Agenda Committee of the Faculty Senate

Agenda Committee 2024-2025

Jeffrey Halpern, Chair
Mary Stampone, Vice-Chair
Gregg Moore, Member-at-Large
Amy Ramage, Member-at-Large
Will Smiley, Member-at-Large
Vidya Sundar, Past Chair

2024-2025 Agenda Committee Priorities

About the Agenda Committee Members

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Session XXIX

FACULTY SENATE CHAIR
Jeffrey M. Halpern (he/him) is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering. In 2012, he was awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholarship and joined UNH in 2014. Prof. Halpern currently runs the Surface Enhanced Electrochemical Diagnostic Sensors (SEEDS) Laboratory and is the PI of BIO-SENS (Bio-Inspired On-demand Strategies to Engineer Nanostructured Sensors) [an NSF EPSCoR funded group #2119237]. His current research is highly interdisciplinary which integrates surface chemistry, electrochemistry, material science, and biosensor design by focusing on surface polymer modifications towards the recruitment of biomolecules for enhanced sensitivity, reproducibility, and reusability. Prof. Halpern is also heavily involved with different teaching and mentoring pedagogies adapted for neurodiverse students. In 2023, Prof. Halpern recently won the J. Brent Loy Innovator of the Year award and the inaugural CEPS Outstanding Undergraduate Mentor of the Year Award. Prof. Halpern has served on Faculty Senate since 2019, has chaired the Finance and Administration Committee (2020-2022) and recently served as Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate.  

FACULTY SENATE VICE CHAIR
Mary D. Stampone (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor of Geography and serves as the New Hampshire State Climatologist. She received her Ph.D. in Climatology from the University of Delaware and joined the University of New Hampshire faculty in 2008. Dr. Stampone’s NOAA-funded research in applied climate science focuses on monitoring and modeling variability and change in regional-scale climate system processes with an emphasis on hydroclimatic hazards (i.e., drought, flooding, severe weather). She co-authored the “Northeast” chapter of the 4th National Climate Assessment, led the recent “New Hampshire Climate Assessment” and is a member of the NH Coastal Flood Risk Science and Technical Advisory Panel and Drought Management Team. She received the Class of 1941 Professorship in 2017, the Faculty Sustainability Award for established research in 2023, and was awarded the inaugural Civil Discourse Lab CIRCLE Engaged Research Fellowship. Dr. Stampone teaches undergraduate courses on weather, climate, and natural hazards for the Department of Geography and served two terms as department chair. She joined the Faculty Senate as the representative for the Departments of Anthropology and Geography in 2023, serving as chair of the Academic Programs Committee. .

AT-LARGE AGENDA COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

Gregg Moore is an Associate Professor of Coastal Restoration and Resilience in the Department of Biological Sciences. His primary research interests are focused upon coastal wetland restoration ecology, conservation, and land management within both temperate and tropical habitats. With funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and others. His research has had a particular emphasis on the anthropogenic impacts to wetlands examining the interplay between plant community patterns and sediment biogeochemistry seeking to gain an increased understanding of the causes of habitat loss, plant species invasions, and co-developing innovative strategies for restoring resilient coastal habitats directly with affected communities though engaged scholarship. He was the recipient of EPA’s Environmental Merit Award in the Environmental, Community, Academia & Nonprofit category, and the Sustainability Award “Gold” through UNH’s Sustainability Institute. Moore takes pride in his service to UNH community. He presently serves as the Program Coordinator for the Marine, Estuarine, and Freshwater Biology Major, the Marine Biology Minor, and the Marine Policy Minor, as well as the Academic Affairs Committee for the Department of Biological Sciences. For nearly 10 years, he served as the Academic Coordinator for Shoals Marine Laboratory. Moore joined Faculty Senate in 2020 and is the Chair of the Research and Public Service Committee (RPSC). He looks forward to beginning his 3rd consecutive 2-year term in service of Faculty Senate this coming fall.  

