Shutdown comes seven months after prior five-year hiatus
By Ava Uhlack, March 23, 2026
The Office of Conflict Resolution and Ombuds has paused operations pending review, according to a statement from Cynthia Peters, director of media relations at Cal Poly Pomona.
Peters released this statement after The Poly Post inquired March 2 when a flyer was quietly posted on the Ombuds office door located in Building 1 without a formal university-wide announcement. She said the office is under assessment to ensure the university is providing the most impactful services. At this time, it is unknown why the office closed or how long the office will remain under review.
Interim President Iris Levine told CPP faculty about the closure at the Academic Senate meeting March 18 but did not reveal the explicit steps being taken to reevaluate or reopen the Ombuds office. Levine just said she, the provost and senior leadership are working as quickly as possible to find the right solution for faculty and students.
“This is one of the items that is really high on our list,” Levine said during the meeting. “We are looking at a number of different options.”
At that same meeting, senators voiced their own concerns and support of the office upon hearing of its closure. The Ombuds serves as a confidential resource for conflict resolution for the entirety of the campus community. All inquiries, conversations and meetings at the Ombuds office remain strictly protected records, according to previous Poly Post coverage of the reopening back in fall.
“I think this is super terrible,” said Senator Berit Givens from the College of Science. “If it weren’t for the Ombuds, I would not be here at Cal Poly today. Junior faculty often can be afraid of getting into conflict with senior faculty, not sure if they’re going to be retaliated against.”
Former Ombudsman Mark Patterson said in previous coverage the office would relay patterns of behavior to the president, but no personal information would be revealed. Patterson began his term in January 2025, going through a transition period to grow accustomed to the university community before finally reopening the office fall semester 2025.
The is not the first time the office has been plagued with a closure. The office reopened last semester after a five-year closure following the retirement of then-Ombudsman Lavada Austin in 2020.
The university decided against appointing an interim ombuds at the time, which led the Academic Senate to pass a resolution in 2022, urging CPP to initiate a search and reopen the office.
“They serve staff and students,” said Mario Guererro, a College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences senator and the political science department chair. “And when we were without an ombudsman the first time, it was a significant loss on campus.”
According to Peters and Poly Post coverage at the time, the university wanted to take its time to re-envision the best way to offer a broader range of assistance and was pouring resources into Student Affairs.
Jill Hargis, chair of the search committee and interim chair of political science at the time, announced the final candidates were under review for selection in February 2024, following a speaking engagement by Dawn Osbourne-Adams, director of the Ombuds Office at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Coley announced Patterson as the new Ombudsman via email in December 2024, according to previous Poly Post coverage.
Patterson did not respond to The Poly Post’s request for comment. The Poly Post will continue to follow the status of the office.
If the campus community is in search of resources, Counseling and Psychological Services, The Care Center and Employee Resource Center are available, among other resources listed on the CPP Ombuds website.
Feature image courtesy of Ava Uhlack
*Rachel Prior contributed to this article*
