Writer’s Choice

The Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff continues to provide a place for any faculty or staff to use as a resource for resolving any conflicts, with two new staff members offering new perspectives on issues.

Jane Voichick, professor emeritus of nutritional sciences, and Kay Simmons, an assistant dean emeritus, joined the office this year after Ted Finman and Doris Slesinger retired from the office. Also serving as ombuds are Steve Bauman, professor emeritus of mathematics, and Peg Davey, a consultant in the Office of Admissions. The four ombuds work part time and share duties.

As a faculty member, Voichick served on several faculty committees that addressed faculty concerns, including the University Committee, the Committee of Faculty Rights and Responsibilities, the Biological Sciences Division Committee and the gender equity committee. She has experience meeting with faculty who had conflicts in their workplaces — usually conflicts that had escalated.

“It seems to me that the ombuds program might prevent small problems from becoming big problems by allowing people with concerns to talk them out in a safe environment,” says Voichick. “It would be very satisfying to be a part of this potential solution.”

The primary role of the ombuds office is to provide an informal, confidential and impartial means for resolving conflicts within the university. According to the office’s 2005-06 annual report, the group handled 68 cases in the last year. Twenty-six of the office’s visitors came from academic staff, 19 from classified staff and17 from faculty. Four postdoctoral students and two students used the services. Forty-seven of the visitors had been employed by UW–Madison for more than three years. Forty of the visitors were women; 10 were members of ethnic minority groups.

According to the annual report, of 102 identified issues, 35 issues concerned the person’s career — salary/promotion, termination or lack of support in their current position. Various conflicts (with supervisors, co-workers or others in the organization) were cited 45 times.

Examples of concerns include conflicts with a physically abusive co-worker, two large units having difficulty working collaboratively, a faculty member trying to negotiate leave/parental leave, stress due to unit reorganization, an academic staff member disputing a denial of job reclassification and a faculty member seeking advice about tenure denial.

In many cases, according to the report, the ombuds helped visitors clarify issues, acted as a sounding board, provided information about university policies and resources, and offered options for solutions. In some cases, at the visitor’s request, the ombuds spoke with supervisors or other university staff to try to solve the problem.