The Working Group includes members from many of our campus' constituents. Each stakeholder group (FEC, ASPC and Staff Council) nominated three representatives to serve on the Working Group. Members from executive staff and the Board of Trustees also serve in the Working Group.
Ben Keim, associate professor of Classics; chair of the faculty
Brent Carbajal, interim vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college
Bri Sérráno, assistant dean and director, Queer Resource Center
Charles Liu, sophomore, Psychological Science major
Claudio Castillo, senior, Computer Science major
Dan O’Leary, Carnegie Professor of Chemistry
Eleanor Brown, James Irvine Professor of Economics
Eric Abelev, chief communications officer
Erica Tyron, director, Smith Campus Center and Student Media
G. Gabrielle Starr, president
Jack Long, trustee
Janet Benton, board chair
Jenn Wilcox Thomas, trustee
Milo Slevin, sophomore, Environmental Analysis major
Tricia Avant, academic coordinator and gallery manager of Art
These members will play a central role in shaping the initiative and must be able to commit time regularly throughout the academic year. David Maxwell will meet with stakeholder leadership groups in April 2025 to offer guidance on representative selection and to answer questions about the process.
A crucial component of the initiative is establishing clear communication loops so everyone, including faculty, staff, and students, understands how their input is used and why decisions were made. This doesn't mean everyone is going to agree with every decision. However, this initiative commits to ensuring those decisions are transparent, explained, and communicated clearly, so we all better understand and trust the process itself, even when we disagree with outcomes. Ultimately, this initiative is about creating accountability for decision-making, sharing the rationale behind those decisions, and ensuring that concerns and inputs are genuinely heard and meaningfully considered.