All-Faculty & College Faculty Governance Elections

All-Faculty and At-large Faculty Governance Interest Statements

  • Academic Senate - At-large Senator; 3yr Term

  • ATISS - Member - At-large; 3yr Term

  • Overlay - Member - At-large; 3yr Term

  • SAC - Member - At-large (Fall 2024 Semester Sabbatical Replacement)

College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies Faculty Governance Representatives

  • *Academic Senate - Senator - College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies; 2yr Term for Stagger (Provisional Election, contingent on the passing of the amendment to the Faculty Constitution)

  • *Academic Senate - Senator - College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies; 3yr Term (Provisional Election, contingent on the passing of the amendment to the Faculty Constitution)

  • AFS - Member - College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies; 3yr Term

    • Ajay Gehlawat, Hutchins - I am committed to upholding and defending the academic freedom of all faculty as well as ensuring that the faculty bill of rights is protected, particularly during this time of nationwide crackdowns on free speech and of academic reorganization on our campus. I have been a member of AFS for nearly ten years and, during this time, have been a strong advocate for faculty rights. I would like to continue advocating for and defending our collective and individual academic freedom, and ask for your vote in order to do so.

  • APARC - Member - College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies; 3yr Term

  • Scholarship - Member - College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies; 3yr Term

  • TLS - Member - College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies; 3yr Term

    • Suzanne O'Keeffe, Educational Leadership & Special Education - I am an Associate Professor at Sonoma State University in the field of special education with a focus on best curricular practices for multilingual student populations with special needs. I have worked in many different capacities within the field of special education over the last 25+ years, with a special interest in culturally responsive and inclusive curricular development. In my own classroom, I strive to create a learning community that promotes collaborative inquiry, cultural responsiveness, academic rigor, critical thinking, and self-reflection. I would like to serve on the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee for a three year term.

    • Wendy Ostroff, Hutchins School of Liberal Studies - I am interested in serving on the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee (TLS) as a member of the newly formed College of Education, Counseling & Ethnic Studies. I have been a full time faculty member in the transformative, Hutchins School of Liberal Studies for nearly 24 years, and have had a chance to be a part of many teaching and learning initiatives on our campus. Most recently I served as a member and Chair of the Liberal Arts Identity Working Group, as part of our Master Planning process. Additionally, as part of my role as an ASCSU Statewide Senator from 2018-2022, I served on the Academic Affairs, Academic Preparation and Education Programs, Academic Conference Implementation Committee (ACIC), Services to Students with Disabilities Advisory Committee, and CSU Institute for Teaching and Learning (ITL) committees. I think that in this moment of reorganization we need to be deliberate in prioritizing teaching and learning, especially as new collaborations may be germinating across campus. Likewise, as we witness rapidly changing technologies and their impacts on our pedagogies and curricula, I am passionate about maintaining our engagement with the whole student in our courses and in finding creative ways to share technological spaces as co-learners with our students. Thank you for considering me for this position.

  • UPRS - Member - College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies; 3yr Term

  • URTP - Member - College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies; 3yr Term

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts Faculty Governance Representatives

  • AAS - Member - College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts; 4yr Term for Stagger

    • Michelle Jolly, History - Having served on the Academic Advising Subcommittee for the past 3 years, I am familiar with the issues this committee has been working on. My concurrent work on the University Standards, University Studies, and Graduate Studies committees often dovetails with the work of AAS in ways that helps coordinate SSU's efforts to advise students at many levels. Finally, I have served as History department chair and as Faculty Coordinator of a Second-Year Experience Program, so I am familiar with how advising issues affect students within and beyond the scope of academic departments. I would be happy to continue to serve on this committee and work with the terrific colleagues who are part of it.

  • ATISS - Member - College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts; 3yr Term

  • GE - Member - College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts; 3yr Term

    • Kyla Walters, Sociology - Curriculum is my jam. I also sincerely value Sonoma State’s GE Program. Serving on the GE Subcommittee since Fall 2021 has been an enriching experience as I learn the ropes as an assistant professor. During my term, I have communicated with colleagues and considered my constituents’ perspectives when vetting proposals and carrying out other aspects of the subcommittee’s charge. I seek another three-year term on the GE Subcommittee to (1) contribute to the program’s self-study in advance of its program review, (2) foster excellence in the GE Program through constructive course proposal reviews, (3) inform continued revisions of the GE website, (4) strengthen ties with professional staff who do GE-related work, and (5) support the implementation the new GE pattern related to Cal-GETC as applicable. Thank you for your consideration.

  • Scholarship - Member - College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts; 2yr Term for Stagger

    • Wenwen Ni, Psychology -  As a researcher whose focus is on diversity issues, I am interested in joining the Scholarship committee in order to help students from all backgrounds reach their academic goals.

