Nominations have been made for the following positions:
Vice-President/President-Elect
Dr. Richard Chandler, Associate Professor/Program Coordinator, Mathematics (LAS)
Bio: Dr. Richard Chandler is an Associate Professor and current Program Coordinator of Mathematics. Dr. Chandler's PhD is in noncommutative algebra and algebraic geometry. He has been at the University of North Texas at Dallas since 2016. Since coming to UNTD, Dr. Chandler has served in several leadership roles, including the Parliamentarian and Secretary of both Faculty Alliance and Faculty Senate from 2018 - 2021, chair the Faculty Worklife Committee from 2017 - 2019, and (currently) chair of the Core Curriculum Committee. He is also active in other roles on campus such as serving on the Commencement Committee.
Platform: While students may be the heart and soul of a university, the faculty are the bones
and muscles. Without the dedication and drive of faculty members, a university cannot
hope to function. Despite this, faculty are often not given the consideration on
matters that would improve their job satisfaction. In recent years, faculty at UNTD
have had an increase in workload and expectations while the necessary resources and
support from the university have remained stagnant or, in some cases, have lessened.
These are critical issues that must continue to be addressed to the administration
in a stern and unyielding manner. The Faculty Senate is the voice of the faculty
and must lead the charge; as vice-president (and later president), I intend to continue
pushing us towards a resolution of these issues.
Parlimentarian/Secretary-Elect
Dr. Shannon Conway, Assistant Professor, College of Law
Bio: Shannon Conway is an Assistant Professor with the College of Law. She joined UNTDCOL in February 2019, and teaches Torts, Advanced Torts, Insurance Law and Consumer Law. Shannon previously worked in private practice, representing policyholders in coverage disputes with their insurers.
Platform: Prof. Conway is running for the Parliamentary-Secretary Elect position on the Faculty Senate with the hopes of working to bridge any gaps and foster unity between the UNT Dallas campuses. She looks forward to building relationships with her main campus colleagues and contributing to the Senate's continued important work on initiatives that directly benefit university faculty.
Ms. Sara J. Holmes, Lecturer/Program Coordinator, Communications & Digital Media (LAS)
Bio: Sara Holmes is Program Coordinator and Lecturer of Communication and Digital Media at the University of North Texas at Dallas. A generalist in communication with a passion for researching identity representation in media, Professor Holmes teaches courses across the field, from the introductory communication class to the capstone communication course.
On campus, Sara has served as the faculty advisor for the Communication Arts and Technology (C.A.T.) Club and the Alpha Epsilon Theta chapter of the Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society. Most recently, she served as the Senator for Non-Tenure Track Faculty and Chair of the Faculty Work Life Committee where she worked with lecturers to draft the Lecturer Policy. She also coordinates the Speaking Center, where students come to practice and develop their public communication skills.
In addition to her teaching and research interests in media and identity, Sara has extensive professional experience both in public relations, with a focus on media relations and event coordination for a theatrical production company in Dallas and is a trained mediator and conflict resolution practitioner. Her recent professional work in mediation and conflict resolution at the University of New Mexico’s Ombuds/Dispute Resolution for Faculty provided the opportunity to use her communication and teaching skills to organize and facilitate workshops on mediation and communication and conflict and led to her current research interests in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
Outside of UNTD, she maintains an active service recording in the national organization for the discipline, participating as a member of the Mass Communication, Feminist/Women’s Studies, and Peace and Conflict Communication (where she served as division chair) divisions of the National Communication Association.
Platform: I am running for parliamentarian because I believe the best way to impact the work lives of faculty on our campus is to exercise our collective voices. As a senator, I want to advocate for the voices of faculty and address both policy and professional life experiences of faculty members. I want to see policy documents that have been drafted to protect and benefit [all] faculty be implemented and codified into policy.
