By IOA

At each IOA Board of Directors Meetings, our association's Committees submit a report about the progress they are making on their latest projects. Each Committee and Task Force has been hard at work supporting our members and helping to advance the organizational ombuds profession.  Please take a moment to read the latest updates from the last couple of Board Meetings.

Conference Committee, June 2022

Conference Committee is beginning the planning process for #IOA2023 in Seattle and would like your input. We are seeking to build upon lessons learned from our virtual experiences in 2021 and 2022 while creating a true feeling of belonging and reintegration from our long separations. If you would like to work with our team, please complete the Volunteer Interest Form with the Volunteer Coordination Committee or contact the Conference Committee co-chairs, Katie Manderson and Bina Patel.

By Ellen Miller, IOA Executive Director

On June 23, the US Department of Education issued proposed revisions to US Title IX. Once the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has been issued in the US Federal Register, all stakeholders will have 60 days to comment. 

Per the press release, the proposed new regulations would:

• Clearly protect students and employees from all forms of sex discrimination.

Updated Board-Approved Documents Now Available

By IOA

We are pleased to announce that the IOA Board of Directors approved the final, revised Standards of Practice (SOP) and Code of Ethics (COE) at its meeting on 17 March 2022. The new documents are now in effect and are available for download on the IOA website. Current SOP & COE translations include, Amharic, Chinese, French, French Canadian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Latin American Spanish, and Thai. If you would like to suggest another language to add to our translation list, please email the IOA office at [email protected].

By Ryan Smith, Ed.D., Assistant University Ombudsperson, Office of the University Ombudsperson, Michigan State University

By Shannon Lynn Burton, Ph.D., University Ombudsperson, Michigan State University

Dear Ombuds Colleagues,

I am writing to solicit articles for the September 2022 Just Resolutions e-newsletter.  This edition centers on the work of ombuds and it would be wonderful if we had a number of individuals interested in writing!

Watch Part One and Part Two of the 2022 Good Day IOA interview between Ronnie Thomson, IOA 2022-2023 President and Ellen M. Miller, IOA Executive Director. Learn about their roles and what's on the horizon for IOA. 

View Part One on YouTube

View Part Two on YouTube

By Ellen M. Miller, IOA Executive Director

IOA Is Looking to Talk to Ombuds Allies

Many ombuds have allies who understand and promote the value and effectiveness of the ombuds office. Whether they are general counsel, Title IX or Clery coordinators, risk managers, HR or compliance professionals, CEOs, presidents, chancellors, or superintendents (just to name a few), these allies help advocate for the ombuds role within an organization.

In alignment with Goal 2 of our Strategic Plan, "Organizational leaders in key sectors understand and value the ombuds function, and IOA," we would like to gain additional insight into the perspectives of these allies and see if they can help us tell your story, especially to their peers.  Are you willing to make an introduction?  If you have a champion in your organization, please reach out to me via email at [email protected] or give me a call at +1 (619) 943-0792.

By Ion Anghel, Head of the Ombuds Department of OMV Petrom, Romania

Over the last decade, I have been involved in the life of this department on a constant basis, first from the outside (as an advisor to its activities) and then from its core, as Director of this function. Looking back over time, I can say that the Ombuds’ mission here in OMV Petrom was never an easy one. This statement may surely be confirmed by all international Ombuds colleagues who have had the difficult task of launching an Ombudsman program in a company (or even more, a country) with little or no experience on this topic.

Moreover, the last years have been particularly challenging, as we have seen the whole world deal with the effects of the Covid pandemic. I think that in this new era, the importance of having somebody to talk to and address your concerns has proven to be so much more significant than before. For this reason, we have tried to stay in contact with the people in our organization even when physical presence became scarcer than before, to prevent the feeling of isolation and help build the necessary bridges to move forward. At the same time, we have had to re-invent ourselves on both a personal and professional level, as probably many of you have been required to.

By  Randolph Scott, Interim Student Ombuds & Assistant Director of International Programs, University of West Florida

It was an honor to be selected as a recipient of the New & Aspiring Ombuds Scholarship for the 17th Annual IOA Conference. As a new Student Ombuds at the University of West Florida, attendance at the IOA Annual Conference was an incredibly valuable opportunity for me to learn more about the core functions and responsibilities I have as an Ombuds as well as the opportunities I have to make a positive impact on my campus.

By Madeline Kleinberg, Graduate Assistant, Office of the Ombudsperson Division of Academic & Student Affairs

As a graduate student still very new to the ombuds field, being able to attend the 2022 IOA Conference was such a valuable experience. The sessions I attended virtually allowed me to learn from the wealth of knowledge in the ombuds community. There seemed to be an abundance of interesting and thought-provoking sessions by a diverse group of ombuds professionals. My only experience in ombudsing has been limited to higher education, so it was eye-opening to gain insight into how broad the field is, and how impactful ombuds can be. I am looking forward to viewing some of the sessions that I was unable to attend live.

