Stockton University Ombuds Office Annual Report FY 2024-25*

Karen A. Reardon, PhD, JD

Introduction

This annual report covers the FY 2024/25 during which the Ombuds Office was staffed by one 50 % part-time Ombuds Officer. This report details 12 months of activity which one should keep in mind when comparing it to the prior FY23/24 report which covered only 7 months of activity reflecting that this role was vacant for the first 5 months of FY23/24.

The Ombuds Office plays an important role for employees who seek a safe place to speak freely about concerns and challenges they have as members of the University community. When individuals bring problems to the Ombuds Office, I share office protocols and work to understand the circumstances that occasioned their outreach. We explore options to address their concerns through information gathering and coaching.  I refer visitors to university policies and internal resources, and, when appropriate, to external resources. A key strategy employed is to serve as a neutral intermediary or facilitator between and among parties who wish to discuss issues, concerns, and conflicts, either by facilitating conversation or through shuttle diplomacy whereby I act as a conduit between parties who are unable or unwilling to communicate directly. All interaction with  the  Ombuds Office is  fully voluntary  and discussions  are confidential, No  action  is  taken without  a visitor’s permission. Table 1 elaborates on the nature of the services offered.

The Year in Review

Most initial visitor outreach to the office occurred by email which I promptly acknowledge. At that time, visitors are provided with written guidelines for working with the Ombuds Office.  Almost all visitors met with the Ombuds Officer in person though a few asked to and connected remotely.

Visitors remarked that they reached out after reviewing the Ombuds Office web page, at the suggestion of a colleague, or because of outreach made by the Ombuds Officer at meetings such as those convened by the faculty and staff senates or unions, individual departments, committees and the Ombuds Office itself.

During the FY 2024/25, the office opened 86 visitor cases; the Ombuds Office interfaced with others involved for a total of 158 meetings with individuals in connection with those 86 cases. These meetings included 2 work group facilitations each involving 6+ people. Non-faculty union staff accounted for the largest proportion of visitors (40+%), followed by non-union staff (36%), faculty (17%), and leadership (President's and Provosts' Offices, VPs, Deans) (7%). See Table 2. Visitors to the office come from all divisions of the employee community. Table 3 shows the breakdown of visitors by affiliation to the University.

The Ombuds Office records the nature of issues brought forward using broad categories employed in the ombuds community to facilitate comparisons over time. The most frequent issues raised pertain  to general employment- related issues (e.g., job performance or compatibility, discipline, or interpersonal issues, conflict, miscommunication, managing up and supervisory coaching,  etc.) accounting for 30% of total issues followed by cases involving general university policy and procedures (14%) with personal behaviors (e.g., abusive, abrasive, and inappropriate conduct; discrimination; bullying, micromanagement) and general institutional issues each accounting for 12% of cases. See Table 4.

My analysis identified some consistent themes:

• Microaggressions, bullying, and inappropriate behavior are frequently reported. It is essential for behavioral expectations to be modeled by leaders consistent with the aspirational culture of care and dignity leadership model. Additionally, University-wide in-person training that addresses toxic work environments, bullying, discrimination, and microaggressions should be developed, presented, and mandated for all employees. In person training and development should be considered for all employees and not limited to management, to set a university-wide expectation for behaviors. Consideration should be given to expanding training and development staff to accomplish this goal.

• Lack of Confidence in Management Supervisors is a growing theme. Visitors report that supervisors are neglecting the duty to supervise where corrective action is needed and frequently engage in micromanagement which interferes with the employee’s ability to discharge responsibilities efficiently and effectively. Visitors question such supervisors’ competence. They continue to complain that supervisors, to hold onto power, are not allowing them to do material parts of their jobs by withholding access to data, information, or training. Consequently, I am seeing more visitors needing and wanting coaching as to how to “manage up and around.” 

The Ombuds Office is located in L208. It can be reached by email at ombuds@stockton.edu. Please consult the webpage for more information about the office and its activities. I respond to inquiries quickly and encourage anyone experiencing difficulties related to their work as a member of the Stockton community to contact the Ombuds Office. All outreach to the Ombuds Office is confidential except in matters involving child abuse, threat of imminent harm and violations of court order which the Ombuds Officer has a duty to report.

* Because individual visitors at times raise more than one issue, the total number of visitor issues (121) is greater than the total number of cases initiated during this period (86).

+This report was built on a template and report created by, and liberally uses language of, University of Pennsylvania Ombuds Dr. Jennifer Pinto-Martin.