FAS-SEAS SENATE CANDIDATES for 2024
Dinny Risri Aletheiani
Senior Lector 1
Southeast Asian Studies
HUMANITIES
I am honored to have been nominated to serve on the FAS-SEAS Senate. I have been a faculty member at Yale for more than ten years and feel privileged to be part of vibrant interdisciplinary faculty here. I have collaborated in multiple art-based projects, academic initiatives, and research with fellow faculties at Yale and beyond as well as with multigenerational members of Southeast Asia communities both in and outside Yale. Additionally, I have been the Director of Southeast Asia Language Studies program for several years. I have a deep understanding of situations and struggles faced by instructional faculty, who are integral in the success of both Yale undergraduate and graduate educations and their daily wellbeing. If elected, my priorities are to focus on matters that deeply impact the day-to-day life of instructional and untenured faculty within the academic life and continue to build and improve the way university assess and recognize their contributions that celebrate and allow them to diversify and unbox themselves in their curriculum creation, research interests, and various unique forms of contributions. I look forward to serving you all.
Felisa Baynes-Ross
Lecturer
English
HUMANITIES
Since joining the English Department as a Lecturer in 2017, I have worked with communities both within and outside of Yale to promote excellent and inclusive teaching. As an Associate Course Director for English 114 (Writing Seminars), I mentor graduate student teachers, design and administer professional development programs, and along with fellow instructors, revise curricular and instructional materials to meet the varying needs of students.
I am honored to be nominated for the FAS-SEAS Faculty Senate, and if elected to serve, I hope to increase awareness of the vital contributions that instructional faculty make to the university and advocate for better recognition through opportunities for career advancement, professional development leaves, and salary increases. Instructional faculty provide excellent teaching, advising, and mentorship to undergraduate and graduate students, and we remain committed to students’ success long after they leave our classrooms. Instructional faculty should feel a sense of belonging at Yale. I hope to work with other senators to promote belonging and build community across the university.
My teaching experience has been varied. I’ve directed a writing center and taught in programs that primarily serve non-traditional and first-generation college students. As part of my graduate education, I was trained in multiple pedagogical approaches, and I remain active in research and conversations to support my teaching. I hope to draw upon these skills and experiences to speak to the needs of undergraduate students.
Beverly Gage
John Lewis Gaddis Professor
History
HUMANITIES
A decade ago, I was a member of the faculty committee that recommended the creation of the FAS Senate. I believe now what I believed then: that it is important for Yale faculty to have a collective voice and a democratic institutional structure through which to make that voice heard. In 2015-2016, I served as the inaugural chair of the FAS Senate and tried to follow that imperative through campus debates over the Yale College expansion, faculty conduct standards, faculty diversity, and the renaming of Hopper College.
Today, we face a new set of challenges, from vital contests over free speech and protest on campus to the inauguration of new university president. After several years away from the Senate to focus on research and writing, I am eager to rejoin its ranks and help to sustain the institution as an effective conduit for faculty priorities and concerns.
Michael Loewenberg
Professor
Chemical and Environmental Engineering
ENGINEERING
I have been on the Chemical Engineering faculty at Yale since 1995 teaching graduate and undergraduate students, and serving terms as the Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Graduate Studies. My research lies in soft-matter physics, where I focus on micron-scale transport and using mathematical modeling and computer simulations.
I welcome the opportunity to interact more broadly with my colleagues in FAS and learn more about the institution where I work by serving on the FAS-SEAS Senate. I am passionate about working to make our institution more inclusive and helping to improve everyone’s sense of belonging. I have been working in this realm for ten years, first through my role as the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Chemical Engineering supporting our undergraduates and transitioning to outreach work to attract a broader cohort of graduate students in SEAS by organizing groups of students and faculty to attend conferences that serve underrepresented groups. I have ideas for systematizing graduate admissions and enhancing graduate student support and development going forward. Serving on the FAS-SEAS Senate will help inform my ideas and hopefully lead to a wide range of new collaborations that serve our community.
