About the Ombuds Office

The Ombudsperson provides a variety of impartial processes for Kenyon employees to manage and resolve conflicts informally, independently and confidentially. Through these processes, the Ombudsperson seeks to promote fairness, open communication, collaboration and principled negotiation across all divisions and departments of the College. While the Ombudsperson is an employee of the College, the position preserves its neutrality in that it reports no specific contacts or matters to the president. Rather, the Ombudsperson reports annually on general patterns of interactions and trends in conflict and communication at the College.

The Ombudsperson:

• Listens to employees' informal complaints and discusses alternatives for resolving conflicts informally and independently
• Provides written resources on conflict management to employees
• Facilitates conversations among disputing employees
• Mediates disputes among employees, including mandatory mediation preceding faculty grievance hearings, and
• Helps offices and departments to resolve group conflict

The Kenyon Ombudsperson is a ¼ time position and therefore available by appointment Monday - Thursday.

Contact

The Kenyon College Ombuds Office
Carrie Knell, Ombudsperson
201 Allen House
PBX 5867
knellc@kenyon.edu