Professional News

New UK Staff Senators announced

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 5, 2023)  Voting has concluded in the University of Kentucky Staff Senate elections.

The UK Staff Senate represents the interests of staff at all levels of university operations to strengthen relationships across the University of Kentucky and to foster a climate that promotes and empowers all university employees and students to participate in the decision-making process.

Senators-elect will begin their three-year terms as senators on July 1. A listing of senators-elect per sector is as follows:

Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration (EVPFA): Mandi Banahan, Dean Holt, Zachary King, Ben Rice, Nathan Stewart and Justin Sumner.

Executive Vice President for Health Affairs (EVPHA): Tiara Ball, Benito Botaka, Cynthia Brown, AJ Carpenter, Kyle Carter, Cody Conn, Anna Cox, Kevin Duncan, Jonnisa Ferguson, Sandy Frey, Tenia Gatewood, Sheneda Goforth, Charles Haley, Brain Hamblin, Jaelyn Harris, Jaymie Hays, Josh Henry, Amanda Hornsby, Iyad Jabbour, Amy Jones, Harrison Levans, Te’Quisha Miller, Stephanie Million, Aaron Peffer, Monica Perez, Ritchelle Ruiz, Tyler Thurman, Halley White, Sandy Wooten Gay and Stephanie Zapata.

President: Melissa Claar, Christy Coffman, Sarah Fitzgerald, Kel Hahn, Jessica Howard, Courtney McCalla, Thomas Pinkerton, Maddy Trudeau and Christine Wildes.

Provost: Kelley Beverley, Dale Davis, Laura Hall, Charla Hamilton, Kyle Hardesty, Ginni Haynes, Kevin Horn-Pacheco, Troy Martin, Glenn Means, Cary Osborne, Covetta Ramey, Stephen Reed, Farhad Rezaei, Tymory Stanton, Hardin Stevens, Johnna Wilford and Elijah Wilson.

Congratulations to all our new senators. To learn more about Staff Senate, including values, goals, priorities, and accomplishments, visit the UK Staff Senate website or reach out to a senator in your sector. A full list of active senators, organized by sector, can be found at https://staffsenate.uky.edu/people.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.