FUN Officers and Committees
| Executive Committee | |
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President: Jackie Rose Western Washington University Term Expires: 11/2025 |
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Past - President: Yuan Yuan (Connie) Kang University of Houston Downtown Term expires: 11/2025 |
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President-elect: Lorenz Neuwirth State University of New York Westbury Term Expires: 11/2025 |
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Secretary: Jennifer Willhelm College of Charleston Term Expires: 11/2025 |
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Treasurer: Melanie Leussis Emmanuel College Term Expires: 11/2025 |
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Treasurer-Elect: Lauren (Rudy) Rudolph Kenyon University Term Expires: 11/2025 |
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Councilor: Mathew Abrams Karolinska Institutet Term Expires: 11/2026 |
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Councilor: Monica M. Gaudier-Diaz University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Term Expires: 11/2025 |
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Councilor: Marc Nahmani University of Washington | Tacoma Term Expires: 11/2025 |
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Councilor: Aparna Shah Virginia Tech Term Expires: 11/2025 |
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Councilor: Jennifer Wenzel University of San Diego Term Expires: 11/2026 |
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Councilor: Lauren Williamson North Kentucky University Term Expires: 11/2026 |
FUN Committees
Advisory Board of Past Presidents
- Kurt R. Illig, University of St. Thomas. (Term expires 11/2025)
- Erin Rhinehart, Susquehanna University (Term expires 11/2026)
Finance Committee
- Chair, Melanie Leussis, Emmanuel College
Undergraduate Travel Award Committee (email)
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Chair, Lorenz Neuwirth, SUNY Old Westbury
DEI Committee (email)
- Co-Chair, Lorenz Neuwirth, SUNY Old Westbury
- Co-Chair, Princy Mennella, Westfield State University
FUN Awards Committee (email)
- Chair, Connie Kang, University of Houston, Downtown
Election Committee (email)
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Chair, Lorenz Neuwirth, SUNY Old Westbury
Education Committee (email)
- Co-chair, Amy Jo Stavnezer, College of Wooster
- Co-chair, David Donley, Harding University
Public Policy and Governmental Affairs Committee (email)
- Co-chair, Aparna Shah, Virginia Tech
- Co-chair, Sarah Hartvigsen, University of Richmond
Equipment Loan Committee (email)
- Co-Chair, Lorenz Neuwirth, SUNY Old Westbury
- Co-Chair, James Henry Peters, Washington State University
Communications Committee (email)
- Co-Chair, Susan Banks, Florida Southern College
- Co-Chair, Jennifer Wilhelm, College of Charleston
- Social Media, Connie Kang, University of Houston, Downtown
JUNE Editorial Board
- Elaine Reynolds, Lafayette College, Editor-in-Chief
- See current editors at www.funjournal.org
- Chair, Marc Nahmani, University of Washington Tacoma
Elections
Elections for FUN Officers and Councilors are conducted annually, according to the procedures stipulated by the FUN Bylaws.The Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) is now accepting nominations for the executive committee elections for 2025-2026. This year, we are accepting nominations for the following positions on the executive committee:
- President-Elect (1-year as President-Elect, 1-year as President and 1-year Past President)
- Secretary (2-year term on the Executive Committee)
- Treasurer (2-year term on the Executive Committee)
- Three Councilors (2-year term on the Executive Committee serving in various capacities, such as serving on standing committees and assisting with FUN programs)
FUN is an international organization supporting neuroscience research and education at the undergraduate level. We work to support more than 400 members who teach, mentor, and conduct research with undergraduates across a variety of institutions. Each year, in cooperation with industry and society partners, FUN sponsors student travel awards for students to attend the annual Society for Neuroscience (SfN) conference, we also offer up to a 2-year equipment loan to faculty, postdoctoral students and graduate students, provide publishing opportunities in the Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education (JUNE), and as a growing organization we continue to undertake many other initiatives to support our members' efforts in undergraduate teaching, mentoring, pedagogical sharing, and research productivity connecting members both nationally and internationally.
The success of these programs depends on the participation of our membership, especially in our volunteer leadership roles. Nominating yourself or a colleague is an important contribution to FUN's role in supporting undergraduate faculty, their postdoctoral students, graduate students, and most of all their undergraduate students.
