The COSAM Champions

COSAM Champions are a diverse volunteer group of faculty, staff, and students who serve as informal mentors and confidential sounding boards to help others deal with conflict within the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Auburn University.

The role of the COSAM Champions is to address and solve conflict through open, yet confidential communication. Champions will work with the student, faculty, or staff member and the other party to come to a clear understanding and try to resolve the issue. Champions are available via email, phone, or in-person, and meetings can be arranged wherever the individual feels comfortable.

This is a college-wide initiative and any faculty, student or staff can reach out to any COSAM Champion. 

Champions are authorized to:

• Listen and understand issues while remaining neutral with respect to the facts. The Champion doesn’t listen to judge or to decide who is right or wrong. The Champion listens to understand the issue from the perspective of the individual.
• Assist in reframing issues; develop and help individuals evaluate options. 
• Guide or coach individuals to deal directly with other parties, including the use of formal resolution resources of the college. 
• Seek to help individuals improve their skill and their confidence in giving voice to their concerns directly.
• Facilitate informal resolution processes
• Identify new issues and opportunities for systemic organizational change. The unique positioning of the Champion serves to provide unfiltered information that can produce insight to issues and resolutions. The Champion is a source of detection and early warning of new issues and a source of suggestions of systemic change to improve existing processes.
• Raise student, faculty or staff issues to administration.
• Generate ways to improve work relationships with supervision.
• Help clarify and communicate about conflicts.
• Provide a sounding board.
• Refer students, faculty or staff to appropriate internal resources.
• Generate options to improve work relationships with peers.
• Clarify university or college policy.
• Influence college policy or practice.

Champions are not authorized to:

• Make official the allegations of wrongdoing received from a complainant or witness, they should be received only from the individual or with the individuals express permission.
• Make, change or set aside a law, policy or administrative decision.
• Compel an entity or any person to implement the Champion’s recommendations.
• Conduct an investigation that substitutes for administrative proceedings.
• Make binding decisions, mandate policies or determine rights.
• Create or maintain records or reports for the college.