point of contact for concerned parties who wish to report issues about their ACGME-accredited programs and/or Sponsoring Institutions." The position is independent, impartial, and exist outside of the ACGME accreditation process.

Job Posting: Atlanta Public Schools

The recently relaunched Organizational Ombuds Office for the public school system in Georgia is hiring an Ombuds Specialist. The new position will report to and support the APS Organizational Ombuds, Deirdre Smith. 

Boston Children’s Hospital Selects First Ombuds

Jennifer Mahony will become the first Ombuds Office Director for the leading acute care children's hospital in Boston next month. Mahoney moves to the position from the National Institutes of Health, where she has been an Associate Ombuds since January 2020. In her new role at Boston Children's, Mahoney will create an office to serve all employees following IOA standards.

Lamar University Opens Search for First Faculty Ombuds

The public university in Beaumont, Texas has opened an internal search for its first Faculty Ombuds. The 25%-time position will serve about 635 faculty members following IOA standards. Faculty have been advocating for an Ombuds for several years. The position is open only to tenured faculty. Applications are due by September 29, 2021. No salary indicated. (Lamar Posting.)

Update: University of Mississippi Ombuds Offers Secure Data Portal

Ole Miss's University Ombuds, Paul Caffera, has implemented a new option for visitors to provide information. His website explains: "In response to myriad requests from Ombuds Office Visitors, the University of Mississippi’s Office of the Ombuds is now able to offer visitors a point-to-point secure method of exchanging documents with the Ombuds Office, bypassing systems controlled by the University and subject to possible eavesdropping by University administrators or other University personnel." (UM Ombuds.)