Director, Conflict Resolution Services And University Ombuds

Cal Poly Pomona

 

Cal Poly Pomona, recognized as one of the most diverse regional universities in the Western United States as well as nationwide, offers an affordable, life-changing education. Less than 30 miles east of Los Angeles, the campus enjoys the excitement of a diverse metropolitan area while retaining the serenity of a foothill community. As a polytechnic university, Cal Poly Pomona utilizes a technology-enhanced, learn-by-doing approach to education. Students enjoy endless opportunities for involvement in a vibrant and diverse community. A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Cal Poly Pomona is among the top 25 colleges in conferring baccalaureate degrees to Hispanic students.

Cal Poly Pomona opened on September 15, 1938, with an all-male enrollment of 110 students as the Voorhis Unit of California State Polytechnic College in San Luis Obispo. It was located on the150-acre San Dimas site of the former Voorhis School for Boys. Breakfast cereal magnate, W.K. Kellogg, deeded 813 acres of land located three miles south of the Voorhis campus to the state of California in 1949. In 1956, 508 students and 44 faculty and staff moved from San Dimas to the Kellogg campus. In a first for the all- male campus, 329 women joined the student body in 1961. The Pomona campus separated from the San Luis Obispo campus in 1966 and became California State Polytechnic College, Kellogg Campus. University status was granted in 1972. Today, the university is part of the 23-campus California State University system. Cal Poly Pomona has nearly 30,000 students and 2,700 faculty and staff.

Cal Poly Pomona's history and geography are unlike any other university in the region. Nowhere else can students ride an Arabian horse, practice on a Steinway piano, bring a new product to market, and build a liquid-fueled rocket. Benefitting from a campus community that embraces and learns from the richness of its members' myriad lived experiences, Cal Poly Pomona is alive with academic, social, and volunteer and career development opportunities. Faculty in all disciplines put theory to practice, providing students with opportunities to apply their knowledge in hands-on projects, research collaborations, and valuable internship and service-learning programs.

 

University Rankings

Cal Poly Pomona is among the best public universities in the West and is nationally ranked for helping students achieve economic success. As an inclusive polytechnic university, Cal Poly Pomona cultivates success through experiential learning, discovery, and innovation. Cal Poly Pomona embraces local and global challenges and transforms lives. When it comes to quality education, affordability, and career prospects for graduates, Cal Poly Pomona consistently ranks among the best universities in the country. While each ranking is a snapshot of achievement, taken collectively, they provide a picture of a diverse, learn-by-doing university whose students graduate with the skills needed to succeed in a dynamic, evolving work environment.

Money Magazine recognized Cal Poly Pomona as one of the "2024 Best Colleges in America," receiving

4.5 out of 5 stars based on quality of education, affordability, and student outcomes. U.S. News & World Report 2024 Best Colleges ranks Cal Poly Pomona as No. 3 among "Regional Universities West," a region that covers 15 states, as well as No. 2 among "Top Public Schools in the West" and No. 2 on the "Best Colleges for Veterans" in the region. Money Magazine ranked the College of Business Administration No. 5 in California and No. 30 in the nation on its 2022 "Best Colleges for Business Majors."  Forbes' third annual "America's Best Value College" list ranks Cal Poly Pomona among the best in the nation for a student's return on investment.  The university was No. 59 among the 300 schools that made the list.

  Social Mobility

Cal Poly Pomona's success in admitting and graduating students from lower-economic backgrounds is also receiving attention. The Wall Street Journal listed the university as the top polytechnic and No. 11 on its list of "2024 best U.S. Colleges for Social Mobility." The Washington Monthly ranked Cal Poly Pomona as the top polytechnic and No. 14 in its ranking for "2023 Best Bang for the BuckColleges." CollegeNet ranked the university No. 17 in the nation on its "2022 Social Mobility Index."

Diverse Student Body

Diverse Issues in Higher Education recognized Cal Poly Pomona as No. 20 in the nation for the most bachelor's degrees awarded to minoritized students on its "2022 Top 100 Degrees Conferred" list. The university was also No. 13 for bachelor's degrees earned by Hispanic students and No. 20 for bachelor's degrees earned by Asian American students.

Recognition of Individual Program Excellence

U.S. News & World Report recognized the College of Engineering at No. 9 among the nation's "2024 Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs" where a doctorate was not offered, and No. 3 in the state.

Several individual departments were also in the top 10: No. 2 Computer Engineering, No. 3 Mechanical Engineering and Electrical/Electronic/Computer Engineering, and No. 4 Civil Engineering. The Collins College of Hospitality Management is ranked No. 5 in CEO World Magazine's 2023 "Best Hospitality and Hotel Management Schools in The World" list. The list goes on, with many additional colleges, departments, and programs ranking highly in the region and the nation.

 

University Leadership

The new Director of Conflict Resolution Services and University Ombuds will have a reporting line directly to President Soraya Coley.

Dr. Soraya M. Coley became the sixth president of Cal Poly Pomona in January 2015 after more than twenty years of leadership in higher education, pledging to be a leader who is "student-centered, faculty- and staff-focused, and community-minded". Dr. Coley, the first woman to be named president of Cal Poly Pomona, ushered in a new era of strategic leadership for the campus, establishing a vision for Cal Poly Pomona as a model for an inclusive polytechnic university that inspires creativity, discovery, and innovation, embraces local and global challenges, and transforms lives. In 2023, she received the American Council on Education (ACE) Donna Shavlik Award that honors an individual who demonstrates a sustained commitment to advancing women in higher education through leadership and career development, campus climate, and mentoring. She has served as the ACE Southern California Women's Network presidential sponsor for four years. In 2022, she was listed as one of the Los Angeles Business Journal 500 - a list of the most influential and most impactful professionals in the Los Angeles region.

