Want to talk? Our Ombuds are available.
We take appointments in person, over Zoom, and by phone.
Our Team
Our Ombuds Office staff work as a team to provide services to students, staff, and faculty associated with the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville campus. This non-traditional team approach is grounded in the following principles:
- All our services are equally valuable to our office mission/vision and our community: visitor consultations, educational programming, and organizational change supports.
- All Team members can serve all constituents: students, staff, faculty, & leaders, as well as those in our wider community and profession.
- Each of us is capable of, and should feel safe to, provide & request help with any task, across any ombuds service area.
- All of us can, and do, serve as Learners, Collaborators, & Coaches for each other.
Mission, Vision, & Values
In our work, the Ombuds Team is guided by our Mission and Vision and Values. In addition, as a Team/Office, we:
- are purposeful and data-based in our strategic planning.
- engage in continuous improvement of services and processes.
- embrace a growth mindset for both individuals and our Ombuds Office
- strive to actively serve as a model to the wider UT System community and the Organizational Ombuds profession.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Office of Ombuds Services operates under the principles of the International Ombuds Association, including the core values of independence, impartiality, informality, and confidentiality. The ombuds is a purely voluntary resource for you; you choose when you want to work with us. This means that you may share information with the ombuds without initiating any formal university process. The ombuds does not routinely keep records of information that you share. When you decide to work with an ombuds, you agree to the principles under which the Office operates. This means that the Ombuds will not appear as a witness in a proceeding internal to the university. Statements made or information provided to a member of the ombuds office do not constitute notice to the university of any potential claim or concern.