College of Liberal Arts Faculty Council Election (2024-2026)

I have served on a number of university committees, including faculty council, connected to governance and academic freedom. I also served on the UT Austin AAUP Executive Committee during the 2021 legislative session. I am very invested in ensuring that faculty continue to have a voice in institutional governance, especially at this critical point in time. As well, I am well-versed on the specific nature of the issues that most threaten tenure, academic freedom, and related issues. I would be honored to serve another term on Faculty Council.

I have served in a variety of administrative, instructional and research roles over the past several years. Please see my CV for additional details which can be found on my faculty webpage: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/sociology/faculty/cle55

I received my Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and taught, in the five years before joining the faculty of UT Austin in 2023, at New York University, University College London and Johns Hopkins University. My experience includes serving as Graduate Advisor in Italian Studies here at UT and as Director of Undergraduate Studies in Italian Studies at New York University. My work at these diverse institutions has given me a broad perspective on the ways in which university governance can foster a vibrant and inclusive atmosphere for teaching and research. I would welcome the opportunity to bring this experience to the Faculty Council, and to work to protect academic freedom and to promote faculty wellbeing.

In over two decades at UT, I have held a range of administrative positions. I have served as Director of the Institute for Historical Studies, Director of the Brazil Center at LLILAS, graduate adviser in History, and undergraduate adviser in LLILAS. I have also been a member of the Executive Committee in History and at LLILAS. I am currently concluding a three-year term as a member of the Graduate Assembly, where I served on the admission and enrollment committee.

Melissa Murphy has been the Director of the Spanish Language Program at UT since 2013. She oversees all lower-division Spanish curriculum, as well as the training and supervision of approximately 40 graduate student instructors. Dr. Murphy has served on many committees, including LPAC (Language Policy Advisory Committee), Spanish & Portuguese’s Undergraduate Studies Committee, Faculty Council’s C-6 committee (International Programs and Studies) and Faculty Council’s C-12 committee (Responsibilities, Rights, and Welfare of Graduate Student Academic Employees). She has a wide range of experience in matters related to program administration, policies and procedures, and pedagogy.

Julija Šukys is an Associate Professor of English and the author of three books (Silence is Death, Epistolophilia, and Siberian Exile), one book-length translation (And I burned with shame), and of many essays. Her teaching and research interests include women’s life- and autobiographical writing, critical archival studies, and all forms of literary nonfiction. Before taking up her current position at the University of Texas at Austin, Šukys was an elected member of the Graduate Faculty Senate at the University of Missouri, where she chaired its Policy Subcommittee as well as numerous graduate student dismissal appeal hearings. In Fall 2022, held the Fulbright Canada Research Chair at York University in Toronto for a literary project on campus gun violence and archives.

I am an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Middle Eastern Studies. My teaching and research have to do with the history and culture of the ancient Middle East, with a focus on legal systems and practices. I served on the Faculty Council of my previous institution and also on the council's executive committee. I also served on that institution's university council and on its executive committee.