It’s with deep satisfaction that I unveil the annual report charting the progress of UNLV’s Ombuds Office in calendar 2022. Before you read the entire report, you may want to look at a few of its highlights, as well as my thoughts on what they mean. The annual report gives me and Ombuds Office Program Manager Tifara Rachal a chance to reflect on the work we have done and what we would…

  This has been a busy season at the Ombuds Office. I had originally planned to publish a post discussing the release of our 2022 annual report (indeed, it is mostly written), but due to a high level of volume of visitors and other work over the past week, the report isn’t ready to be released just yet. So instead, I would like to take a few minutes to share our experiences at the…

  Over the past few weeks, I have been prepping a new Honors seminar about jazz history, which has let me become more acquainted with music that I have long adored. It also offered me some insights that I can deploy in my day job as Ombuds, via the opportunity to critically consider differing styles of leadership and collaboration by bandleaders. Given the Ombuds Office’s emphasis on…

  The semester is over. All of the students who were going to walk across the stage at Winter 2022 Commencement have done it and started their next chapter. The days are short, but just getting longer. All this means one thing: We are about to say goodbye to 2022. In the past few years, there has been an upswing in app-driven reflecting on what you accomplished or consumed over the past 12…

  As we hurtle toward the end of the semester, people are busy, but I would like to take a moment to share something that should be timely. My most recent post, on how Mary Rowe’s concept of microaffirmations might have a place in shifting culture, generated more interest than anything I have written in this space yet. It’s just anecdotal, but people all over campus have let me know that…

  Lately, I have been speaking with many folks on campus about our culture and how to change it for the better. I alluded to this in my last post, which posited that the grass isn’t necessarily greener anywhere else. Wherever you might end up, you will likely face obstacles to your happiness. And here, at least you don’t have to worry about being snowed in during the winter, so for most of…

  As part of my drive to be the best ombuds for UNLV that I can (and, I won’t deny it, because they are extremely interesting people), I’ve cultivated as many opportunities as I can to speak with ombuds at other colleges, laboratories, and universities. I’m writing about this today because I spent time last week at my first in-person gathering of ombuds. Getting to relate with my peers…

  Last week, the Ombuds Office released its third quarterly report, which contains a wealth of information about the work the office has been doing in recent months. The most basic question the report answers is, “Is the office getting used?” The response is a definitive “yes.” From July 1 to September 30, 2022, the Ombuds had 137 contacts, or meetings, with 94 unique visitors. Year to…

  Ombuds Week, which UNLV celebrated two weeks ago, provided many opportunities for members of the campus community to engage with the Ombuds Office. Whether it was at our Difficult Conversations roleplay workshop or with our Escape Room, students, faculty, and staff got to learn more about healthy ways to resolve conflict. They also got to see that the office and its resources are open to…

  Every day, it seems, is somebody or something’s day. Wednesday, October 12, 2002, for example, is recognized simultaneously as World Arthritis Day, National Vermont Day, National Savings Day, National Gumbo Day, National Farmer’s Day, and National Freethought day—a real boon for the Vermont farmer who speaks their mind, has a taste for Cajun cuisine, suffers from joint pain, and is…

  Each year, the ombuds profession celebrates Ombuds Day on the second Thursday of October. Intended to educate and raise awareness about the nature of ombuds work, the day is commonly marked by events like lunch-and-learns, workshops, and seminars. At UNLV, our desire to raise awareness is so great that we have planned an entire week of activities that are free, open to the public, and…

  This fall, UNLV is offering a large number of professional development workshops for employees, and the Ombuds Office is happy to take part in the Human Resources Professional Development program (HRPD). Our six-part Working Better Together series highlights conflict resolution tips and techniques, with spots remaining in many classes. Each 90-minute workshop is highly interactive. In…