HOW CAN AN EMPLOYEE OMBUDS HELP?
The ombuds (pronunciation: om-budz) can assist in resolving difficult issues by offering a range of services. The ombuds can:
- Listen to concerns without judgment; help in clarifying thoughts, feelings and goals; and assist in creating strategies for resolving problems/conflicts
- Answer questions or refer visitors to someone who can
- Identify and help analyze problems and explore and evaluate options for addressing them; visitors to our office choose their path of resolution.
- Informally mediate disputes or facilitate discussions between individuals or groups
- Address issues prior to using existing formal channels offered by the college
- Provide coaching on effective conflict management
- Explain related college policies, procedures and processes
The ombuds cannot:
- Participate/conduct any internal or external formal investigations or hearings
- Represent or advocate for any individual or the college
- Offer legal advice or psychological counseling
- Disclose identifying information about visitors unless given permission by the visitor or required by law
- Receive official notice on behalf of the college
Who We Are: we are a team of four, part-time, independent contractor ombudspersons who together provide ombuds services for all employees of the MATC community.
Saadia Ahmad (she/her/hers) brings over a decade of experience in conflict resolution as a mediator, conflict coach, dialogue facilitator, and instructor in higher education, nonprofit, government, and corporate contexts, having first become involved in this work during her undergraduate years as a Muslim at a Catholic college. She is a graduate of Providence College, where she is also an adjunct professor, and holds a master’s degree in conflict resolution from the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she received the Ambassador John W. McDonald Departmental Award for Leadership and Innovation in Global Governance and Conflict Resolution. Saadia has received mediation and facilitation certifications from the Social Justice Mediation Institute, Soliya and UN Habitat, the University of Rhode Island’s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, and the Community Mediation Center of Rhode Island. She has also written for publications such as The Boston Globe and America Magazine.
Kerry Egdorf was the ombuds at Marquette University for twelve years and has taught communication courses for 24 years. She has a B.B.A., in Management and M.A., in Communication from the University of Oklahoma; a Ph.D., in Communication from Ohio University; and a graduate certificate in dispute resolution from Marquette.
Kerry has served on multiple committees of the International Ombuds Association and the California Caucus of College and University Ombuds, and on the Board of Directors for the International Ombuds Association.
Sarah Farrukh, J.D., is a mediator and joined MATC in 2022 as an Ombudsperson. She earned her B.S. in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her J.D. with certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Marquette University Law School. She was introduced to the ombuds world during law school and earned a certificate in the Foundations of Organizational Ombudsman from the International Ombudsman Association. Currently, she is a volunteer long-term care ombudsperson with Senior Services Association.
CONTACT US
Employees may contact the Office of the Ombudsperson to schedule an appointment by emailing employeeombuds@matc.edu, and an ombuds will reach out to schedule an appointment. Confidential information should not be emailed.
EMAIL: employeeombuds@matc.edu
Please be aware that email is not a secure or confidential method of communication.
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment - 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST. Early morning and early evening times are also available.
OMBUDS SERVICES DISCLAIMER
By electing to voluntarily use the ombuds services, visitors agree to abide by the terms of use and not record any conversations with the ombuds and not seek to compel the ombudsperson to disclose any information received as a part of providing ombuds services in any other forum, such as a formal complaint proceeding or in a court of law.