THE UNIVERSITY of The Bahamas has announced the appointment of

Marisa Mason-Smith as the first ombudsman for the institution and in the Bahamas.

In this role, Ms Mason-Smith will, through consulting, mediation and negotiation, provide impartial, neutral, and confidential third party assistance to students, faculty, staff and administrators seeking dispute resolution. Reporting to the board of trustees, Ms Mason-Smith will formulate, manage and monitor the overall goals, programmes, budget and direction of the Office of Ombudsman while overseeing informal mediation services, developing and maintaining confidential notes and statistical data on complaints and concerns, according to a UB press release.

The Office of the Ombudsman reports to the board of trustees and acts as a liaison between individuals or groups and campus administration.

“Ms Mason-Smith has more than 25 years of experience in strategic leadership roles in the public and private sectors,” UB noted. “Previously, she strategically created, developed and implemented human resource policies, procedures and standards for clients and organisations.”

In 2018, Ms Mason-Smith served as the assistant general manager of human resources and training at Bahamas Power and Light, later transitioning to become president and CEO of People First International (PFI). Prior to joining UB, she was a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and worked on the Citizen and Security Justice Programme, executed through the Ministry of National Security focusing on employability training.

She is an adjunct UB faculty member.