As University of Idaho Ombuds, Barbara Beatty”s primary job is to act as a confidential mediator in conflicts between members of the university community. That”s what inspires her go-to catchphrase whenever she meets someone new at the university.
“I hope I never see you again,” Beatty said. “But if I do, I”m there.”
Beatty began her new position earlier this month, and she said the UI Ombuds position is well-developed compared to other colleges, because the previous Ombuds Ellen Schreiber did such a good job.
While she is responsible for reporting to the university president, Beatty said she takes the confidentiality of the people she works with very seriously. She said she would not give specific names of people or departments in the report unless she”s given special permission by the individual.
“I would not compromise my confidentiality, because that”s the whole integrity of what ombuds is about,” Beatty said.
She said she originally was interested in psychology, but when she started working in that field she said it didn”t seem like a fit for her. When she considered her other options, she remembered how she enjoyed working in mediation part-time after completing a mediation course a few years before. The rest, she said, is history.
Upon arriving in Moscow, she said she was immediately appreciative of the community”s warm and welcoming environment.
“I love it here because of the sense of community, the friendliness, the openness,” she said. “It certainly makes your job easier if people welcome you.”
Beatty said UI is different from a lot of other higher education institutions because it only has one ombuds. In other colleges and universities there are several that are specifically tasked with dealing with conflicts for students, faculty, staff, administration or other areas deemed necessary.
Faculty, staff and administrators were also welcoming to her as the new university ombuds, which Beatty said is unique. Many times people are wary of ombuds because they associate them with negative situations.
Students aren”t as aware of the Ombuds Office or what it does, Beatty said. She said she plans to spend a good portion of the next academic year reaching out to students as a potential resource to them.
Beatty described herself as a high-energy, talkative individual who likes to have fun, even if her job is often a lonely one. Because of the importance of confidentiality when it comes to the cases she mediates, she said she can”t acknowledge that she knows people she”s worked with.
Despite this, she said she loves her job enough that a few meals sitting by herself in the Idaho Commons is all worth it.
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer