2021-2022 Report of the Office of the Ombuds

Jennifer Pinto-Martin, University Ombuds

Introduction

The return to campus following COVID has had both benefits and challenges.  While re-engaging with colleagues and students has been rewarding, the return to campus after over two years of virtual communication among faculty, students, and staff has introduced increased potential for friction.

Many schools and units on campus continue to debate whether to support some form of off-site work, whether it be fulltime onsite, fulltime remote, or hybrid. COVID-related policies and decisions and their interpretation and application continue to evolve as the pandemic waxes and wanes. There is a growing awareness of the impact of these changes on the entire Penn community.

The Office of the Ombuds is a confidential, informal, impartial, and independent resource available to assist faculty, students, and staff who are endeavoring to address these and other issues involving conflicts, disputes, and obstacles to one’s successful engagement as a member of the Penn community.

The Year in Review

The number of visitors to the Office of the Ombuds increased from 153 in 2020-2021 to 186 during the 2021-2022 academic year, an increase of 20.56%. Employment-related matters continue to represent the majority of issues brought to the office (46% of issues discussed). Staff made up 45% of total visits to the office. See Table 1. Common concerns among staff included organizational climate; toxic work environments; lack of transparency about decisions; discipline and performance issues; lack of collegiality; job classification issues; issues with job opportunities; and COVID-related policies and decisions. See Table 2.

We also saw an increase in the number of visitors from the faculty ranks (16% of total visits) and from graduate and professional students (24% of total visits). Among faculty, some of the key issues we heard about included the following: job security and related issues; tenure and promotion issues; contract renewal and interpretation; and faculty recruitment and related practices. Reports of lack of collegiality and bad behavior (abusive, demeaning, bullying, demoralizing behaviors; racist behaviors; and microaggressions) were also common. Issues related to authorship and intellectual property were also raised.

With respect to graduate and professional students, recurring themes included issues such as: advisor and faculty relations; poor communications; programmatic structure and content; and student fit in programs and termination from programs. Behavioral issues involving peers and faculty (abusive, demeaning, bullying, demoralizing behaviors; microaggressions) were also commonly reported.

Following the pattern of the past several years, a prominent concern brought to the Office of the Ombuds pertained to behavioral matters (24% of issues reported), from all corners of the University community. These included abrasive, abusive, and inappropriate behaviors; microaggressions; bullying; racist behavior; sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct; and discrimination. For example, 7.8% percent of visitors reporting employment concerns also reported associated behavioral issues. Similarly, four of the 46 visitors with academic concerns (8.7%) also reported associated behavioral issues.

Members of the Penn community who are in a position of influencing the culture and climate of the organizational unit to which they belong or lead are encouraged to be mindful of the importance of collegiality and respectful treatment of others, to model those behaviors, and to take action when bad behaviors occur. Penn is a collection of over 50,000 human beings and conflicts and disputes will inevitably occur. The problematic behaviors we learn about in the Office of the Ombuds do not have to follow. We encourage members of the Penn community who find themselves in conflict or a dispute with others to reach out to the Office of the Ombuds before the matter escalates, when an amicable resolution can still be achieved. A description of the types of assistance we provide is available in Table 3.

During the past academic year, we also engaged in educational programming at several schools and units in order to raise awareness about the role of the Ombuds and ways that the office can be used to resolve conflict. In addition, several educational sessions on microaggressions and bullying and mediating conflict were offered and were very well received.

I want to personally extend my deepest appreciation to Marcia Martinez-Helfman, who has announced her retirement and will be leaving once we have a successor in place. Marcia has been a steadfast and committed partner to the faculty Ombuds for over 11 years and I have enjoyed working with her and learning from her. Wishing her all the best in the next phase of her life!

Table 1: Visitors by Rule

Table 3: Types of Engagement with Visitors