On March 21, the University of Michigan Senate Assembly announced the election of three new faculty members to the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs. Eight candidates ran for the three seats being vacated by Rebekah Modrak, Simon Cushing and Craig Smith, whose terms will end at the end of April. New members Jesse Capecelatro, Kirsten Herold and Kentaro Toyama are set to begin their three year terms May 1.
Jesse Capecelatro, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has served on the Senate Assembly for the past two years. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Capecelatro said one of his main reasons for running was the uncertainty regarding changes to federal funding, especially for faculty and students in the College of Engineering.
“One of my concerns is that there’s a sort of tug of war between the executive orders at the federal level, and we’re a public university, and so we can’t ignore that, right?” Capecelatro said. “But we also have our own core values that we want to uphold, and so I feel that more than ever, there needs to be a faculty voice at the table when leadership’s making decisions.”
Capecelatro also highlighted his desire to strengthen the relationship between University President Santa Ono, University Provost Laurie McCauley, the Board of Regents and SACUA.
“ I think right now it’s probably more important than ever that we have a strong relationship (between) faculty and administration and that we come to some type of agreement so that when decisions are made, we can (see) both sides and advocate for why this is happening,” Capecelatro said. “And that’s not the current situation.”
Kirsten Herold, Public Health lecturer and current president of the Lecturers’ Employee Organization, has served on LEO in a leadership role since 2002. In an interview with The Daily, Herold said she hoped to find a different approach to restore relationships and work better with the U-M administration.
“I do think that my election sends a clear signal that people are ready for a change of direction,” Herold said. “And hopefully, with the other eight members of SACUA … we can do our part to make that happen. And hopefully (the University administration) will meet us halfway and do their part to help make it happen.”
Herold said she hopes SACUA can help the administration be more collaborative with faculty in discussions surrounding campus issues.
“I certainly hope faculty can be part of the conversation before the decision is made, not after the decision is made that people aren’t happy with,” Herold said. “You know, we have to listen. We have to hear what they have to say.”
Kentaro Toyama, professor of community information, has served in SACUA from 2020 to 2023. Toyama said in an interview with The Daily changes coming from the Trump administration such as cuts to DEI or research funding are some of the major factors encouraging him to serve in SACUA again.
“I think many of us on the faculty have very different ideas of what it really means to protect speech and so on,” Toyama said. “But I think since Trump has taken over, there’s no doubt that there’s also a very immediate sense (that) we all have to be in this together and fight it together.”
Toyama also said he believes SACUA has a role in addressing student and faculty concerns surrounding free speech and freedom of expression on campus.
“Our hope is that our leadership will understand that (freedom speech and expression)are pretty much non-negotiable for a world class university,” Toyama said. “Maybe there are other compromises that could be made. But if we give an inch on those things, I think not only are we losing what makes a great American university great, but also just helping along the process of the loss of free speech in this country.”
Daily News Contributor Carter Carino can be reached at carinoc@umich.edu.