By Herschenia Brown, MBA, CIHC, ADR, Owner of In Agreement Dispute Resolution, LLC

The experience that I had at the IOA 17th Annual Conference – “Belonging Together Reimaged” was unmatched! As my very first time attending the conference, there was an incredible amount of comradery, knowledge, information, and tools that I now have under my belt while I explore my career trajectory as an ombuds. With so many sessions to choose from, along with the opportunity to revisit the recordings, there was no stone left unturned. Also, from the comments during the Q&A sessions, many participants were eager to communicate in the near future to explore more questions outside of a session’s timeframe.

I have two absolute favorites I would like to share:

1. Being that my background is in financial operations, accounting, and reporting, my absolute favorite session was “D3 – Reimagining Ombuds Reporting: New Tools and Techniques for Better Data Collection”, hosted by Chuck Doran, Megan Winkeler, and Colin Rule. As an aspiring ombuds, I have learned of different tools that people use in their practices to make the reporting as efficient as possible. However, from what I gathered from the feedback from the attendees, not enough reporting tools have features that capture specific critical data with full security and encryption measures that are critical to the core of the ombuds role. This session mentioned some effective reporting tools with this functionality and more! If you didn’t get the opportunity to attend this session, then it is definitely worth checking out.

By Roy Baroff, CO-OP® and Steven Goodstein

The IOA Board of Directors recently approved a plan to create an All Things Internship Task Force (ATI-TF) to explore all things related to organizational ombuds internships including, among other topics, the creation of such programs, identifying existing internship programs, and collecting and developing materials for internship programs. IOA members are invited to participate in the task force.

The ATI-TF Relates Closely to Two of IOA’s Strategic Goals:

• Goal 1 - Ombuds have the capacity and tools to position themselves as essential contributors and trusted advisors in their organizations. The ATI-TF connects as it seeks to support capacity building of existing offices while supporting learning and training experiences for new and aspiring ombuds.

• Goal 4 - IOA has a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and engagement. The ATI-TF would be a member-driven project that could create significant engagement opportunities, especially for new and aspiring ombuds who now make up a significant portion of IOA’s membership. Members would be supporting the creation of new opportunities for organizational ombuds work.

Roy Baroff and Steven Goldstein on behalf of the Membership Committee have volunteered to lead the development of this task force. Participants in the Task Force will ultimately select co-chairs to lead the ATI-TF, with final approval of the IOA Board of Directors. The task force will report to the IOA Board of Directors via a Task Force Board Liaison.

By IOA Nominating Committee

Each year, members are invited to nominate retired colleagues to be honored as Distinguished Emeritus members, in recognition of their outstanding and dedicated service to the organization and profession. This year, we had several such nominations for ombuds who have gone above and beyond. These esteemed members were recognized during the 17th Annual IOA Conference. Please join us in congratulating each of them:

Jenna Brown

Retired, University of Denver, Member Since: 2000

By Sue Diviney, CO-OP®, IOA Board Member and Mollie Berg, CO-OP®, CO-OP® President

We are pleased to announce the formation of a new Joint IOA & CO-OP® Task Force that will recommend a proposal to accredit organizational ombuds programs. This will clear the way to separate program accreditation from individual certification under CO-OP®.

The goal is to create a time-limited task force that brings together a variety of critical perspectives and experiences, that may ideally include (but not be limited to) many of the following:

Help Us Explore Our Diverse Stories. Submit Today.

By IOA

Updated March 2022

Begin Exploring

By the International Ombuds Association

We are delighted to announce that we have launched a new IOA website. You are invited to visit our new and improved site at www.ombudsassociation.org.

Meet Our Newest Board Members

By IOA

Thank you to everyone who voted!

Thank you to the 107 IOA members who participated in this year's IOA Board Election. There were nine director positions open on the Board and a slate of ten eligible candidates was presented to members. 

By Ellen Miller, IOA Executive Director

Greetings IOA Members & Supporters,

Thank you for the very warm welcome and the many kind messages I have received. I am now well into my third week at IOA, learning about the organization’s many committees, task forces, and projects, and attending the March Virtual Foundations course this week. One thing is very clear: I am so impressed with the tremendous energy and engagement of our members.  

Call to Action

By Ellen Miller, IOA Executive Director

Calling All US Academic Ombuds

We need your help. The US Department of Education has finalized its proposed amendments to Title IX and we expect a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to be issued in the next 60–90 days. According to an abstract previewing the amendments, the following changes may be included to align Title IX with Biden-Harris Administration priorities: 

• Designation of coordinator
• Dissemination of policy
• Adoption of grievance procedures
• Definitions
• Recipient’s response to sexual harassment
• Grievance process for formal complaints of sexual harassment
  
  

You may recall that in March 2021, President Biden directed the Department of Education to review changes made to Title IX during the Trump administration that prompted a week of exploratory hearings last summer. IOA participated by submitting comments that encouraged the retention of two amendments to preserve the effectiveness of organizational ombuds on college campuses.

Submissions Are Due 14 March 2022 

By Teresa Ralicki, Ombuds, University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus, Founder, Ombuds Institute

Wow – I can’t believe how close we are to the next IOA Annual Conference. I also can’t believe this will be our third year being together virtually. It occurs to me just how much I rely on this conference to connect with other ombuds. To fill up my cup for the year with energy, with connection, with creativity. I am eagerly awaiting seeing you all!