All current FUN regular members are eligible to be nominated for these positions. Nominations will open on Friday, August 15th. Please send nominations (including self-nominations) to the 2025-2026 election committee at Elections@funfaculty.org by Tuesday, September 2nd by 6pm PST/8pm CST/9pm EST. Each member may nominate up to three people for each position.
Feel free to contact any of the 2025-2026 Nominations & Elections Committee members listed below should you have any questions.
President-elect & Chair, of The Nominations & Elections Committee:
Lorenz S. Neuwirth Ph.D., SUNY Old Westbury
Past President:
Yuanyuan (Connie) Kang, Ph.D., University of Houston—Downtown
Councilor:
Marc Namani, Ph.D., University of Washington—Tacoma
For your convenience, included below are specific election position responsibility descriptions and the nomination and election processes as outlined in the bylaws which can also be found at: https://www.funfaculty.org/fun_bylaws
Specific Election Position Responsibility Descriptions and Terms Are Listed Below:
ARTICLE V - OFFICERS
Section 2. President. The President shall be a Regular Member of FUN, shall be the chief executive officer, shall preside at meetings of the Executive Committee and Business Meetings of FUN, shall be responsible for executing policies determined by the Executive Committee, shall act as spokesperson for FUN, and shall be responsible for setting in motion all Orders and Resolutions of the Executive Committee.
Section 3. President-elect. The President-elect shall be a Regular Member of FUN, shall assist the President in conducting the affairs of FUN, shall be a member of the Executive Committee, and shall substitute for the President when necessary.
Section 4. Past President. The Past President shall be a Regular Member of FUN, shall assist the President in conducting the affairs of FUN, shall be a member of the Executive Committee, and shall substitute for the President after the President-elect when necessary. In addition, the Past President shall automatically serve on the Advisory Board of Past Presidents for a three-year term.
ARTICLE VII - Executive Committee
Section 1. Executive Committee. The affairs of FUN shall be managed through an Executive Committee consisting of six elected Councilors and the President, President-elect, the Past President, Treasurer, Treasurer-Elect and Secretary. All members of the Executive Committee shall be entitled to one vote each except for the presiding officer, who shall vote only in the case of a tie.
Section 5. Election of Councilors. Councilors shall be elected by a simple plurality of votes on ballots received by the Chair of the Elections Committee through the same procedure as for the election of Officers. Councilors shall be elected for a two-year term of office and may serve no more than three consecutive terms. At the expiration of either of these terms, Councilors may become elected officers of FUN. Newly elected Councilors shall assume office at the end of the Annual Business Meeting. Councilors are required to be Regular Members or Fellows of FUN.
Nomination and Election Processes:
Section 1. At least three months before the Annual Meeting, the President-elect shall issue a call by the FUN listserv to all voting members of FUN for nominations for the office of President-elect and such other officers and members of the Executive Committee to be elected for the following year. Each Regular Member may nominate up to three persons for each office. The completed nominations shall be returned directly to the President-Elect. Two weeks after issuing the nomination, the Election Committee shall close nominations and shall make a preferential count of nominees for the President-elect and any other officers and members of the Executive Committee to be elected. The Election Committee shall certify to the President-elect the names of the three Regular Members named most frequently for each office on the nomination ballot.
Section 2. The President-elect shall then contact each nominee put forth via electronic mail and obtain a written statement of willingness to serve before his/her name is placed on the election ballot. The Election Committee shall determine the eligibility of nominees, and if any nominee is found to be ineligible or unwilling to stand for office, the name of the person ranking next on the preferential count shall be contacted and asked if they wish to serve. To be eligible for inclusion on the election ballot, each nominee must be a Regular Member or Fellow of FUN.
Section 3. Not longer than one month after closing the nomination ballot, the Election Committee shall have the President-Elect distribute an electronic survey/ballot to all voting members of FUN. The final ballot shall include nominees for President-elect and may include the names of nominees to such other offices as may be appropriate.
Section 4. Two weeks after opening electronic voting, the Election Committee shall close the election and shall make a preferential count of the election ballot. Tie votes shall be determined by lot. The election results shall be reported by the Elections Committee to the Executive Committee at least one month prior to the Annual Business Meeting.
Section 5. The results of the election shall be announced by the Executive Committee at the Annual Business Meeting.