President Gottfredson has announced Bruce MacAllister as the University of Oregon’s new ombudsperson starting mid-March.

“We are delighted that MacAllister has chosen to bring his skills and rich background to the University of Oregon,” said Gottfredson in an email sent to the university community Monday afternoon.

MacAllister hails from Santa Fe, N.M. where he was working as the Ombudsman Program Director from the International Foundation for Online Responsibility, a non-profit organization develops policies for Top Level Domains. As ombudsperson at the UO, MacAllister will be tasked with helping to mediate disputes between the university and outside groups, as well as helping resolve internal conflicts through means of consultation, negotiation and mediation.

According to the IFOR website, MacAllister is described as “a recognized expert in conflict resolution system design, compliance reviews and in facilitating conflict resolution.”

He worked in the University of California system for 20 years, serving half of that time as the first Ombuds Program Director for Los Alamos National Laboratory, an organization with a 10,000-person workforce with an annual budget exceeding $2.2 billion.

MacAllister received his Bachelor of Science from Phillips University in Biology, Chemistry and Pre-Medicine and a Juris (law) Doctorate from the University of Tulsa where he graduated in the top third of his class.

“I’m flattered and excited that the University of Oregon community selected me from among the excellent candidates that applied for the position. I really enjoy working with organizations to help them with their ombudsman programs and sharing my expertise in organizational conflict resolution, mediation and training. I look forward to joining the university community and helping the UO implement a world-class university ombudsman program,” MacAllister said in the email.