 

The Leadership Opportunity

The Director of Conflict Resolution Services and University Ombuds will be a campus-wide leader in strengthening the campus culture and climate and enlivening a sense of community and belonging.  CPP's 2017 Strategic Plan affirms its institutional values of fostering an inclusive, welcoming and respectful environment where we nurture relationships and where our individual and collective actions reflect our commitment to one another. As an expression of these values, a strategic initiative focused on advancing organizational development and employee excellence aims to foster a culture of care for employees that is people-centered and helps to develop their skills and talents. 

In alignment with the Strategic Plan, the position has emerged from two years of extensive internal dialogue culminating in a renewed institutional commitment to creating a coordinated set of aligned people-centered functions that collectively will contribute to a healthy campus culture and climate and a responsive, accountable institution.

In March of 2023, President Coley charged a working group of administrators to advance a proposal for a recommended structure, staffing, goals, services, and outcomes for a university Conflict Resolution/Ombuds function that would address broad community concerns from students, staff, and faculty. This charge followed the submission of the report of an Academic Senate Working Group on Conflict Management/Dispute Resolution/Mediation in December 2022, which was focused specifically on the needs of faculty, as well as the preliminary recommendations from the CSU System's Title IX/DHR Assessment.

Mindful of both immediate needs and the desired future scope of the function to serve the community, the university working group convened several meetings in the spring of 2023 during which they reviewed best practices, considered structures and models in place at other institutions, reviewed desired qualifications for personnel, and sought understanding of the operational assets currently in place at CPP.  After discussions with the Academic Senate, college deans and department chairs as well as other key campus stakeholders - in  which all agreed upon the seriousness of purpose for the new office - the university working group recommended a model that will effectively serve faculty, staff, and students. These efforts resulted in the creation of a multi-year plan to develop the Office of Conflict Resolution Services and University Ombuds.  The first step in that plan is to hire a new Director/Ombuds to lead efforts to translate the university's vision and plan for these services into action. 

The Director is charged with shaping and realizing the vision for Conflict Resolution Services & Ombuds as an accessible entry point for all community members with a dual purpose of listening/providing guidance as well as building the capacity of individuals and groups to navigate and resolve conflicts.  In leading and developing the newly created office, the Director/Ombuds will play a critical role in empowering members of the CPP community to manage conflict effectively by developing individuals'  skills needed for productive dialogue, collaborative relationships, and healthy learning and work environments.

The Director/Ombuds will report directly to the President.  They will also operate independently of line and staff reporting structures. To promote access and the Director's ability to engage in problem-solving, they will be a part of the newly created organizational unit of People, Culture, and Institutional Affairs (PCIA).  PICA includes the following units, each sharing a commitment to fostering collaboration and communities of practice:

• Office of the President
• Employee & Organizational Development & Advancement 
• Employee Labor Relations
• Office of Equity and Compliance
• Inclusive Excellence
• Strategic Communications
• Conflict Resolution Services and Ombuds

 

In addition, the Director/Ombuds will retain critical partnerships and collaboration with the Dean of Students and Faculty Affairs. 

 

The Office of Conflict Resolution Services & Ombuds

Informed by internal work already completed on the vision, purpose, and scope of services, the Director/Ombuds will further shape the direction and implement the plan for creating the Office of Conflict Resolution Services and Ombuds.  

Vision and Purpose:

The purpose is to promote mutual respect, civility, and support an ethical and responsive culture for members of the CPP community by providing confidential, impartial, and informal Conflict Resolution Services, problem-solving support, recommendations to appropriate resources and tools, and guidance on questions or concerns related to university structure, policies, procedures, and practices.

Proposed Scope of Services:

• Provide proactive training and development for members of the campus community in healthy workplace interactions, well-being practices, navigating difficult conversations and constructive Conflict Resolution.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner in identifying solutions to problems.
• Help to identify areas and sources of conflict.
• Provide resources and information about university policies and systems.
• Provide referrals to and/or offering a range of options for addressing issues and concerns, such as facilitated conversations, conflict coaching, restorative justice circling, alternative dispute resolution, informal climate assessments, and mediation.
• Identify themes of concern for university leadership and recommend associated approaches to address them including changes to policies and practices.

2024: Year 1 Goals/Objectives

• Hire and onboard office support staff.
• Assess immediate campus needs in light of and beyond the existing working group recommendations.
• Establish relationships with campus partners and collaborators.
• Develop mission and vision for the office in alignment with the university's strategic plan.
• Develop and formalize Office Charter.
• Develop initial programmatic offerings (in consideration of existing resources) and begin providing services.
• Implement campus selected case management solution.
• Formalize the community of practice and develop a routine process for collaboration and consultation.
• Develop and communicate internal procedures and standards of operation.
• Educate the campus and raise awareness/visibility of the Office.  

2025: Year 2 Goals/Objectives

• Continue assessment and prioritization of needs.
• Scale programmatic offerings and services in response to community needs.
• Develop assessment plan (utilization and satisfaction).
• Develop reporting mechanisms and provide a schedule for sharing insights on patterns and areas of concern with university leadership and with the campus.
• Scale staffing to include student and/or faculty fellows and additional professional staffing as emerging needs require.

 

Required Qualifications 

Education:

• Master's degree from an accredited university and/or college in one of the following: law, counseling psycholo...