Fires Shutter Ombuds Offices

The fires raging across Southern California have closed ombuds offices at several institutions: UC San Diego, San Diego State University, and California State University San Bernardino, and San Diego Unified School District. Most campuses are expected to be closed through the end of the week. (Chronicle of Higher Ed.; LA Times.)

Collectively, these offices employ ten ombuds and staff. Certainly many were evacuated from their homes, and our thoughts and hopes go out to them.

New Interim Ombuds at UC Riverside

The University of California, Riverside has appointed Indu Sen as Interim Campus Ombuds. Sen graduated from UCR in 1997 and then earned a JD from the University of San Diego Law School in 2001. Sen is a LLM candidate at Pepperdine University School of Law's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. Most recently, she worked in the ombuds office at UC Irvine.

New Ombuds at UCSB

The Ombuds Office at the University of California, Santa Barbara has hired Kirsi Aulin as an Associate Ombuds. Aulin earned a B.A. in French Literature from Bryn Mawr College and an M.S. in Counseling Psychology from California State University at Northridge. She is also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Most recently, Aulin worked with UCSB students at Student Health Service. (Thanks, Priscilla.)

Related Job Posting: UC Santa Barbara.

Santa Rosa JC to Create Ombuds in Response to Grand Jury Report

In August, Santa Rosa Junior College's Board of Trustees agreed to "consider the grand jury report recommendation on the employment of an ombudsman." (Board Agenda, see p. 7, Agenda Item 9.) This week, the college began accepting applications for a position to support a new department, which includes an office of "Ombudsperson Services." (Santa Rosa Jobs.) Efforts to locate other information regarding the grand jury report or how the new office will be structured have been unavailing.

New Ombuds at UC Santa Barbara

The Ombuds Office at the University of California, Santa Barbara has hired Kirsi Aulin as an Associate Ombuds. Aulin earned a B.A. in French Literature from Bryn Mawr College and an M.S. in Counseling Psychology from California State University at Northridge. She is also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Most recently, Aulin worked with UCSB students at Student Health Service. (Thanks, Priscilla.)

Job Posting: UC Irvine

The University of California, Irvine, is accepting applications for an associate ombudsman. The position will be part of the large UCI office providing ombuds and mediation services to the entire campus community in compliance with IOA standards. A master's degree or bachelor's with relevant experience is desired. Salary range: $58,262-76,729; no closing date. (UCI Jobs, Req No.: 2007-1285.)

Fall Caucus: Protecting the Ombudsman Confidentiality Privilege

The Fall caucus will be hosted by the Los Angeles World Airports Ombuds Office on Tuesday, October 30. Find out how your methods of communication, marketing and office procedures can make or break a challenge to your confidentiality. Lunch will feature presentations by special guests from legal departments. For more information and reservations, please contact Theresa or John at (310) 646-7621. (Thanks, John.)

New Ombuds at UCLA

The UCLA Office of Ombuds Services has announced the appointment of Tom Kosakowski as Associate Ombudsperson for the campus and Ombudsperson for the Center for Health Sciences. Previously, Tom established the ombuds office at Claremont Graduate University and was the interim director for the ombuds office at Riverside.