New officers for the University of Iowa 2018-19 Faculty Senate were elected Tuesday in the last regular Faculty Senate meeting of the academic year.
The Senate is made up of 80 representatives from all academic areas who act as a channel of communication between faculty and central administrators. The newly elected leaders will officially take their positions in the fall.
“University governance is a collaborative endeavor, and we have a seat at the table,” outgoing President Peter Snyder said. “This allows us to influence the direction of the university.”
Russell Ganim, the director of the Division of World Languages, will move from vice president to president to succeed Snyder, a professor of cardiology. In the Faculty Senate, the vice president moves to the position of president the following academic year and then continues serving as an officer for a third year as past president.
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Ganim, who gave his first address to the Senate, said his year as vice president has been highly instructive and he is eager to embrace the challenges that lie ahead in the upcoming year.
Throughout the years, the Faculty Senate has faced a variety of difficult issues, Ganim said, including the budget, changes in senior leadership, and increasing uncertainty about the state of higher education.
“The Faculty Senate has the responsibility to the university to keep these means of communication open no simply to voice faculty concerns, but to do so in a constructive way to improve the institution as a whole,” he said.
UI Associate Professor Sandra Daack-Hirsch was elected as vice president Tuesday after her candidacy was unopposed. She serves as the UI College of Nursing Ph.D. program director and has been a member of the Faculty Senate and Faculty Council for the past six years.
“I believe that one cannot know what it truly means to be faculty at UI until you step outside of your own college/department and work collaboratively with others to drive change, create safe and productive work environment, and champion fellow faculty, staff, and students on issues that matter,” Daack-Hirsch said in her candidate statement.
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Joseph Yockey, a UI professor of law, will take over the position of secretary, which is currently held by Associate Professor Rachel Williams, the head of the Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies Program. Yockey has been a member of the law faculty for nearly a decade and writes about and teaches in the area of higher education.
“I believe that it would be helpful to have someone with both academic experience and legal training in a position to advise the Senate, the Council, and the administration on new policy initiatives,” he said in his candidate statement.
Snyder will serve as past president of Faculty Senate, a role currently held by Tom Vaughn, an associate professor of public health who led the Senate in the 2016-17 academic year.
In the 21 years Snyder has served on Faculty Senate, he said, he has most enjoyed the chance to get to know and work with faculty across the university.