University of Colorado at Boulder Chancellor Richard Byyny has announced that former biology professor Jane Bock will join Bob Fink and Jack Kelso in serving as a faculty ombudsperson.
Bock, professor emeritus of EPO biology, retired in 1998 after 30 years of teaching at the university. She was the 1998 recipient of the Hazel Barnes Prize and is a former co-chair of the Sexual Harassment Committee.
Faculty ombudspersons offer a confidential, impartial and equitable means for faculty to deal with problems that may arise with individuals pursuing their professional careers.
The ombudspersons provide an alternative and informal method of addressing conflicts and issues that might otherwise be avoided, taken up by formal procedures of committees -- including privilege and tenure -- or dealt with in court. They also are a repository of information about university policies and can recommend policy changes to campus administrators.
Faculty ombudspersons are available at the request of faculty to help deal with factional conflicts, prepare for the review of certain programs by disclosing potential problems, help academic systems through difficult decisions and formulate policies and set goals.
As retired faculty, the faculty ombudspersons have the time and experience to help manage problems that may be too burdensome for working faculty to pursue entirely on their own.
The faculty ombuds program is affiliated with the CU-Boulder Ombuds Office, which has services for all members of the CU-Boulder campus community. All ombudspersons at CU-Boulder follow the ethical principles of the university and College Ombuds Association.
Bock is available six hours a week during the fall semester and 12 hours a week during the spring semester. For more information or to make an appointment with Bock call (303) 492-7758.