Meet the Pritzker Ombudspersons
Faculty Ombudspersons
Shellie Williams, MD
Department of Medicine
Email: swillia2@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
Pager: #4833
Office: W-714
Steven Zangan, MD
Department of Radiology
Email: szangan@radiology.bsd.uchicago.edu
Pager: #2816
Office: Q-209
What is an Ombudsperson?
Every member of the University - student, faculty, and staff - makes a commitment to strive for personal and academic integrity; to treat others with dignity and respect and to honor the rights and property of others. From time to time issues may arise that are not in keeping with our commitment to this goal.
Pritzker School of Medicine faculty members are appointed as Ombudspersons to serve as student advocates and facilitators within the University of Chicago Medical Center when these issues occur. The Ombudspersons are chosen because they are neutral, third party physicians who are not otherwise involved with the academic promotion or evaluation of Pritzker students.
What do Ombudspersons do?
The Ombudspersons are available to serve as a sounding board for students as well as to investigate and resolve complaints of student mistreatment, and/or abuses involving indiscretion. These incidents may occur in the classroom, hospital setting or at school-sponsored events, and may involve other students, staff, or faculty. The Ombudspersons will work with students to explore options, suggest resources and, if warranted, to call attention to the appropriate faculty members and administrators.
Are meetings with the Ombudspersons confidential?
The Ombudsperson does not share student names or concerns without receiving the student’s permission. The only exceptions to confidentiality is in the case of imminent risk of serious student harm as determined by the Ombudsperson, where mandated by law, and in situations of sexual misconduct/gender based harassment matters where federal law (Title IX) requires information be passed on to the main campus’ Title IX office. (If confidentiality is your biggest concern, then you should explore this further with the ombudsperson.)
Additionally, if you feel you may have been subjected to or have concerns related to sexual harassment, please contact the Pritzker Ombudspersons or any University Officials listed on the Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Website.
Peer Ombudspersons
In addition to the faculty Ombudspersons, the Pritzker Chiefs also each act as Peer Ombudspersons. The Pritzker Chiefs will work with students to explore options, offer perspective, suggest resources and, if warranted, reach out to faculty deans for guidance. It will be up to the student to determine how to move forward managing an issue. Unless a student gives them specific permission, the Pritzker Chiefs will not discuss student issues among themselves. Discussions with the Pritzker Chiefs are confidential with the exception of Title IX disclosures. When receiving reports of Title IX or other sexual misconduct/gender based harassment, the Pritzker Chiefs cannot guarantee confidentiality, but can guarantee privacy. Information disclosed to them on these matters will be shared with the Title IX Coordinators.
The Chiefs can be reached at pritzkerchiefs@gmail.com