The Faculty Senate on Tuesday held elections to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, commonly referred to as FSEC, which leads the Faculty Senate and negotiates with the administration.
Five positions on FSEC were up for election: president, vice president, secretary, and two members-at-large.
The candidates for president, vice president and secretary all ran unopposed, securing the position by default the moment nominations concluded.
There were four candidates for the two members-at-large spots up for election, but the incumbents prevailed by a wide margin.
Here’s the breakdown of the election:
President
Inessa Bazayev of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts will continue in her role as president of FSEC after running unopposed.
The election comes as Bazayev is coming off of her first year as president, in which she oversaw the Faculty Senate return to normalcy after the tumult of the previous year’s sessions where then-President Mandi Lopez of the School of Veterinary Medicine was called to resign for failing to alert the Faculty Senate of the Board of Supervisors’ plan to abolish the Faculty Council, the body comprising all of LSU’s faculty.
Bazayev previously served as a member-at-large, where she openly opposed President Lopez.
“I will continue to better share governance and further strengthen faculty voices. We are always stronger together,” Bazayev said moments before her re-election was assured.
Vice President
Daniel Tirone of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences also ran unopposed and will continue serving in his role as vice president of the FSEC. Tirone was another major component of changing the previous leadership and is also finishing his first year as vice president.
Secretary
Parampreet Singh of the College of Science was the final candidate to run unopposed. He previously served as a member-at-large and was first elected after the end of Lopez’s presidency, similar to Bazayev and Tirone. The previous secretary, Meredith Veldman from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, opted not to run and is instead taking a sabbatical.
Members-at-Large
Incumbents Kyla Kazuchyck of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts and Kevin Ringelman of the College of Agriculture faced a challenge from Scott Baldridge and James Madden, both from the College of Science.
Kazuchyck and Ringelman easily fended off the challengers with 28 votes each to Madden’s eight and Baldridge’s six.
Kazuchyck characterized her candidacy as one intent on working on infrastructure issues, while Ringelman, an associate professor in the School of Renewable Natural Resources, advocated for LSU to make a greater effort to become more environmentally sustainable.
A third and final member-at-large position will be elected in the fall, as it’s designated for incoming faculty senators only.
After the elections, the Faculty Senate proceeded with business as usual by considering amendments to their constitution, an endorsement for a prospective pay raise for instructors in the humanities and a presentation by IT services regarding oversight.
The meeting on Tuesday marked the final of the 2022-2023 academic year, and the Faculty Senate will likely meet again in late August.