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Loew Begins Duties as College Ombudsperson
Dr. Sabine Loew
Dr. Sabine Loew
Sabine Loew, Associate Professor of Evolutionary and Conservation Biology, begins her duties as CAS Ombudsperson on the first day of the 2005 fall semester, Monday, August 22. In this position, Loew will serve as a neutral advisor when faculty members have conflicts they are trying to resolve. "After 10 years at ISU as a researcher, teacher, advisor, and mentor, I feel well prepared to provide confidential and informal advice, feedback, and assistance to my colleagues," said Loew. “I appreciate the confidence placed in me by my colleagues and Dean Olson, and I believe an ombudsperson will significantly contribute to the positive working environment within our College.”

Known for her willingness to mentor her students and stand as a professional role model in the classroom, Loew has a reputation among faculty for good judgment. “I’m delighted that Professor Loew has agreed to serve,” said Dean Olson. “I asked for recommendations from Chairs and others in the College, and the response for Sabine was overwhelming.”

Loew earned her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from SUNY at Stony Brook and her B.S. in Biology from the University of Würzburg, Germany. Loew was a Postdoctoral Fellow and a Visiting Scientist at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park before joining ISU’s Department of Biological Sciences in 1995.

Implementation Committee
Implementation Committee members enjoy lunch with Trustee Diane Glenn

The creation of the position of College Ombudsperson is the result of the work of the Implementation Committee last academic year.  The committee made recommendations to support mentoring, funding, and diversity. Olson immediately acted on one such action—to appoint a College Ombudsperson—and appointed Loew. Dean Olson will report on other specific actions at the Fall Address on Monday, September 12 at 3:00pm in the Old Main Room.

Dean Olson empanelled the committee in response to the Underrepresented Groups Task Force initiated by former Interim Dean Roberta Seelinger Trites in 2003. Charged to investigate formally concerns about departmental climate and reasons for faculty attrition, especially in relation to traditionally underrepresented groups, the task force submitted a report of its findings, which was then distributed to the departments. Departments responded by identifying programs and procedures already in place to tend to some of the issues in the report, suggesting other ways of addressing concerns, and setting departmental goals. The Implementation Committee worked with these documents to plan specific actions for the College to take and was charged by Dean Olson to develop “concrete actions” the College can take.

The Committee was comprised of representatives from throughout the College: Sam Catanzaro, Associate Dean; Valerie Hackstadt, Student, Physics (Vice-Chair of College Council); Adam Hall, Student, Foreign Languages; Gardenia Harris, Faculty, Social Work; Sean Limon, Faculty, Communication; Maria Pao, Faculty, Foreign Languages; David Malone, Chair, Geology-Geography; Thomas Simon, Faculty, Philosophy (College Council representative); George Seelinger, Chair, Mathematics; and Nancy Tolson, Faculty, English (College Council representative).
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