UNIVERSITY OMBUDS
New office opens at ECU
Mickey A. Herrin Sr. is the interim university ombuds.
East Carolina University has implemented a plan several years in the making to open an Office of University Ombuds.
Mickey A. Herrin Sr. of Greenville has been appointed by Chancellor Cecil Staton as the interim ombuds to provide services to ECU faculty, staff and administrators.
“The Office of University Ombuds provides informal dispute resolution services to ECU faculty, staff and administrators,” said Herrin. “The services provided are a supplement to the formal resources already available to the campus community.”
Additionally, the office will provide impartial and independent information and answers to questions about policies and procedures at ECU.
“ECU faculty and staff have needed an impartial, confidential sounding board to air concerns, answer questions and explain how to navigate university policies and procedures when problems need to be solved,” said Chancellor Cecil P. Staton. “I am pleased that the hard work of many ECU professionals has resulted in the creation of the Ombuds office and the hiring of a highly respected leader to get this important work started.”
This will be the second ombuds office for ECU. There is an Office of Ombuds available for students, residents and faculty of the Brody School of Medicine.
Herrin is a 1963 graduate of Guilford College and a 1969 graduate of UNC School of Law in Chapel Hill. He has practiced law for 50 years, with his most current practice being alternate dispute resolution as a mediator and arbitrator. He is a past president of the Pitt County Bar Association, a member of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys and a certified mediator.
The Office of the University Ombuds will be in the Chancellor’s Division with the ombuds reporting to the chief of staff.
Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 107 Belk Annex 1 and by appointment at other times and places if necessary. Herrin may be reached at 252-737-5905.
