Graham named Ombuds Officer

Graham, who has served as Associate Ombudsman since February 2008, is filling the vacancy left by Camilo Azcarate’s departure in October to become manager of mediation services at the World Bank.

Graham is abroad until Friday and could not be immediately reached for comment.

As Ombuds Officer, Graham will serve as a mediator and facilitator, helping to resolve a wide range conflicts and complaints brought forth by members of the University community. The ombuds officer typically works to resolve these concerns through individual and group counseling.

A recent high-profile dispute the Ombuds Office handled was brought to it last April after a fight broke out at the Wilson BlackBox.

“We facilitated the conversation between African-American males and females here on campus,” Graham said in an October interview with The Daily Princetonian. “That was a pretty volatile situation at the time.”

“Some conflicts are interpersonal — two employees have been having misunderstandings, and that grows into a contentious relationship, and we can help them,” Azcarate said in an interview Monday.

Azcarate admitted that while the Ombuds Office has the resources to offer support services to undergraduate students, many students do not utilize these resources as much as they could.

As Graham begins his work as Ombuds Officer, Azcarate had several recommendations for enhancing the quality of service provided by the Ombuds Office.

Graham could organize a computer system to coordinate electronic communication, enabling the office to better ensure confidentiality, Azcarate noted.

Addtionally, he said Graham could increase outreach to the campus community. “The Ombuds Office … is a great service, but it’s not well known,” Azcarate said. He added that finding time for outreach was often a challenge, but he said he felt that Graham would be well suited to promote the Ombuds Office.

“[Graham’s] really good at that kind of outreach. He’s a very charming person,” Azcarate said.

Azcarate also said Graham could expand the online conflict-management tutorial, which provides advice and suggestions for conflict resolution.