Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

INSIDE IOWA STATE
January 18, 2002

Senators discuss proposal for ombuds positions

by Linda Charles
Many cases that came before the Faculty Senate judiciary council probably could have been resolved informally if the university had an ombudsperson, Jack Girton told the senate Jan. 15 as it discussed a proposal to establish an Ombuds Office.

Girton, zoology and genetics, said during the years he chaired the judiciary and appeals council he frequently had to assume an unofficial ombudsperson role.

"Many of these cases should have been straightened out before they got to the committee," Girton said. "At the first sign of trouble, an ombudsperson can get people talking."

Under the proposal, ombudspersons would provide informal and confidential, problem-solving assistance to faculty on work-related issues or disputes. The office would be staffed by three retired faculty members, appointed part-time for three-year, renewable terms.

The ombudspersons would report directly to the president, but the office would be "outside the usual administrative structure" of the university, according to the proposal.

In general, the ombudspersons would discuss faculty concerns, help faculty evaluate their options, clarify university policies and procedures, and act as intermediaries in conflict resolutions. They would not conduct formal investigations, adjudicate, assign sanctions or change existing policies and procedures.

The proposal calls for ombudspersons to be appointed by the university president, based on recommendations of a committee jointly appointed by the senate and the president. John Robyt, biochemistry and biophysics, questioned why, if ombudspersons represented faculty, they should report to the president instead of the senate.

Others questioned how an ombuds office would impact the appeals process and legal options. Dorothy Fowles, art and design, who chairs the council that drafted the proposal, said it wouldn't. "Nothing says you must talk to an ombudsperson," she said, but the office would be there for those who wanted it.

Bill Woodman, sociology, said the role of the ombudsperson would be to "bypass structure."

"They might go to a dean or the provost and say, 'You can fix this and this is what you have to do,'" he said.

The senate is expected to vote on the proposal during its next meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 12.

In other business, the senate voted to allow its executive board to lobby the Legislature to add faculty representation to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. The senate also elected Girton as president-elect. He will serve in that position during FY03 and assume the senate presidency in FY04. Senate president Christine Pope, history, announced that the annual faculty conference has been canceled this year due to the budget situation.