VICE PRESIDENT – Choose 1

Name:                                                 Joseph Palmisano, M.D.

Academic Rank:                                Professor

Department(s)/Center:                      Medicine

Position sought:                               Vice President

In 1982 Dr. Joseph Palmisano was fortunate to join the faculty at the University of Connecticut Health Center (UConn Health) as an Assistant Professor working as a clinical nephrologist, medical educator and basic investigator in the field of H+ transport in urinary epithelia under Philip Steinmetz as Chief of Nephrology. In 1990 his career path changed as he took advantage of the opportunity to participate in a new closed-model ICU at the UConn Health Center. This enabled him to pursue a new career as an intensivist, clinical nephrologist and medical educator. In this new role his main focus has been both excellence in patient care and participation in graduate and undergraduate medical education. Since 2000 he has been the Director of the JDH ICU.   In the past it has been his honor to be elected and to serve several terms as President of the John Dempsey Hospital Medical staff.   From 2007 to 2011 he served as the Interim Chairman of Medicine. In that role he had the opportunity to develop a much broader appreciation for the issues facing the UConn Health Center and to witness the hard work and excellence of the UConn Health Center faculty.  During the initial AAUP negotiations with Health Center administration on faculty compensation, he served on the collective bargaining committee.  In 2014 he was elected to the AAUP Collective Bargaining Council.  Throughout his career, Dr. Palmisano has valued his many colleagues and the rich opportunities he has been afforded as a faculty member at the UConn Health Center.  If elected Vice President it would be his goal to represent the interests of faculty across all disciplines.

Name:                                                  Leslie Wolfson, M.D.

Academic Rank:                                Professor

Department(s)/Center:                      Neurology

Position sought:                                Vice President

Dr. Leslie Wolfson has been a faculty member at UConn Health for the past 25 years, for 24 of as combined Chair of Neurology of UConn Health and Hartford Hospital, during that time serving on numerous committees including: Clinical Council, Research Council, Dean’s Council, HCRAC, Search Committees, Departmental Reviews and SAPC.  His interest in serving on the AAUP Executive Council relates to his longstanding support of faculty interests and overcoming the challenges that we face in moving forward in an increasingly difficult environment.

SECRETARY/TREASURER – Choose 1

Name:                                                 Ann Cowan, Ph.D.

Academic Rank:                                Professor             

Department(s)/Center:                      MBB

Position sought:                                Secretary/Treasurer

Dr. Ann Cowan is Professor of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Deputy Director of the Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, and Core Director for the CCAM Microscopy Service Facility.  A non-tenure track basic science faculty member at UConn Health Center in the Medical Educator track since 1991, Dr. Cowan has effort in Research, Teaching (in medical, graduate, and professional courses and workshops) and Administration, and currently serves on the Health Center Research Advisory Council (HCRAC) and the Health Center Faculty Review Board.  Dr. Cowan has been a member of the UCHC-AAUP executive committee since its inception, and a member of the UCHC-AAUP 2011, 2012-13, and 2014-15 Negotiating Teams.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

At Large – Choose 1

Name:                                                 Anne Kenny, M.D.

Academic Rank:                                Professor             

Department(s)/Center:                      Medicine

Position sought:                                Executive Council – At Large

Dr. Anne Kenny is a Professor in the Department of Medicine. She is a long standing member of the University of Connecticut and has served on various committees within the School of Medicine.

Name:                                                 Bruce Mayer, Ph.D.

Academic Rank:                                Professor

Department(s)/Center:                      Genetics and Genome Sciences

Position sought:                                Executive Council – At Large

Dr. Bruce Mayer has worked as a basic science researcher at UConn Health since 2000. Dr. Mayer has been committed to education and research for many years, serving on a number of institutional committees including Medical Council, Education Council, Oversight Committee, Health Center Research Advisory Council (HCRAC), Graduate Programs Committee (GPC), and Senior Appointments and Promotions Committee (SAPC). He has also been involved with UCHC-AAUP since its formation in 2010. He participated actively in the constitution committee that developed the chapter’s constitution and the framework for the first elections, and was elected to serve as the first President of UCHC-AAUP. Dr. Mayer served in that position for 2 ½ years, during which the chapter negotiated its initial contract and also the agreement for distribution of wage increases. Along with the other elected officers and representatives, he worked hard to set up a union from scratch that could effectively represent and advocate for all members of the bargaining unit. He believes that the union is most effective when it listens to membership, and when it takes advantage of opportunities to work together with other groups to achieve common goals. The coming years promise to be challenging, as the union negotiates a new contract in a time of fiscal constraints for the institution and the state. Dr. Mayer believes that his previous experience will be helpful to the union in this critical period.

Clinical (Medical-Clinical) – Choose 1

 Name:                                                Amir Nasir, M.D.

Academic Rank:                                Assistant Professor           

Department(s)/Center:                      Plastic Surgery

Position sought:                                Executive Council- Clinical

Dr. Amir Nasir has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at UConn Health for the past two years and is proud of our institution and its service to the people of Connecticut. Prior to coming to UConn he worked at a Level 1 Trauma Center in Upstate New York. He also spent two years working in Public Health while serving in the Peace Corps in West Africa.  Dr. Nasir has had the opportunity to get to know some of our AAUP representatives and has come to understand why the AAUP is so important to the character of our institution and all of the great people that work here. His interest in serving on the AAUP Executive Council is based on his belief that as great as things are at UConn, they can be better, for our patients, students, and faculty. There is a great deal of change coming to the Health Center in the years to come. Dr. Nasir thinks we should embrace it. He believes that the AAUP will help ensure that the change is something that we can be proud of and will serve the interests of our patients, students, and faculty.  Dr. Nasir would be honored to help make a contribution to those efforts.

Dental – Choose 1

Name:                                                 Efthimia (Effie) Ioannidou, D.D.S., M.D.S.

Academic Rank:                                Associate Professor          

Department(s)/Center:                      Periodontology

Position sought:                                Executive Council – Dental

Dr. Effie Ioannidou has been a clinical science faculty since 2002. She is a tenured Associate Professor of Periodontology in the School of Dental Medicine. She has effort in Research, Teaching (undergraduate and graduate school) and Administration as a member of the Executive Council of the Clinical Research Center representing the Dental Core. Her focus is on academic gender inequity as it affects compensation, recruitment, retention and promotion policies.

Basic Science – Choose 1

Name:                                                 John Carson, Ph.D.

Academic Rank:                                Professor             

Department(s)/Center:                      MMSB

Position sought:                                Executive Council – Basic Science

Dr. John Carson has been a basic science faculty member at the Health Center since 1979.  He is currently a Professor in the MMSB department and a member of the Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling. He has served on the Constitution committee, the Collective Bargaining Council, the Grievance Committee and the Executive Council.  The main issue he has worked on is salary inequity.

If elected to the Executive Council, he will continue to work on salary inequity, faculty evaluation, faculty grievances and promotion of female faculty.