The ombudsperson shall be a member of the University Faculty whose primary responsibility is to ensure the prompt and fair handling of all alleged instances of unethical conduct in research.

The ombudsperson shall receive all complaints and transmit them to the appropriate parties, and shall ensure that inquiries and investigations are conducted properly. The ombudsperson shall serve as advisor on the procedures to be followed, shall be kept informed at all stages of the progress of the proceedings, shall receive copies of all reports and decisions, and shall keep records of the initiation and resolution of all allegations.

The ombudsperson shall be a senior, tenured, associate or full professor who is not a school chair or a member of the administration. Professors emeriti and retirees are not excluded from consideration if they have fulfilled the above requirements during their active membership in the faculty. If the duties of the ombudsperson are significant, the ombudsperson shall be assured of sufficient released time to fulfill the ombudsperson’s responsibilities. The ombudsperson must be knowledgeable about University governance and intimately familiar with ethical principles of research. The ideal ombudsperson should be respected for integrity and discretion.

The ombudsperson shall be selected if and when needed by the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs in consultation with the University President from a list of no more than six nominees prepared by the Steering Committee of the Faculty Senate. An associate ombudsperson, selected from the same list by the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, shall be named to assume the ombudsperson’s duties in the ombudsperson’s absence. The associate ombudsperson shall not be from the same college as the ombudsperson and shall assume the ombudsperson’s duties whenever allegations are brought against a member of the ombudsperson’s college. An associate ombudsperson shall be appointed if an ombudsperson is appointed.

Once appointed, the ombudsperson and associate ombudsperson shall serve for a term of no less than 12 months.