James Patterson
Senior Lector
Classics
HUMANITIES
It is an honor to have been nominated for faculty senate. I am the Language Program Director in Classics, where I supervise graduate student teachers of Ancient Greek and Latin and help graduate students prepare for PhD qualification exams. Before coming to Yale in 2021, I was a Lecturer for six years at the University of Texas at Austin. I am very familiar with challenges that contingent faculty face and will advocate in all ways possible for those who are not on the tenure track. Separately, I am a proud adopted New Havener who is dismayed by town-gown tensions, which are more intense here than anywhere else I have been, and will support initiatives that help alleviate them.
Maria Mercedes Piñango
Professor
Department of Linguistics, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program and Wu Tsai Institute
SOCIAL SCIENCE
As a member of the FAS-SEAS Senate, I would be honored to continue working to make Yale a space that not only welcomes all, but that once here, makes all faculty feel supported and valued as we create, innovate, and all-around dig deep in our research and pedagogical work.
About me: I arrived at Yale in 1999 as an assistant professor fresh from graduate school obtaining tenure in 2008. My research is on the brain/mind mechanisms that implement meaning through language: how the human mind connects language to meaning, stores those connections, combines them, allows them to vary across individuals and ultimately change over time. To that end, I use methods not only from linguistics and anthropology, but also from cognitive psychology and from cognitive neuroscience; a methodological approach that has allowed me to connect with colleagues from all around the University.
Currently I serve as Faculty Director for Yale Education Studies Program. Prior to this my service to the university has included: Course of Study Committee, Committee on Majors (co-chair), Committee on Advancement, Placement and Enrollment (co-chair), and University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct. In my own department I have had both DUS and DGS roles. Altogether this diverse and deeply enriching set of experiences has given me an understanding of the strengths (and weaknesses) of our institution in both its academic and human facets; understanding that has guided my efforts in the FAS-SEAS Senate these past few years and will continue to do so moving forward.
Noelia Sánchez-Walker, Ph.D.
Lector
Spanish and Portuguese
HUMANITIES
It is an honor to be nominated to the FAS-SEAS Senate for a two-year term. I see this nomination as an opportunity to learn and contribute to efforts for diversity, equity and inclusion within our Yale community and surrounding neighborhoods. In this respect, if elected, I plan to advocate for initiatives that concern our instructional faculty and minoritized communities in and around the university.
I firmly believe in the strength of an inclusive community. As a Spanish language Lector, my teaching focuses on creating a community of learners. We use our language skills to listen to each other, to communicate our views of the world and to help each other. My research focuses on second and heritage language acquisition and development, and the factors that affect these processes. I am currently contributing to the development of a language teaching model that, in addition to fostering language development, fosters antiracist and anti-discriminatory practices within and outside the classroom.
Your vote will allow me to join this committed team of scholars who work to transform existing discriminatory practices productively and positively to benefit us all.
Julia Silvestri
Lecturer
Linguistics
SOCIAL SCIENCE
I am honored to be nominated for the Yale faculty senate. My goal in accepting the nomination is to contribute meaningfully to the Yale community by advocating for accessibility, inclusive design, and constructive dialogue.
Through my work as American Sign Language lector and ASL program coordinator, I have cultivated partnerships within the university and with external communities. These partnerships have enabled us to provide students with service-learning opportunities that have had a significant impact on the development of ASL-accessible events and have raised awareness on campus.
From my experience serving Deaf community organizations, I have gained insight and appreciation for cross-cultural dialogue and consensus building. To the Yale senate I anticipate bringing a unique perspective and dedication to fostering inclusivity, learning from fellow faculty members, and utilizing parliamentary procedure as a tool to find common ground and drive progress.
Stephen Slade, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
Computer Science
ENGINEERING
I bring extensive Yale experience. I was an undergraduate music major, class of 1974. My 50th reunion is this year. As an undergraduate, I was the head of the Morse College Council. I returned a few years later as a graduate student in computer science. I served as the computer science department representative on the Graduate Professional Student Senate. I earned an MS and Ph.D. in computer science. My research is on cognitive models of decision making. I have written three books on computer programming and artificial intelligence. Recently I began to work on computational models of digital ethics.
