The University of Iowa Faculty Senate elected a new vice president for the 2025-2026 academic year Tuesday. Roxanna Curto, associate professor of French and Spanish at the UI, was elected to the position.

Three candidates were vying for the seat — Curto, Anthony Panos, professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the UI Carver College of Medicine, and Sarah Vigmostad, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the UI.

Each candidate put out a statement for senators to read prior to the election, held in the Old Capitol Senate Chamber.

Curto has served on the Senate for eight years and completed a three-year term on the UI’s Faculty Council, a subset of faculty senators who meet once a month, according to the statement handed out to attendees.

During her academic tenure with the university, Curto served as the Departmental Executive Officer, or DEO, of French and Italian for three years and served in various committees within the Senate.

The longtime senator ran on a platform of shared governance and promoting academic freedom.

Shared governance, Curto said, is collaborative decision making, where a body, such as the Faculty Senate, is able to have a discussion that is best for all parties involved.

“I’ll also be promoting academic freedom within teaching and research because that is something we really need to work on,” Curto said.

Many senators congratulated Curto following adjournment.

Curto said she looks forward to holding a new position within the Senate and continuing to be a strong advocate for shared governance, as she believes it is something that is needed right now.

“I’m just thrilled…I’m really excited about this next step and seeing what I can do to promote faculty rights,” Curto said.