Dr. Yonas Lemma, Lecturer, Decision Science (Business)
Senator, Tenure-Track
Mr. Joseph Hummel, Assistant Professor/Assistant Director of Legal Writing, College of Law
Bio: I am a Dallas native and attended St. Monica Catholic School and later Jesuit College Prep. I attended Boston College for my undergraduate degree and SMU for law school. After graduating from law school, I began my professional career as an attorney with the law firm of Kane Russell Coleman & Logan. During my tenure with the firm, I had the opportunity to represent defrauded clients seeking redress from corporate malfeasors. I was fortunate to also have had the opportunity to mentor summer associates and new attorneys. I later took a role as corporate counsel for Ryan, LLC. At Ryan, I managed a large docket of cases across four continents, and coordinated with multiple departments to ensure compliance laws and procedures. I also refined existing corporate policies and created new policies to ensure the company’s various departments ran effectively and ethically. I regularly retained and managed outside counsel, as well as managed and mentored a team of attorneys, paralegals, and interns.
While at Ryan, I also taught as an adjunct with the UNT Dallas College of Law. I quickly found my passion was teaching. As I continued as an adjunct, I explored options to transition to a more permanent role with the College of Law. In 2021, I accepted a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of Legal Writing. I have since worked with the College of Law’s Legal Writing program to help design courses, grade student assignments, and hire and manage a team of adjunct professors.
Outside of work, I live in Lake Highlands with my wife, Irina. We enjoy binge watching Curb Your Enthusiasm, exploring new restaurants, and debating where to vacation and what type of dog to adopt. I am also active in the Dallas / Fort Worth Boston College Alumni Association, having served as local chapter president from 2014 through 2019. I also spent time volunteering with Boys and Girls Club of East Dallas, serving as a mentor and advisor to DISD students.
Platform: Being a new, tenure-track faculty member myself, I would welcome the opportunity to serve as Senator, Tenure-Track and represent the other tenure-track faculty on the UNT Dallas Faculty Senate, as well as the entire faculty at large. I want to help further the interests of the UNT Dallas faculty as we continue to grow, increase our student body, and encounter new challenges. I believe my professional background in law firms, corporate America, and now in academia make me an ideal candidate for this position. At every level in my professional career I have pursued initiatives to manage team members, but also mentor new students, employees, and attorneys. I know I can bring those management skills to bear on this role.
I welcome the opportunity to meet and collaborate with other UNT Dallas faculty to continue to refine our policies, procedures, and methods of operations to ensure that the university operates efficiently and ethically, and in the best interests of the student body. As a new faculty member, I understand there will be much to learn about the inner workings of the Faculty Senate. I also believe this affords me the opportunity to engage the university administration with fresh eyes, curiosity, and new perspectives. I believe in harnessing a diversity of opinions and perspectives, and I know my past professional experiences would complement the needs of the Faculty Senate. I am eager to continue supporting the university through its Senate initiatives and I would be honored to serve as Senator, Tenure-Track during the next term.
Senator, Business Place Two
Dr. Banu Goktan, Associate Professor, Business
Bio: I am an associate professor in the school of Business. I started teaching at UNT Dallas in 2003 while I was working on my Ph.D. at UNT Denton. I have held non-tenure track and tenure track positions at UNT Dallas over the years.
Platform: I believe in open communication and a team environment. I see the role of the senator as a facilitator of communication between administration and faculty members.
Senator, Education
Dr. Gwen Johnson, Associate Professor, Teacher Education & Administration (EDU)
Bio: I taught high school math in Toledo, Ohio and Ann Arbor, Michigan many years ago. I spent six years in Tampa, Florida working on a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of South Florida. I have been teaching at UNT Dallas since 2010. I have served two one-year terms on the Faculty Senate and am now seeking a three-year term.
Platform: I hope to act as a liaison between the School of Education and the Faculty Senate. I will bring any issues of concern in the SOE to the attention of the Faculty Senate, and I will inform SOE faculty of any important issues discussed in Faculty Senate meetings. I hope SOE faculty feel comfortable contacting me with any concerns or questions that they feel should be addressed at the University level.
Senator, Liberal Arts & Sciences Place One
Senator, Liberal Arts & Sciences Place Two
Dr. Priya Eimerbrink, Associate Professor, Psychology (LAS)
Bio: My name is Priya Eimerbrink, I am an Associate Professor at UNT-Dallas and have served as Program Coordinator for the Department of Psychology for the last 4 years.