  • Scholarship - Member - College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts; 3yr Term

  • UPRS - Member - College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts; 2yr Term for Stagger

College of Science, Technology, and Business Faculty Governance Representatives

  • *Academic Senate - Senator - College of Science, Technology, and Business; 2yr Term for Stagger (Provisional Election, contingent on the passing of the amendment to the Faculty Constitution)

  • *Academic Senate - Senator - College of Science, Technology, and Business; 3yr Term (Provisional Election, contingent on the passing of the amendment to the Faculty Constitution)

    • Florence Bouvet, Economics - Dear Colleagues, I humbly ask for your support and your vote to serve our College for another term in the Academic Senate, as our university is still facing significant financial and enrollment hurdles. These obstacles demand a pragmatic approach and a steadfast commitment to safeguarding the institution's academic integrity and long-term sustainability. Having served on the Academic Senate for 15 years, I have gained insights into the complexities of university governance and the intricate balance required to address the diverse needs of our stakeholders. As a member of the Academic Senate, I want to keep advocating for fiscally responsible policies that prioritize academic excellence while ensuring the efficient allocation of resources. In the face of declining enrollment and budgetary constraints, it is imperative that we adopt innovative strategies to attract and retain students and turn these challenges into opportunities. This includes promoting interdisciplinary collaboration which I hope will be modeled by our new School of Mathematics, Economics, and Statistics. Together, we can navigate these turbulent times and emerge as a stronger, more resilient institution. Thank you for your consideration.

  • EPC - Member - College of Science, Technology, and Business; 2yr Term for Stagger

    • Derek Girman, Biology - The Educational Policies Committee serves the entire university through evaluation of curriculum and academic standards of the University. After 25 years at SSU, I hope to serve the College of Science, Technology, and Business as a representative on EPC. With several years of recent experience as Faculty Director for Graduate Studies, I have had numerous opportunities to both develop and evaluate new and existing academic policies and feel very comfortable evaluating a range of policies to ensure that they serve the interests of students, faculty, and programs university-wide. In addition, having had the opportunity to work with the EPC both as a subcommittee liaison as well as a temporary fill-in (this past year) representing the School of Science and Technology, I would be excited to represent the full range of programs in Science, Technology, and Business to support curricular development and programmatic innovations across the disciplines. Through these experiences, I have come to understand the standards and processes associated with the function of the EPC and would work to help ensure that the careful review process occurs both efficiently and effectively. I hope you will support my candidacy to serve Science, Technology, and Business as your EPC representative.

  • EPC - Member - College of Science, Technology, and Business; 3yr Term

  • FSAC - Member - College of Science, Technology, and Business; 3yr Term

    • Richard Whitkus, Biology - The Faculty Standards and Affairs Committee (FSAC) is critical to our role as educators, scholars, and equals with administration on governance issues. As a faculty member of over 23 years at Sonoma State, I appreciate and understand multiple viewpoints of how our profession serves our colleagues, students, and the University while finding solutions to support individual and collective faculty rights, freedom and responsibilities. I have been actively involved in faculty governance during my career at SSU, including service on FSAC where I have been closely involved with drafting and/or revising multiple policies. Currently I am working with FSAC on policy revisions for URTP and Department Chairs as related to the academic reorganization. I have been guiding FSAC on revising the student evaluation questions (ROSE) and hope to see this completed next year. In all my service, I have been a strong voice for our faculty in my school and look forward to expanding that role within our new college to ensure our voices are not only heard but carry weight. There is still much to do in support of our faculty as we deal with an ever-changing university environment and administration. This is particularly true for our college where hands-on teaching and learning with students is varied and complex. I hope you will support my candidacy to serve on FSAC as your representative.

  • FSSA - Member - College of Science, Technology, and Business; 3yr Term

    • Lisa Hua, Biology - My name is Lisa Hua, and I am an assistant professor in the Biology department. I have desired to run for this position since Fall 2021. I served as the Library At-Large position (Fall 2023-Spring 2024), and Dr. Lisa Bentley’s sabbatical replacement (Spring 2022) for FSSA. I have immensely enjoyed learning about the exciting research across the disciplines on campus. I have a strong interest in supporting faculty in research, and would like to play an active role in organizing the Faculty/Graduate Research Symposium. I have been previously awarded the RSCAP, in addition to external awards, so I would like an opportunity to contribute my time, and experience to help other faculty receive this award. I have a strong interest in increasing SSU’s research visibility across the CSU, and have recently attended the CSU-wide Student Research Competition hosted by CalPoly San Luis Obispo. We have many passionate faculty who are dedicated in engaging our under/graduate students with our research and scholarship. I would like to play a larger role in promoting these faculty, and our campus research visibility among the different departments and colleges by working closely with ORSP, and through the CSU-wide network. For example by promoting increased interest to the CSU-wide Student Research Competition where we can showcase the exceptional research at SSU. Thank you in advance for reading my statement, and I would appreciate your vote for this position.

    • Marissa Mnich, Geology - I am very interested in serving as an STB representative on the Faculty Subcommittee on Scholarly Activities. I am finishing my fourth year as an Assistant Professor in the Geology department and am very interested in the grant process and procedures. Internal grant funding, like the RSCA, is so imperative for research at our University and is often not only what propels faculty research, but provides opportunities for students to be involved. I look forward to the opportunity to be involved with the grant processes here at SSU.

  • TLS - Member - College of Science, Technology, and Business; 4yr Term for Stagger

    • Rich Campbell, Marketing - I am starting my 20th year at Sonoma State and would be honored to join the Teaching & Learning Subcommittee. I am a regular attendee of the CTET Coffee & Connections and love learning about the teaching of my talented colleagues. As I start the second half of my career at Sonoma State, serving on TLS will allow me to contribute to the part of the professor experience I value the most - teaching and learning.