Welcome back to the new semester! As UMKC’s Faculty Ombudsperson – and a Bloch School faculty member – I know first-hand the excitement, creativity, tedium, and inevitability you may be feeling right now. The students are new and different, but at the same time, pretty similar to last semester. You may be teaching the same course, but perhaps changed things up a bit, or you may be swamped with all the effort of a new prep. And inter- and intra-department issues may be energizing, interesting, disrupting, or downright debilitating.
Our jobs as faculty can be among the most satisfying – at least in terms of Hackman and Oldham’s (1975) Job Characteristics Model. We use a lot of different skills, often find our work meaningful, and we have a great deal of autonomy. BUT – our jobs can also be among the most stressful: publication pressures, student demands, and difficulties working with colleagues, both other faculty and administrators.
If you find yourself caught in a situation you’re not sure how to navigate, the Faculty Ombudsperson is here to help. I try to understand your story, clarify your goals, help generate options that may resolve the issue, and assist you in planning your next steps.
As a member of the International Ombudsman Association, I adhere to four Standards of Practice: Informality, neutrality/impartiality, independence, and confidentiality. In this blog I’d like to explain what all mean, starting with confidentiality.
Confidentiality means I won’t divulge what you tell me to anyone. This is critical so that my visitors feel they can be candid and complete in telling their stories. Like all organizational Ombuds, I keep no records, so there’s nothing that will come up in any legal discovery process. (Although, as you know, UMKC’s email and voicemail communications can’t be considered confidential.) Also, the only people who will know about your visit are you and me, unless you choose to tell someone else. The confidentiality standard requires I neither confirm nor deny who’s been to see me.
Obviously, to effectively help Ombuds visitors, confidentiality is critical, and exceptions to it are very limited: If I believe there is “imminent risk of serious harm to an individual or the University,” I need to report that to the appropriate person. Also, if it’s clear you’re reporting illegal discrimination or harassment, I’m required to contact UMKC’s Office of Affirmative Action. In my nearly six years as Faculty Ombuds, very, very few visitors have fallen into either of these “exceptional” categories.
As Ombuds, my goal is that by telling me your story, you’ll have both a clearer understanding of the situation and some ideas about how to move forward in a positive direction. In my next few blog posts, I’ll explain the other Standards of Practice.
So if you want an avenue to confidentially try to resolve any work-related issue, please contact me at facultyombuds@umkc.edu. You can find more information on the Faculty Ombuds website.