The chair of the faculty presides over meetings of the Faculty Assembly, and Faculty Senate.  The general purpose of the Faculty Senate is to manage faculty governance, address faculty concerns and support  faculty welfare.

All members of faculty-created standing committees are elected from and by the faculty to three-year terms.  In addition, the faculty elects two officers for two-year terms: the chair of the faculty and the vice-chair of the faculty.

Faculty Officers and Senate Membership

Chair and Vice Chair

Oksana Ezhokina – Chair of Faculty
School of Music, Theatre & Dance
Seat expires 2028
ejokinoa@plu.edu

Jacob Egge – Vice Chair of Faculty
Department of Biology
Seat expires 2028
eggejj@plu.edu

Senators

College of Health Professions Representatives

Riley Stumpf
School of Nursing
Seat exires: 2027 (1-year term)
riley.stumpf@plu.edu

Terri Farrar
Department of Kinesiology
Seat expires: 2029 (2-year term)
farrartd@plu.edu

College of Liberal Studies Representatives

Michael Artime
Department of Political Science
Seat expires: 2027 (1-year term)
artimemr@plu.edu

Jim Albrecht
Department of English
Seat expires: 2028 (2-year term)
albrecjm@plu.edu

College of Natural Science Representatives

Corey Cook
Department of Psychology
Seat expires: 2027 (1-year term)
cookcn@plu.edu

Andrea Munro
Department of Chemistry
Seat expires: 2029 (2-year term)
munroam@plu.edu

College of Professional Studies Representatives

Jim Brown
School of Music, Theatre & Dance
Seat expires 2028 (2-year term)
brownja@plu.edu

John Wright
School of Education
Seat expires 2029 (3-year term)
jwright@plu.edu

Contingent Faculty Representative

Kristina Kenning
School of Nursing
Seat expires 2028 (2-year term)
kristina.kenning@plu.edu

Advisory Members

  • President
  • Provost
  • Chairs of Faculty Standing Committees (CCC, EPC, GOV, R&T)

Core Curriculm Committee (CCC)

Membership for 2026-27:

Neva Laurie-Berry
Department of Biology
Committee Seat: Expires 2027
larien@plu.edu

Laura Fitzwater-Gonzales
Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice & Anthropology
Committee Seat: Expires 2028
fitzwalb@plu.edu

Mary Ellen Biggerstaff
School of Nursing
Committee Seat expires 2029
biggerm@plu.edu

Educational Policies Committee (EPC)

Membership for 2026-27:

Erik Hammerstrom – Chair
Department of Religion
Committee Seat: Expires 2027
hammerej@plu.edu

Anissa Rogers
Department of Social Work
Committee Seat: Expires 2027
rogersat@plu.edu

Lark Powers
School of Music, Theatre and Dance
Committee Seat: Expires 2028
powerslm@plu.edu

Rich Louie
Department of Physics
Committee Seat: Expires 2029
louiern@plu.edu

Governance Committee

Membership for 2026-27:

Name: Nicky Martin – Chair
Department of Kinesiology
Committee Seat: Expires 2027
martin@plu.edu

Marnie Ritchie – Secretary
Department of Communication, Media & Design Arts
Committee Seat: Expires 2028
ritchiem@plu.edu

Ron Gerhardstein
School of Music, Theatre & DAnce
Committee Seat: Expires 2029
gerharrc@plu.edu

Rank and Tenure Committee (RT)

Membership for 2026-27:

Charlie Katica
Department of Kinesiology
Committee Seat: Expires 2027
katicacp@plu.edu

Peter Davis – Chair
Department of Earth Sciences
Committee Seat: Expires 2027
davispb@plu.edu

Cathy Kim
School of Education
Committee Seat: Expires 2028
kimck@plu.edu

Gina Hames
Department of History
Committee Seat: Expires 2028
hamesgl@plu.edu

Mike Shannon Seidel
Department of Biology
Committee Seat: Expires 2027
seidelsb@plu.edu

Formal Dismissal Hearing Committee

Cases involving the dismissal of a faculty member may be brought before the Formal Dismissal Hearing Committee.

The procedure for the election of faculty to the Formal Dismissal Hearing Committee is found in the Faculty Bylaws, Article VI, Section 2.E.1:

  1. The Formal Dismissal Hearing Committee shall consist of five members of the permanent faculty who have had at least four years of service at Pacific Lutheran University. They shall be elected as follows: Each September, the Governance Committee shall nominate a panel of fifteen. From these nominees the elected faculty members of Faculty Executive Committee shall elect a panel of ten and the results of this election shall be reported to the faculty. The five with the highest number of votes shall constitute the Formal Dismissal Hearing Committee. The remaining five shall serve as alternates in case of vacancies or if in the opinion of the committee any of its members should be disqualified in a particular case. Such alternates shall be chosen in order of highest votes received in the election. These ten are elected to a term of one calendar year beginning on October 15 and ending on October 14 of the following year. Cases still in process at the end of the stipulated calendar year will be completed by the committee assigned to that case.

For the period beginning October 15, 2025 and ending October 14, 2026, the members of the Formal Dismissal Hearing Committee as elected by the Faculty Executive Committee are as follows (in alphabetical order by surname):

Tiffany Artime, Associate Professor (Psychology)
Terri Farrar, Associate Professor (Kinesiology)
Charlie Katica, Associate Professor (Kinesiology)
Kate Luther, Associate Professor (Sociology, Criminal Justice & Anthropology)
Paul Sutton, Associate Professor (Education)

The alternates for the period beginning October 15, 2025 and ending October 14, 2026 are, in order:

Alternate #1: Emily Davidson, Associate Professor (Global & Cultural Studies)
Alternate #2: Seth Dowland, Professor (Religion)
Alternate #3: Ralph Flick, Associate Professor (Business)
Alternate #4: Katrina Hay, Professor (Physics)
Alternate #5: N. Justice, Associate Professor (Math)

Faculty Senate Appointments

TITLE IX COMMITTEE
TBD

UNIVERSITY DIVERSITY COMMITTEE
TBD

UNIVERSITY SAFETY COMMITTEE
Gerardo Cuevas-Buendia, Sociology, Criminal Justice & Anthropology (seat expires 2027)

Faculty Senate and Faculty Standing Committee Membership