Amy Ramage is an Associate Professor and Research Coordinator in the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders. Her research, teaching, and clinical interests center on the neurologic bases of cognition and emotion as they interact with communication competence. Dr. Ramage’s research group, the Cognition, Brain, and Language Team (CoBALT) studies the association between impairments of cognition, emotion & language in acquired brain injury and the brain systems that underlie them. The objective is to identify variables (biomarkers or behaviors) that contribute to the dysfunction of brain systems and to determine their value as predictors of outcomes. The long-term goal of this work is to understand whether these predictors may be targeted and optimized in treatments effecting change in these neural systems. While at UNH, Dr. Ramage has served on several Departmental, College, and University committees including those centered on awarding funding to students and faculty through the Faculty Development and Scholars Program, Dissertation Year Fellowships, and the Collaborative Research Excellence (CoRE) initiatives. She has served as the Hamel Center and the Hamel Honors and Scholars College liaison for her department for several years with an interest in providing high-level, scholarly activities to all students across the curriculum. She has served as a faculty senator since 2021 and as Chair of the Academic Programs Committee in 2022-23. Outside of work, she aspires to see all the 52-with-a-view in NH and may graduate to seeing the 48 4000 footers someday.

Will Smiley is an Assistant Professor in the Humanities Program. He is a historian of the Middle East, Eurasia, the Ottoman Empire and international law. Dr. Smiley received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, his J.D. from the Yale Law School, his master’s degree from the University of Utah and his bachelor’s degree from Hillsdale College. His first book, “From Slaves to Prisoners of War: The Ottoman Empire, Russia, and International Law” (Oxford University Press, 2018), examines the emergence of rules of warfare surrounding captivity and slavery in the context of the centuries-long rivalry between two empires, the Ottoman and Russian, which defined the future of the Middle East and Eurasia. He has been a member of the Faculty Senate since 2020, never having known a time when the Senate was in-person.

EX-OFFICIO MEMBER

Vidya Sundar (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy (OT) at the University of New Hampshire. She received her undergraduate degree in Occupational Therapy from Dr. MGR Medical University, India, and her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science from University of Buffalo. At UNH, Dr. Sundar teaches graduate, undergraduate, and inter-disciplinary coursework related to inclusive workplace practices, worker rehabilitation, and research methods and statistics. She received the CHHS Outstanding New Investigator Award in 2018 and the Excellence in Collaboration Award in 2017. Dr. Sundar leads the Positive Work Experiences Research (PoWER) group, and her current scholarship focuses on intervention programs for career development and advancement of individuals with disabilities. Her research has been funded by federal agencies and private foundations such as the Administration on Community Living, Administration on Aging, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, Social Security Administration, and Kessler Foundation. At UNH, Dr. Sundar has served on several departmental, college and university committees including the Presidential Search Committee, the CHHS Academic Affairs Committee, Faculty Senate Agenda Committee, and GSC Merger Governance committee. Dr. Sundar has been a member of the Faculty Senate since 2019.   . 

Agenda Committee 2023-2024

  • Vidya Sundar, Chair
  • Jeffrey Halpern, Vice-Chair
  • James Connell, Member-at-Large
  • Amy Ramage, Member-at-Large
  • Will Smiley, Member-at-Large
  • Matthew MacManes, Past Chair

Agenda Committee 2022-2023

  • Matthew MacManes, Chair
  • Vidya Sundar, Vice Chair
  • James Connell, Member-at-Large
  • Jeffrey Halpern, Member-at-Large
  • Andrew Seal, Member-at-Large
  • Kevin Healey, past Chair, Ex-Officio Member

Agenda Committee 2021-2022

  • Chair: Kevin Healey, Communications, COLA
  • Vice Chair: Matthew MacManes, MCBS, COLSA
  • James Connell, Physics, CEPS
  • Vidya Sundar, Occupational Therapy, CHHS
  • Harriet Fertik, Classics, Humanities, and Italian Studies, COLA (Fall 2021)
  • Kathrine Aydelotte, Library (Spring 2022)

Agenda Committee 2020-2021

  • Chair:  Erin Sharp, Human Development & Family Studies, CHHS
  • Vice Chair:  Kevin Healey, Communication, COLA, Vice  Chair (elected on 11/2/20)
  • Past Chair:  David Bachrach, History, COLA 
  • Ann Bartow, UNH Law
  • James Connell, Physics, CEPS
  • Allison Wilder, Recreation Management and Policy, CHHS (elected on 11/2/20)

Note: Rosemarie Came, Earth Sciences, CEPS, served as Vice  Chair from 05/04/20 - 11/2/20