Over the years, I have been a lecturer, an administrator, a parent of three Yale students, and a long time New Haven resident. I have taught thousands of Yale students. As assistant chair of the computer science department, I addressed a range of issues including recruiting junior and senior faculty, renovating 51 Prospect Street, and getting Yale connected to the Internet. I arrived at Yale in the early days of coeducation and saw its challenges and benefits through the eyes of my wife, who was class of 1976, and my two daughters (2010 and 2015). I have experienced the evolving town-gown relationship of New Haven and Yale.
Outside of Yale, I taught at the NYU Stern School of Business and also designed information systems for several presidential campaigns, the White House, and Wall Street. (I also got the White House on the Internet.) I am a hybrid. As an academic, I studied both humanities and science. Outside of academia, I have worked in both the public and private sectors.
I believe that the Faculty Senate can be an ethical voice in this community of scholars. As a senator, I would advocate for fundamental principles including beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, justice, and explicability. That is, Yale should be a force for good in the world; allow its communities to decide to decide, with fairness and equity; and be transparent in its decisions and actions. We will not always agree. We will not always have a vote. However, we should always have a voice.
Mark Solomon
Professor
Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry
SCIENCE
A current senator, I ask for your support so that I can continue making good trouble. I came to Yale 30+ (!) years ago in large part because of our strengths and resources outside of my discipline. In addition to “speaking science,” I’ve developed a good ear for issues raised by colleagues throughout the University. My long-standing interest in advocating for graduate students led me to serve as DGS of my department for an eighth of a century (!) (something I’m told I was pretty good at), where I helped develop and then co-lead a new inter-departmental track for graduate students in the biological sciences. I left the Senate to focus on being Chair of the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct. In addition to ensuring fair processes for all parties, I helped negotiate new procedures for handling formal allegations of sexual misconduct in response to new government regulations. Serving as DGS, and in particular serving as Chair of the UWC, opened my eyes to the gears and levers operating beneath our beloved ivory tower. My strengths and interests tend to lie in procedural issues. In my current term, I initiated an effort to prevent senior hires of faculty found responsible for academic or sexual misconduct at prior institutions. I helped produce the Senate’s report recommending a prohibition on faculty dating graduate students within their departments, served on the committee reviewing changes to the Faculty Handbook, and chaired the committee that will continue to advocate for an ombuds office after our new President is selected. Last, but by no means least, I am strongly on the free expression side of current debates, and am very concerned that recent arrests may put us on a path to the intolerance shown by Columbia University.
Adriane Steinacker
Senior Lecturer
Physics
SCIENCE
My teaching career spans more than two decades and I have been at Yale for eight years. I have seen my role as exclusively and uncompromisingly in the service of my students. I made an impact by working out solutions even when funding fell short, by spending time to understand what was missing, and stepping in to fill the gaps. Many times I felt that I could make a bigger difference if I was given a voice on a higher podium.
When I came to Yale, I was pleasantly surprised to be counted as faculty, teaching faculty, evrn more so when I learned that I did not need to worry from one year to the next whether my contract would be renewed, however irrational this fear may have been. I am thankful for the strides that have been made to improve the situation for teaching faculty since my arrival at Yale, and I would like to directly support this development. Over the years, I have also become aware of inefficiencies and problems which I think can be mitigated to make Yale an even better place.
In teaching a foundational physics course for science and engineering students, I am concerned with maintaining rigor and a solid work ethic within a non-intimidating environment to ensure that our students are well-prepared to face challenges of the future.
Alison Sweeney
Associate Professor
Physics
SCIENCE
I joined Yale with tenure in 2019, having previously been faculty at a peer institution. I have a joint primary appointment across two basic science departments (Physics and E&EB), am physically located in the Quantitative Biology Institute, and am inspired by my co-teaching with a Professor of History. So, I have an unusually broad view and appreciation of the many academic cultures and disciplines at our university.
