The Ombudsperson

If a student feels that none of the above avenues are appropriate for hearing about his or her problem, the student can turn to the Ph.D. program's ombudsperson. The ombudsperson's role and responsibilities are

• To meet with students and listen to their problems
• To give advice, perhaps suggesting someone else to talk to or suggesting the next step to take
• To keep conversations confidential

The ombudsperson is supposed to be friendly, approachable, mature, a good listener, in his or her third year or higher (i.e., should ``know the ropes'' so to speak), and reasonable (of course!).

An ombudsperson is different from student DRC members since the DRC is an official committee. So, if a student has a personal problem (e.g., with his or her advisor), it may not be appropriate to talk to a student DRC representative about it (unless as just a friend). If the student feels uncomfortable approaching either of the Associate Department Heads about it, then the ombudsperson would be the perfect person to turn to.

Currently, the ombudsperson is Rob Reeder.