Faculty Ombuds

Faculty Ombuds

Prof. Thibaut Schilt, Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Phone: 508-793-2609
Email: tschilt@holycross.edu 
Please note that email is not a confidential mode of communication.
Faculty Ombuds Office: An appropriate site for a confidential discussion is arranged with each faculty visitor.

Professor Thibaut Schilt joined the College in 2007, was tenured and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2013, and was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2022. In addition to his scholarly achievements, Professor Schilt has served on several College councils and committees, including the Committee on Tenure and Promotion, the Academic Affairs Council, the Committee on the Curriculum, and the Committee on Faculty Affairs. In addition to his regular advising, he has served as faculty mentor to ALANA/Passport and LGBTQIA+ students, and has been a member of Outfront: A Holy Cross LGBTQIA+ Faculty and Staff Alliance.

Faculty Ombuds

Prof. Stephanie Yuhl, Department of History
Phone: 508-793-2783
Email: syuhl@holycross.edu 
Please note that email is not a confidential mode of communication.
Faculty Ombuds Office: An appropriate site for a confidential discussion is arranged with each faculty visitor.

Professor Stephanie Yuhl joined the College in 2000, was tenured in 2006, and was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2013. In addition to her scholarly achievements, Prof. Yuhl has served on several committees and in administrative leadership roles working closely with a wide range of faculty at the College. Professor Yuhl’s work with students was recognized with the Mary Louise Marfuggi Award for Academic Advisement in 2011 and the Donal J. Burns ’49 Career Teaching Medal in 2017. She was also recently named as the incoming Arthur Garrity Professor of Human Nature, Ethics and Society.

The Faculty Ombuds: Four Core Principles

Informal

The Faculty Ombuds provides a confidential channel to discuss issues of concern without fear of retribution. The Faculty Ombuds does not offer advice but rather seeks to help individuals determine how to best address their concerns. The Faculty Ombuds has no authority to alter the College’s policies or procedures or the outcomes of proceedings under these policies and procedures.

The informal nature of the Office means that a conversation with the Faculty Ombuds does not constitute legal notice to the institution regarding the faculty member’s concerns. Specifically, the Faculty Ombuds Office is not an office of notice. If an individual wishes to provide official notice to the College of the existence of a problem, this must be done through the appropriate office of the College. The Faculty Ombuds can provide assistance in determining which office to contact.

Independent

The Office of the Faculty Ombuds lies outside of the normal administrative structures of the College. It operates independently. The Office does not serve as an advocate for, or representative of, any person and cannot participate in any adjudicative procedures.

Neutral

The Faculty Ombuds seeks to be impartial in all matters and seeks fair and equitably administered processes. To protect the confidentiality of interactions with faculty members, the annual report of the Office of the Faculty Ombuds provides no identifying information and will be made in accordance with the standards of the International Ombuds Association. The primary purpose of the annual report is to indicate the types of issues that are leading members of the faculty to contact the Office of the Faculty Ombuds. It is the responsibility of the Faculty Ombuds to raise awareness of these issues and to recommend the review of policies or issues affecting the faculty where appropriate. The Faculty Ombuds does not oversee the implementation of any College policies and will not participate directly in the review of College policies.

Confidential

Communications with the Office of the Faculty Ombuds are considered confidential, and the Office will take all reasonable steps to safeguard the confidentiality of all communications. The Office of the Faculty Ombuds will not reveal the name of any faculty member visiting the office or reveal information that could lead to the identification of that faculty member. The Faculty Ombuds will only pursue actions related to the concerns of the faculty member if expressly asked to do so by the faculty member.

As a matter of policy, the College of the Holy Cross will not contact the Office of the Faculty Ombuds to request disclosure of information related to confidential conversations. Respecting the role of the Office as an informal resource for faculty, the College will not compel the Office of the Faculty Ombuds to disclose information as a part of any investigation or adjudicative process. In the same way, faculty members who use the Office will be considered to have agreed to abide by these principles and will not seek to compel the Faculty Ombuds to testify in regards to any confidential communications. The College is committed to upholding the confidentiality of all communications with the Office.

The Office of the Faculty Ombuds will not maintain any official records containing identifying information. Any notes that the Faculty Ombuds creates are unofficial, temporary, and subject to destruction.

The only exception to the pledge of confidentiality with respect to communications with the Office of the Faculty Ombuds is if there is an imminent risk of serious physical harm to someone and there is no reasonable alternative to contacting the appropriate authorities to prevent this harm. The determination of the risk of harm is made by the Faculty Ombuds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Faculty Ombuds?
The term “ombudsman” is of Swedish origin and literally means “representative.” The role of the Holy Cross Faculty Ombuds is to facilitate the resolution of concerns that members of the faculty may have. The Faculty Ombuds is available to listen and help to clarify faculty concerns and then to assist faculty members in identifying potential options to resolve these concerns.

Who can utilize the services of the Faculty Ombuds?
The College of the Holy Cross Faculty Ombuds Office is available to assist any member of the faculty. The Office is not available to staff, students, or administrators who are not members of the faculty. Members of these groups should contact either Human Resources or Student Affairs to seek assistance.

What types of issues can be brought to the Faculty Ombuds?
Faculty can bring any concerns related to Holy Cross to the Faculty Ombuds. Examples of issues that Faculty Ombuds frequently address at other colleges and universities include: uncertainty related to College policies and procedures, workplace conditions, harassment, unfair treatment, interpersonal problems with colleagues or administrators, personal problems affecting work, and issues related to promotion or tenure.

How do I contact the Faculty Ombuds?
Faculty members should contact the Faculty Ombuds via phone (see phone numbers listed for each Faculty Ombuds) to make an appointment to meet. You may choose to make an appointment via email. However, email is not a confidential form of communication, and the individual should be careful not to include any specific information regarding their concerns in the body of the email. Once an appointment has been made, the Faculty Ombuds will arrange to meet the client confidentially in an appropriate site.