What’s an Ombudsman?
An ombudsman is generally appointed to investigate an individual’s complaints against corporations, public authorities, or other bodies. The role and power of ombudsmen vary based on where they are appointed. The first institution of the ombudsmen was created in Sweden and was purposed to protect individuals from an overly powerful government. Ombudsmen can now be found in both private and public sectors, handling complaints and disagreements between people and companies, universities, and governments.
Who are the Brandies ombudsmen?
Brandeis has appointed three ombudsmen for the 2016 spring semester; Erika Smith, an adjunct lecturer in the Heller School, Elena Lewis, Assistant Director of the Student Support Services Program, and Brian Koslowski, Associate Director of academic advising in Academic services.
What is the role of the Brandeis Ombudsmen?
Put simply, conflict resolution. In one of the information sessions held by the Brandeis ombudsmen, they stressed their conflict resolution function as third party that is separate from the Brandeis administration. The Brandeis ombudsmen have four standards of practice: confidentiality, neutrality, independence, informality.
All interactions and meetings between a student and an ombudsman will be completely confidential. Meetings will be held in inconspicuous locations and any notes taken will later be disposed of. One of the goals of the ombudsmen is to create a safe space for students to bring their grievances.
Neutrality heavily plays into the conflict resolution role of the ombudsmen. Whether there is a conflict between roommates, or between a student and faculty, the ombudsmen take a neutral position. They will not act as any student’s advocate.
The office of the ombudsmen operates independently of any other offices on campus. Though they report to the Office of the Provost, they will never give explicit reports of any individual cases, but instead general trends on campus that are noticed.
The ombudsmen are completely off the record and do not partake in any formal processes performed by the university. It was also stressed by the ombudsmen that they should not be considered as replacements for any services on campus, including psychological counseling.
When and Where?
The ombudsmen are listed as only an “interim measure” for the spring 2016 semester. The contact information for the ombudsmen can be found here.