Becoming an Ombuds at MIT

Abstract

Mary P. Rowe served for almost 42 years as an early organizational ombuds reporting directly to five presidents of MIT. This essay recounts Rowe’s early experiences in this work as she applied for and then, in early 1973, started her job at MIT, initially with the title of Special Assistant to the President and Chancellor for Women and Work at MIT. The essay also draws connections between Rowe’s early experiences in that job and the subsequent evolution of the organizational ombuds profession.