I have been at the University since 2015 and have had the pleasure of serving alongside many of you on various committees and initiatives.
Platform: To help meet the charge of the faculty Senate, my platform centers on transparency, shared governance, and serving as a liaison between the LAS faculty and administration.
To promote transparency, I commit to regularly communicating with LAS faculty members and sharing information about the decision-making process. I would like to promote an open-door policy for LAS faculty to come to me with their concerns or issues.
I believed shared governance is an essential part of strong communication. I commit to involving faculty members in the decision-making process to ensure that their input is considered before final decisions are made.
As a liaison for the faculty at large, I commit to advocating for the interests and needs of all faculty members; including but not limited to addressing issues relating to workload, compensation, and professional development opportunities.
Finally, to be effective, a faculty senator must work collaboratively with administration, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders. I believed in the importance of collaboration and commit to building strong relationships across the institution.
I look forward to the opportunity to serve as the LAS faculty senator where I hope to work together with you all to achieve the shared goals outlined in my platform.
Dr. Roberto Gallardo, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice & Sociology (LAS)
Bio: Currently, I am in my second year at UNT Dallas where I teach both Sociology and Criminal Justice courses for our Department.
Platform: I am running for faculty senate because I believe that faculty members should have a voice in the decision-making process at our university. I am committed to representing the views of faculty to the administration and to working to improve the quality of teaching and research at our university.
Dr. Joshua Goodson, Lecturer, Mathematics (LAS)
Bio: I have been at UNTD since the Fall of 2018 as a Mathematics Lecturer. Since coming to UNT I have been on various Senate committees including Work life, IT, and the Charter and Bylaws Committee. For the last two years I have served as the Chair of the Charter and Bylaws committee.
Platform: I want to serve as a voice for the faculty.
Dr. Sean Hubbard, Lecturer, Political Science (LAS)
Bio: I have been a Lecturer of Political Science at UNTD for four years and spent one year as an adjunct instructor. In my time at UNTD, I have served on the Policy Committee, Faculty Showcase Committee, LAS Curriculum Committee, Core Curriculum Committee, LAS Strategic Planning Committee, Parking Appeals Committee, and as Political Science Assessment Coordinator.
Platform: I plan to be an aggressive advocate for respect for shared governance and support for faculty.
Dr. Nicholas Lorusso, Assistant Professor, Life Sciences (LAS)
Bio: I am currently an assistant professor in the Department of Life Sciences with my particular discipline being biology. I joined the university in the Fall of 2021 and have made a major focus of my time since then integrating into the broader campus community and building a connection with our student population. Before coming to UNTD I worked for three universities in New Jersey just after completing my Ph.D. in 2018, and have experienced the need for a resilient and adaptable group of faculty interested in contributing to the trajectory of a university. In particular, I have had experiences working with a wide variety of learners in diverse settings that have highlighted the need for better integration of faculty perspectives and opinions in promoting outcomes that benefit our community as a whole. After joining the faculty here I have had the opportunity to be a part of two faculty senate committees (Charter & Bylaws and Library committees) and I plan to continue my participation to better understand and support how faculty needs are being met as UNTD continues to grow and develop. As a faculty in natural science on the STEM building planning committee, I hope to be able to integrate the larger needs of the faculty in other programs into that process and leverage all of the potential from this new resource planned for our campus.
Platform: The primary focus I have in contributing to the senate’s work is integrating perspectives and opportunities from our growing STEM majors. While new opportunities such as the science building and new majors such as chemistry are of direct benefit to the natural sciences, they also have untapped potential for serving the faculty as a whole. I hope to explore the challenges faced by the faculty on campus and try to generate solutions that might leverage resources and opportunities that might come from expanding our life science programs. In addition, coming from a multidisciplinary field, I approach most challenges from a perspective of mediation and think the combination of sourcing solutions from our growing STEM resources and my collaborative spirit would help promote synergy as the senate wrestles with coming challenges.