The role of University Ombudsperson is new at Yale, and you may not be familiar with how the office works. Below we highlight several frequently asked questions with answers about the scope of the role and its responsibilities.
An organizational ombudsperson primarily assists individuals and groups with navigating conflicts, addressing issues, and raising systemic concerns to the organization. This role is characterized by four key principles: independence, impartiality, informality, and confidentiality. The ombudsperson is authorized to confidentially receive and discuss concerns or inquiries about a wide range of topics. They listen, identify options, and may in appropriate cases when requested assist directly with facilitating informal resolutions. An ombudsperson does not formally investigate or adjudicate issues raised by visitors. Given their commitment to confidentiality except as required by law, information shared with the ombudsperson does not constitute notice to Yale.
Any faculty member, staff, trainee, or graduate or professional student will have access to the ombudsperson.
No, the ombudsperson’s role is public-facing and easily accessible without referrals, handling a wide variety of concerns confidentially.
The scope of the ombudsperson is broad, addressing a wide range of issues, such as ethics, compensation, relationships, career development, policy questions, and organizational strategy. This contrasts with specific university resources like the SHARE Center/Title IX Office for sexual misconduct or the Discrimination and Harassment Resource Coordinators/OIEA for discrimination and harassment concerns. Yale’s ombudsperson can act as a first point of contact for diverse issues, assisting with untangling complex situations, and providing referrals to appropriate university pathways and formal processes. They do not conduct formal investigations but may assist with conflict navigation through coaching, negotiation, or mediation.
The ombudsperson will not formally notify the university of issues but can refer individuals to appropriate resources and highlight systemic concerns to leadership. For cases that might violate Yale policies, the ombudsperson acts as a source of information about formal processes and offers behind-the-scenes guidance and support. The ombudsperson will also be expected to produce an anonymized annual report of utilization data and organizational insights.