CNAS College Committees

CNAS Committee Assignments 2026-2027

Bull Shoals Field Station Committee

Charge – Works with the director of the station to oversee the budget and operations of the station. Makes recommendations to the dean for enhancements and reallocations. Annual report to dean.

  • Sean Maher, BIO, CHAIR
  • Cyren Rico, CHM
  • Matt McKay, SEES
  • Kevin Evans, SEES
  • Asif Ishtiaque, SEES
  • Damon Bassett, SEES

CNAS Awards Committee

Charge – Review the applications and nominations for the CNAS Faculty and Staff awards, Professorships and Felllowships.

  • Magdalena Toda, CNAS, Dean, CHAIR
  • Jorge Rebaza, CNAS, Associate Dean
  • Kyoungtae Kim, BIO, Department Head
  • Sean Maher, BIO, Bull Shoals Field Station Director
  • Adam Wanekaya, CHM, Department Head
  • Ajay Katangur, CSC, Department Head
  • Theresa Odun-Ayo, EGR, Program Director
  • Gary Michelfelder, SEES, Department Head
  • Jason Ray, CRPM, Director
  • Marc Owen, OEWRI, Director
  • William Bray, MTH, Department Head
  • Robert Mayanovic, PAMS, Department Head

CNAS Student Research Committee

Charge – Provide assistance for the CNAS Undergraduate Research Symposium. Department representatives will identify 2 judges/8 posters for the event for each category. Provide communication to your department regarding research events: 3MT and EIDF.

  • Rohit Dua, EGR, CHAIR
  • Avery Russell, BIO
  • Natasha DeVore, CHM
  • Gale Lininger, CNAS
  • Holly Keehner, CNAS
  • Yassine Belkhouche, CSC
  • Emily Frazier, SEES
  • Saibal Mitra, PAMS

Equipment Repair/Service and IT Committee

Charge – Makes recommendations to the dean regarding the equipment repair and service budget within CNAS. Reports to the dean quarterly. Review all SCUF proposals and make recommendations to dean in Jan/Feb each year.

  • Michelle Bowe, BIO, CHAIR
  • Erich Steinle, CHM
  • Scott Curtis, CHM
  • Mike Murphy, CNAS
  • Brian Hays, CNAS
  • Yifan Zhang, CSC
  • Rohit Dua, EGR
  • Xiaomin Qui, SEES
  • Adam Beck, PAMS
  • Tiglet Besara, PAMS

MNAS Committee

Charge – Recruit, admit and monitor progress of graduate students in MNAS program. Distribute assistantships to graduate students in CNAS MNAS program. Continue to work on PSM action plan. Work with Career Services to place PSM students in internships. Develop a routine schedule/action plan for MNAS and PSM programs. Committee reports quarterly to CNAS heads and the dean.

  • Ridwan Sakidja, PAMS
  • Babur Mirza, BIO 
  • Avery Russell, BIO
  • Alan Schick, CHM
  • Razib Iqbal, CSC
  • DJ Perkins, SEES
  • Ngoc Do, MTH
  • Jorge Rebaza, CNAS ex-officio

CNAS Faculty Affairs Committee

This committee will serve as the personnel committee, the sabbatical review committee, and the PSIP review committee. 1) Advice will be given to the dean in regard to promotion/tenure decisions which includes distinguished professor. 2) Review applications for sabbaticals, prepare short lists of strengths and weaknesses, and make recommendations to the dean. 3) Committee reviews PSIP applications. Evaluations and recommendations are forwarded to dean.

  • Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi, EGR, CHAIR
  • Paul Durham, BIO
  • Bryan Breyfogle, CHM
  • Lloyd Smith, CSC
  • Jun Luo, SEES
  • Yingcai Su, MTH
  • Kartik Ghosh, PAMS

Scholastic Appeals Committee

Charge – Meets with students who have been suspended to make a recommendation to the associate dean regarding readmission and advice. Meets three times each year.

  • Daniel Moreno, EGR, CHAIR
  • Adnan Maruf, CSC
  • Brian Greene, BIO
  • Tuhina Banerjee, CHM
  • Ron Malega, SEES
  • Matthew Wright, MTH
  • Andrzej Baran, PAMS
  • Jorge Rebaza, CNAS ex-officio

CNAS Student Scholarship Committee

Charge – Review applications for student scholarships in the college and select award winners. All award winners must be selected by May 1 of each year so that the college can recognize the award winners at a reception in the fall. Reports to the dean annually.

  • Damon Bassett, SEES, co-CHAIR
  • Gary Meints, CHM, co-CHAIR
  • Hui Liu, CSC
  • Sanjay Tewari, EGR
  • Paul Durham, BIO
  • Songfeng Zheng, MTH
  • Shyang Huang, PAMS
  • Jorge Rebaza, CNAS ex-officio

CNAS College Council Representatives

The primary purpose of each discipline-based undergraduate college council is to act upon curricular matters that are referred to it by departments/schools within the college. Each discipline-based undergraduate college council is empowered to approve a departmental/school proposal, reject and return a proposal to the originating department/school, or amend and approve the proposal. A discipline-based undergraduate college council shall consist of one member from each academic department/school of the college, and one student representative majoring in a discipline in that college. The academic dean of the college shall be an ex officio member of the council without vote. (See Article II of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Faculty.)

  • Tiglet Besara, PAMS, 2027, CHAIR
  • La Toya Kissoon-Charles, BIO, 2028 (Melissa Schoeben SP27)
  • Keiichi Yoshimatsu, CHM, 2028
  • Melanie Carden-Jessen, SEES, 2028
  • Songfeng Zheng, MTH, 2027
  • Hazhar Rahmani, CSC, 2027
  • Lena Singleton, CNAS student representative
  • Jorge Rebaza, CNAS ex-officio

CNAS Faculty Senate Representatives (two-year term)

  • Brian Greene, BIO-2028
  • Cyren Rico, CHM-2027
  • Razib Iqbal, CSC-2027
  • Damon Bassett, SEES-2027
  • Matthew Wright, MTH-2028
  • Kishor Shah, MTH-2028
  • Mike Reed, PAMS-2028
  • Barbur Mirza, BIO-2028

CNAS Graduate Council representatives (two-year term)

  • Sean Maher, BIO-2027
  • Babur Mirza, NAS-2028
  • Alan Schick, CHM-2027
  • Siming Liu, CSC-2028
  • Matt McKay, SEES-2027
  • Kishor Shah, MTH-2028
  • Tiglet Besara, PAMS-2028