The Baruch College Faculty Handbook

The Baruch College Ombuds

Last updated on 11/13/2002

The College Ombuds has the following areas of responsibility:

To help individuals (faculty, staff, or students) in specific cases to obtain just and equitable treatment;
To help administrative officers to improve their processes and procedure, not only to correct a particular inequity or injustice but also to prevent its recurrence;
To reconcile differences between conflicting parties and seek mutually acceptable solutions to specific cases of conflict;
To recommend such changes in procedures and practices as may be appropriate and to make periodic public reports. These reports shall respect the confidentiality of the persons involved.

The primary task of the Ombuds is to serve as a confidential investigator in any specific case of alleged inequity, unfairness or maladministration, and thereby to be the impartial spokesman, both to the person(s) making the complaint and to the person(s) against whose performance the allegation is brought.

In that capacity, the Ombuds is to have access to all relevant facts in the case, to enjoy the complete cooperation of the individual officer(s) of instruction or administration when it is requested, to receive cooperation from any complainant, to carry out work in privacy and with full respect for the rights and immunities of all parties, and having completed inquiries, to make such disposition of each case as, in his or her sole judgment, is best.

The Ombuds also makes recommendations for changes in rules, practices, procedures and regulations by of the college.

The office of the Ombuds does not replace the normal administrative or faculty procedures.

The Baruch College Ombuds is Prof. Mindy Engle-Friedman (Psychology). Contact Prof. Engle-Friedman at 646-312-3815 or Mindy_Engle-friedman@baruch.cuny.edu.