University officials say they plan to post the recently vacated ombudsman position opening within the next few days, after longtime faculty member Stan Soffin stepped down Monday.
Soffin officially retired from his position as ombudsman after 13 years of service. The ombudsman is responsible for working with faculty members, students and administrators to address and resolve conflicts related to everything from academic integrity to proper interpretation of university rules and regulations.
Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education Doug Estry and other officials in his office will coordinate the search for the new ombudsman on behalf of the MSU Office of the Provost and the Office of the President.
In the meantime, Assistant Ombudsman Sandra Harley will serve in the interim position.
Harley is ineligible for the permanent posting due to university bylaws, which state the ombudsman must come from either the ranks of university senior faculty or executive managers. The university hopes to permanently fill the position by the start of next semester.
“Certainly, I have in my past had equally responsible positions (at other universities and colleges), so it feels comfortable to me,” Harley said of the temporary promotion. “I feel that I’m looking forward to having the new ombudsman here.”
The specifics of the new job posting currently are being reviewed by Paulette Granberry Russell, senior adviser to the president for diversity and director of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives. A search committee will be formed shortly thereafter to carry out a review of applications once the job is posted.
“We’re hoping to have everything in place so the position announcement can go out … as close to Aug. 16 as possible,” Estry said.
MSU previously has had four ombudsmen in the office’s 44-year history, including the second university ombudsman in the country, former
faculty member James Rust. Rust served for seven years before stepping down in 1974. Soffin has served in the office since 1998.
As the university looks to fill Soffin’s shoes in the coming months, another key senior position remains in flux.
A search committee comprised of members of the University Committee on Faculty Affairs, or UCFA, continues to search for a replacement for outgoing faculty grievance official John Revitte. A former professor of work, leisure and labor studies at MSU, Revitte announced earlier this year he would step down. The job posting was announced this past May.
The faculty grievance official works closely with the UCFA and also the ombudsman to resolve rules violations, formal complaints and pay raise issues among faculty members and administrators.
Once the position is filled, the UCFA’s search committee will need to work closely with the newest incoming faculty grievance official, said Donna Zischke, the school’s associate director of academic human resources.
“Depending on who it is, they may have some things to arrange,” Zischke said.
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