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About the Office for Conflict Resolution

Staff

Carolyn Chalmers, Director
chalmers@umn.edu

Carolyn began as the University Grievance Officer in October 2000. In her role as director of the Office for Conflict Resolution, she facilitates informal resolutions of employment disputes within the University and administers hearings under the Conflict Resolution Procedure. Carolyn practiced employment discrimination litigation for 17 years and, beginning in 1994, began working as a mediator and fact-finder in employment disputes. She has taught Employment Discrimination Law and ADR at the University of Minnesota Law School, where she continues as a Guest Instructor. She has received distinguished alumni awards from Carleton College and from the University of Minnesota Law School. She holds a B.A. magna cum laude from Carleton College, an M.A. from Brandeis University, and a J.D. cum laude from the University of Minnesota.

Mari Magler, Assistant Director
ocr2@umn.edu

Mari has worked in Disability Services at the University since 2005. Prior to that, she supervised interpreting services for a metropolitan school district. Mari co-authored “A Plan for Mentorship of Educational Interpreters in Minnesota” (SLICES, 2000) and “The Mentor’s Companion” (RID Press, 2007) with Patty Gordon. Mari holds a B.A. in Linguistics from Metropolitan State University and a J.D. from Hamline University. Mari’s coursework at Hamline focused on employment law and alternative dispute resolution.

Jean Henrichsen, Program Coordinator
conflict.resolution@umn.edu

Jean joined the office in 2003 and is the first contact for employees who call or visit our office. She is responsible for maintaining case files, calendars, and the office website; editing and updating rosters, databases, and handouts; and preparing minutes and reports.

Conflict Resolution Advisory Committee

The Conflict Resolution Advisory Committee advises the Senior Vice President for Academic Administration, University of Minnesota System regarding the selection of the Conflict Resolution staff, its performance, and the operation of this program. The committee has no role in the disposition of individual petitions. (committee roster - PDF)

History

In 1993, the University adopted a uniform Grievance Policy for non-bargaining unit employment-related disputes. This policy replaced a patchwork quilt of grievance processes across the University. The 1992 committee report noted that the goals of the revision were to increase informality, to simplify, and to increase efficiency. As finally adopted, the University Grievance Policy provided for non-bargaining unit employees a grievance process that mirrored grievance processes found in collective bargaining agreements of bargaining unit employees.

Over the next ten years, University employees used the Grievance Policy and the Grievance Office, often as a last resort, when other options to resolve employment disputes were exhausted. The Grievance Office received good marks for fairness and service, but many felt that the process, as designed, did not fit well with the University workplace culture.

In 2003, with the benefit of ten years of experience, efforts began to improve the Grievance Policy to better fit the needs of non-bargaining unit faculty, staff, administrators, and student employees. Administrators, faculty, and staff reported that University culture was conflict averse: too often conflict did not become manifest, was silenced, or was ignored. Concerns were expressed that University culture reinforced the notion that conflict was bad. Some faculty and staff did not have adequate skills to engage each other in constructive dialogue on controversial matters. The results were costly: festering disputes, attrition of good employees, and lack of accountability mechanisms for unacceptable employee conduct.

Faculty, staff, and administrators asked for a process that was more informal, more collaborative, more flexible, and more easily accessed. At the same time, these constituencies anticipated a continued need for the availability of a formal due process hearing procedure. They asked that the formal hearings strive for greater efficiency, greater quality in the presentations to the panel, and more consistent panel outcomes. The need for educational programming on conflict resolution was consistently emphasized.

During 2003-2004, the Grievance Advisory Committee (now known as the Conflict Resolution Advisory Committee) and the Dispute Resolution Work Group met independently to evaluate the Grievance Policy to determine if it could be amended to produce a less-adversarial conflict resolution process and to assess unmet needs for conflict resolution services. The two groups concurred in recommending adoption of a new conflict resolution policy and procedures. The Grievance Officer and the chair of the Grievance Advisory Committee met with several University groups, including the Faculty Consultative Committee, Civil Service Committee, Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators, and the University Senate, to discuss the proposed policy changes and to get their approval. The policy, Conflict Resolution Process for Employees, was adopted at the Board of Regents February 2005 meeting. President Bruininks subsequently approved the administrative procedures in March 2005.

In 2009, the Advisory Committee and a work group of University stakeholders began its review of the conflict resolution policy and procedures adopted in 2005. The most substantive change to the policy regarded the arbitration process. The work group found that the absence of limits to an employee's financial responsibility for the costs of arbitration likely discourages use of this forum and could contribute to perceptions of unfairness. The policy was changed to cap arbitrator fees at $5,000. The employee and University will share equally the fees up to $3,500, and the University will pay the arbitrator fees over $3,500 up to the cap. A provision was also added to allow for fees over $5,000, with the approval of a University administrator. Board of Regents Policy: Conflict Resolution Process for Employees was amended in December 2010 and the revised Administrative Policy was approved in February 2011.

Conflict is ever-present in human interactions. Addressed with respect and with skill, conflict is an essential building block of an engaged workforce and an improving organization. Ignored or squelched, it can leach energy from employees and from the University.