- You’re Not Happy; When Do You Do Something?As UNLV’s Ombuds I tend to talk with people who aren’t happy about something or many things. Every case is different, but generally those who visit the Ombuds Office are facing a conflict of some type. One of the biggest questions they have is, “When is it time to do something about it?” And my answer almost always is: now. Why now? First, because “something” is almost always better than nothing…
- Three More Takeaways from the Annual Report: Who, What, and How?I have gotten a few questions about the UNLV Ombuds Office 2023 Annual Report, particularly about trends—how have concerns brought to the office shifted over the past three years? So I would like to take some time to discuss what I see when I look at the numbers, focusing on three big takeaways. First, I would like to share a little information about where those numbers come from and how…
- Ombuds Office Releases 2023 Annual ReportWe’re well into January, which means that the Ombuds Annual Report for 2023 has been completed. I want to talk with you a little about the report itself, and a little about UNLV since December 6. Because, in a way that I don’t know anyone was prepared for, the tragic murder of three faculty members and the wounding of a fourth in an act of senseless evil defines our campus, the…
- Finding What’s NextIt has been nearly a month since we lost three of our teachers, colleagues, and friends in a senseless shooting, and it is still difficult to know what to say and what to do. The UNLV community has been through a traumatic event for which we have few guides. And very soon spring semester will start. While it won’t be “business as usual,” we will collectively return to our education,…
- Moving Forward TogetherFor my last post of calendar 2023, I had planned on a retrospective of the year, looking at some of the issues brought to the Ombuds Office and discussing options for resolving them. Then December 6 happened. President Whitfield has called it an “unfathomable tragedy,” which is apt. Three members of our community--Dr. Jerry Cha-Jan Chang, Dr. Patricia Navarro Velez, and Dr. Naoko Takemaru—are…
- Standing Against Academic BullyingRecently, UNLV’s Ombuds Office partnered with the Graduate College to provide resources for graduate and professional students (and others) who feel that they have been subject to academic bullying. I would like to briefly explore what academic bullying is and what we can do about it. To sum up the definition on the Graduate College’s Stand Together Against Academic Bullying page,…
- Why I Am the OmbudsmanIn my last post, I wrote about “Why I Am Not the Ombudsman.” If you are a fan of Star Trek in general and Leonard Nimoy in particular, you will appreciate that my next post just had to be, “Why I Am the Ombudsman.” But wait, you might think, you made such a big deal two weeks ago about how, in the name of inclusivity, you are most decidedly not the ombudsman. Are you trying to have your…
- Why I’m Not the OmbudsmanThe ombuds profession, even I must admit, is not the best known. When people ask what I do, the response is usually “What?” followed by me hurriedly explaining the concept of an ombuds to them, usually ending by describing what it isn’t (part of HR, a therapist, a personal advocate). But once we get that out of the way, people warm to the concept. Or maybe they’re just being nice—…
- Dealing with DisappointmentAs I have often said, the most common issues that visitors bring—by far—to the Ombuds Office is breakdowns in communication between supervisors and those they supervise. This could be a manager and employee, chair and faculty member, or even instructor and student. And the problems flow in both directions, with both the evaluated and the evaluators coming to discuss their options. If you…
- UNLV Ombuds Office Third Quarter 2023 Report Is AvailableFast on the heels of the end of September, the Ombuds Office has issued its quarterly report covering the third quarter of 2023, a busy and productive time for the office. The Ombuds Office continued to offer workshops and presentations to a variety of groups on conflict management and communication topics. Although the subject matter differs, each workshop is highly interactive, with ample…
- Inclusion Safety: The Door to BelongingWe all probably know how it feels to be excluded. Denied entry. Left outside. Othered. Exclusion is one of the many ways that we can make others feel “less than.” It can be done without a word, done so that the person excluded isn’t even sure it has been done. Being excluded from a space or a group denies one the opportunity to build an identity, to make a contribution. In his…
- Is it Live? Why That MattersI’m going to really date myself here. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, a series of commercials for Memorex tapes asked the question, “Is it live…or is it Memorex?” See, there used to be audio and video cassette tapes that you could use to record music and video, respectively. The commercials were supposed to convince consumers that Memorex’s tapes were of such high quality that sound…