In the FAS-SEAS Faculty Senate, I want to work on the university’s strategies for fostering a positive and creative culture of interdisciplinarity for innovation and excellence in teaching and research.
I am also interested in building institutional and community support for all parents.
Julia Titus
Senior Lector II
Slavic Languages and Literatures
HUMANITIES
It has been an honor to serve on the FAS-SEAS Faculty Senate for the last two years. Over the years, the University successfully implemented many initiatives promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion, but a lot of work remains to be done. As a woman, a working mother, and an immigrant, I am very sensitive to many challenges existing in today’s academia, and re-elected, I will do my best to ensure that all members of our academic community, especially instructional and non-tenured faculty, have a voice and an opportunity to participate in the decision-making process.
During my first term in the Senate, I have been actively involved in several committees -The Instructional Faculty Committee, the Undergraduate, Admissions, and Education Committee, and the Outreach and Nominations Committee. Together with my colleagues on the Instructional Faculty Committee, we produced the recent comprehensive report on the status of instructional faculty at Yale approved by the Senate last year. As a result of this report, several positive changes have been implemented, but many divisions between the ladder and instructional faculty remain.
If re-elected, I will continue advocating for diminishing these gaps and providing a better integration of instructional faculty into the administrative and academic life of the university. Now more than ever we need to focus on our collective mission of providing excellent education to our undergraduate students, creating a safe space for discussing controversial topics, and combine our efforts on expanding equality, diversity, and inclusivity.
Meg Urry
Israel Munson Professor
Physics and Astronomy
SCIENCE
It would be a pleasure to serve a third and final term in the FAS-SEAS Senate, where I have also been a member of the Executive Committee, Deputy Chair, and this past year, Chair. Faculty are the heart and soul of the university, and the FAS-SEAS Senate is an essential voice for Yale faculty. We have influenced Yale policy with reports on research and scholarly excellence, faculty compensation, faculty conduct standards, improvements for Instructional Faculty, diversity and inclusivity, pandemic accommodations, parental policies, and child scholarships—to mention just a few highlights.
With Yale about to get a new president, there has never been a more important moment for the FAS-SEAS Senate. I would be honored to do my part.
A little bit about me: my research is on the growth of supermassive black holes in galaxies over billions of years of cosmic time. I have been Chair of the Physics Department, a member of the Steering Committee of the Women Faculty Forum, and Director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. I teach mainly undergraduate classes and run a research group of graduate students, postdocs, and undergraduates. Several years ago, I created the annual Granville Academy for summer undergraduate science students, which addresses challenges and strategies for under-represented groups (named in honor of Evelyn Boyd Granville, Yale PhD ’49, the second African-American woman ever to get a PhD in Mathematics in the US). I believe we must continually strive to improve excellence in teaching and research, which requires broadening the spectrum of talent among our community of scholars.
Robert Wooster
Lecturer
Statistics and Data Science
SOCIAL SCIENCE
I am honored to be nominated for the faculty senate. Although I am relatively new to the Yale community (I joined the Department of Statistics & Data Science as a lecturer in Fall 2022), I grew up close by in the Naugatuck Valley, and so I feel right at home at Yale. If I am fortunate enough to be elected to the faculty senate, my priorities will be to represent and support instructional faculty, promote academic freedom, and to nurture an open and intellectually curious campus climate. In addition to this, I will work to continually build trust and common purpose between faculty and administration, and the Yale community at large.
Jing Yan
Assistant Professor
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
SCIENCE
I will be thrilled to have the opportunity to keep serving as the FAS-SEAS senator for another term. I have been serving on the FAS-SEAS Senate as a junior senator for the past two years during which I have participated in many senate activities through different committees. In the next term, I would love to keep serving on the Faculty Governance Committee and carry on unfinished projects including the review of the Faculty Handbook.