The Bridge

Ombudsman Office Turns 40 Years Old

The Office of the Ombudsman at SDSU is turning 40 this year. Established in 1968, just two years after the first educational institution in the United States appointed an ombudsman, SDSU’s office originated on an experimental basis from the Associated Students Council. Forty years later, the Office of the Ombudsman has become integral in mediating students’ rights.

The Ombudsman is a misnomer, as there have been two men and three women who have served as Ombudspersons since the office’s inception. The current SDSU Ombudsperson is Marit Bessesen. She and her office provide information, advice, intervention and referrals to try to solve problems at the most informal level possible. They act as the student liaison or mediator, and serve as a confidential, independent, and neutral resource for students.

The first Ombudsman at San Diego State was Nelson F. Norman, a tenured professor who took on the role as “the students’ man” with enthusiasm and grace. Now 93 years young, Norman can still be spotted in an occasional visit to SDSU.

Norman headed the first office in a converted lower-level storeroom in Aztec Center. “Unpretentious best described the space – Spartan Minimal,” said Norman. “But its location on campus was really quite handy, and it was a reminder that the Ombudsman is the student’s man, not the faculty’s or the administration’s.”

In the early years, most cases centered on admissions, records, and disputes with faculty. Norman described SDSU as a healthy institution in terms of knowing it has problems and of being willing to face them to improve.

“The Ombudsman serves as both a psychological and practical helper,” he said. “He makes the mammoth machinery seem less formidable.”

However, Norman did serve at a time of much campus unrest throughout the nation due to the draft and civil rights struggles. Not that SDSU was free from discord, but Norman said he participated in many positive outcomes between conflicting voices, but those things were rarely publicized.

“I felt at the time that the media were not only reporting campus ferment, often badly I might add, but they were shaping it,” he said. “For an Ombudsman, who strives to make things work better through existing procedures and orderly reform, it hurt to have recognition and the encouragement of publicity go so exclusively to extremist approaches toward necessary change.”

Following Norman’s retirement, SDSU welcomed an “Ombudswoman” with the appointment of Susie Chappellet. Amy Circosta then served in the role from 2002 – 2003. D. Graham followed Circosta, and he held the position until early 2008, when he was recruited for similar position at Princeton.

“I hated leaving SDSU, because I love this campus and the people so much,” said Graham. “But it was Princeton, so I couldn’t say no.”

Marit Bessesen was appointed to the role upon Graham’s departure. She had previous experience mediating students’ problems while serving as a Residence Hall Coordinator for about three years on campus.

“The best part of my job is being able to effectively mediate a concern or grievance,” she said. “The counselor in me is also rewarded by simply serving as an ‘ear’ for students who just need a person to listen while they vent. The confidentiality of the Ombuds Office provides a safe and comfortable climate for students to ask questions or seek guidance without fear of judgment or reprisal. That in itself is very rewarding.”

For more information on the Office of the Ombudsman, visit www.sa.sdsu.edu/ombuds.