University Ombuds Office
Important update: Ombuds office transition and interim support
CMU is between ombuds practitioners. A search for the next Ombuds will likely soon commence.
In the meantime, the ombuds office email and voicemail will not be monitored. President’s Office staff member, Krista Holtgreive, will serve as a part-time University liaison helping inquirers identify the appropriate office or individual for assistance with their concern. Please know that a liaison is not an ombuds and will not function as such, for example, privacy will be respected but confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in the interim.
Krista can be contacted at holtg1ks@cmich.edu using the email subject line “A Concern” and if necessary, by phone at 989-774-7392. Connecting students with available resources must take priority, however staff and faculty will not be turned away.
The University Ombuds is an organizational ombuds who functions as a designated neutral for students, staff, faculty, and other university affiliates. Visitors can expect to be welcomed into a safe space in which to speak openly of any university-related concern, difficulty, conflict, or uncertainty they are experiencing.
The Ombuds will work with visitors to provide confidential*, informal, impartial, and independent assistance in:
- Identifying viable options, appropriate resources, and relevant policy/process to consider should they seek resolution or remedy.
- Resolving interpersonal disputes or better understanding differences. When all parties voluntarily seek to do so, facilitated dialogue or informal mediation may be appropriate.
- Exploring matters of concern with a thought-partner, positioned to help consider possibilities and potential outcomes.
- Capacity-building for visitors who want to communicate concerns - directly and more effectively - with colleagues, peers, and supervisors.
*In accordance with the International Ombuds Association’s Standards of Practice, the Ombuds may disclose confidential information when a failure to do so may result in imminent risk of harm. The Ombuds is designated by CMU as a Confidential Resource per its Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct Policy.
Conflict happens
For students, staff, and faculty alike, interpersonal conflict can arise in classrooms, office spaces, departmental areas, among teammates, in residential settings, while attending university events, or in using other campus facilities and services.
Even for those who are conflict-averse, understanding when avoiding a conflict may be useful and conversely, when it may be especially problematic, aids in increasing self-awareness and ultimately, in building strategic and relational decision-making capabilities.
Engaging conflict
Identifying our own primary conflict style (how we standardly respond to disagreement, difficulties, and tensions) is a logical first step in learning to more comfortably and constructively manage, navigate, or resolve conflict.
Do you recognize your primary style? Click below to learn more about the Thomas-Kilmann conflict-model.
Ombuds Day is celebrated annually on the second Thursday of October. The theme this October 10TH is Ombuds: Here to Hear You. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is honoring the day by issuing her 2024 proclamation.
And for your consideration, click the button below for a brief informational on the difference between hearing and listening, as well as the power of deeply or actively listening.
Mission statement
The Central Michigan University Ombudsperson serves the institution in accordance with its core values of integrity, respect, compassion, inclusiveness, social responsibility, excellence, and innovation by welcoming students, staff, and faculty into a confidential space for discussion regarding university-related matters of concern. The Ombuds assists in opening avenues of communication for those in pursuit of resolution and in promoting fair and equitable treatment for all members of the CMU community.