Scope
Faculty, Staff, Graduate Students
Terms
The Ombuds is an informal, confidential, impartial, and independent resource for faculty, staff, and graduate students. The Ombuds is meant to be a place employees and graduate students can go, outside of formal channels like Human Resources, the Office of Equal Opportunity Inclusion & Resolution Services, the Office of University Counsel, or Risk Management, to address concerns or questions without fear of retaliation or judgment.
By electing to use the services of the Ombuds, University employees and graduate students agree to abide by the Charter, Terms of Use, and all other policies and procedures of the Ombuds and the University. Employees and graduate students further agree that it is the Ombuds who retains the right to the confidentiality of communications and information shared with the Ombuds, and that employees cannot waive such confidentiality. Employees and graduate students also agree that they will not seek to compel the Ombuds to disclose information shared with the Ombuds in any other forum, including internal or external administrative or legal proceedings.
Conversations with Ombuds staff do not constitute notice to the University of any administrative or legal claims an employee or graduate student may have. Moreover, such conversations do not toll or affect any time limits by which notice of claims must be provided to the University or asserted in an administrative or legal proceeding.
No employee or graduate student shall be retaliated against for using the services of the Ombuds.