Office of the
About the Office
The Office of the Ombudsperson (Ombuds) is a confidential, impartial, independent, and informal process for assistance and guidance that furthers the System's commitment to the pursuit of accessible, excellent education.
We work with faculty, staff, medical residents, graduate students, and undergraduate students to resolve barriers to productivity, increase the quality of their LSU experience, and encourage fairness through issue resolution, communication and outreach, and systemic change and issue prevention and identification.
LSU Ombuds is a System-wide office serving all universities and research enterprises, including both Health Centers, LSU AgCenter, and Pennington Biomedical.
Services
Our staff can serve as a neutral party that can help identify and evaluate a range of options for issue resolution; provide guidance on how to effectively open dialogue or draft correspondence on the situation; offer information about LSU policies, procedures, and programs; facilitate and mediate between parties; and find organizations to provide further assistance.
Service Limitations
Contact the Office
The LSU Ombuds Office is a designated confidential space—unscheduled or unannounced visits are discouraged in order to protect your privacy.
The Ombuds will schedule a meeting with you at a time that works with your schedule; extended hours are offered to accommodate different shifts. Ombuds will travel to Alexandria, Eunice, Shreveport, and New Orleans upon request.
Contact the LSU Ombuds Office at ombuds@lsu.edu or reach out to the practitioners directly.
Michael Brochu, Ph.D.
University Ombuds
225-578-0337Catherine Briley, J.D.
Associate Ombuds
225-578-3429
Communications
Communications with the Ombuds are confidential to the extent permissible by law and are considered off-the-record. Due to the confidential, neutral, informal, and independent function of the Ombuds Office, communication with this office does not constitute notice to the LSU System.
Communications are confidential and voluntary.
Faculty, staff, medical residents, graduate students, and undergraduate students will not be retaliated against for choosing to consult with, or choosing not to consult with, the Ombuds.
Email and voicemail are subject to public records requests.
Telephone, Zoom, or in-person meetings are most effective—Ombuds will schedule a meeting that best works with your schedule. Limit messages to contact information and scheduling dates and times in order to protect your privacy.
No permanent records are kept on any matters.
Notes are used as a temporary memory aid for conflict management and are kept in the sole possession of the Ombuds, and they are destroyed once a matter is closed.
Ombuds tracks general statistical patterns.
This information can signal emerging issues, indicate new trends, highlight vulnerable groups of employees, or suggest areas of improvement, and it is used to bring concerns to the attention of those with the authority to make institutional improvements. Data collection does not include details that could identify an individual.
Frequently Asked Questions
Resources
Material and links presented on this site are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice from the Office of the Ombudsperson. Links to non-LSU System webpages are provided solely for your convenience. The Office of the Ombudsperson does not accept responsibility for, nor does it ensure the validity of, content on linked webpages.