Every year, the USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida elects its officers and representatives. The officers are: the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. In addition, we elect senators to represent the Chapter in the biannual UFF Senate meeting and delegates to represent the Chapter in the annual Florida Education Association Delegate Assembly.
This page lists candidates for office and representative seats, along with submitted statements, photographs, and URLs. In addition, voters may vote for any UFF USF members as a write-in candidate for a representative seat. A write-in candidate must be clearly identified by the voter, and if elected, must agree to serve.
All ballots are due (in our hands) by March 28. Here are the candidates.
Pardon our dust: This page is under construction. Photos of candidates will be posted shortly.
Susan Ariew
Candidate for Senator
I have been a faculty member at the USF Tampa Library since January of 2005. I have been a member of UFF since then and have served on many committees for UFF (Grievance, publicity, and election committees). I keep up with issues regarding our union and attend chapter meetings regularly. I will do my best to serve as senator in 2026.
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R. Oscar Bernard
Candidate for Senator
I accept the nomination for Senator.
Linda M. Callejas
Candidate for Delegate
I have been a dues-paying UFF-USF member since I was hired as non-tenured research faculty in the department of Child & Family Studies (CFS) in the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences in November 2015. I would like to serve as an FEA delegate or Senator to actively support the work of the UFF-USF chapter in its representation of faculty and its capacity as a venue for social activities that bring faculty together across the university. I’m currently an Associate Research Professor in CFS where I lead several studies and serve as core faculty in the Master of Science program in Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health. I also serve as secretary of the USF Graduate Council of the Faculty Senate and am a member of the Council on Racial Justice of the Faculty Senate. I would be honored to serve as an FEA Delegate.
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Robert Connelly
Candidate for Senator
I would love the opportunity to contribute to the union. A position as senator seems like an ideal way to start.
Olivia Cosentino
Candidate for Senator
I strongly believe that giving faculty a collective voice through UFF will make USF the best institution it can be. As Senator, I hope to represent UFF-USF at statewide UFF meetings and continue to engage, inform, and energize my fellow faculty members on campus.
Adam “Adda” Farcus
Candidate for Vice President and Senator
I am a genderqueer Assistant Professor of Instruction and artist in the School of Art & Art History, and I come to the position of Vice President with an active participation approach to action, faculty engagement, and growing Chapter membership. As university workers, I believe we are better together and that it is our collective voice, supported by our diverse experiences, identities, teaching, and research, that makes us a stronger community and vital to the university. My experiences in union organizing, union support, grassroots organizing, and teaching leadership inform my knowledge of how to be our Vice President. I want to be the co-leader of our union with you, my colleagues, at USF.
Jennifer Friedman
Candidate for Senator
I have been a member of USF UFF for more than three decades. I am happy to increase my service beyond in house committees to a statewide level. I am committed to doing everything possible to strengthen our union and unify us to protect the integrity of higher education, preserve academic freedom and serve our students using our expertise.
Laurel Graham
Candidate for Senator
I have participated in UFF meetings occasionally for many years, and served for a year on the marketing committee. I am a fierce proponent of academic freedom.
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Molly Hamm-Rodriguez
Candidate for Senator and Delegate
Molly Hamm-Rodríguez has been a UFF member since she joined the USF College of Education as an Assistant Professor in 2023. She is completing her first yearlong term as a UFF Senator, where she was a delegate to the UFF Senate meeting (twice per year) and served as a delegate to the Florida Education Association (FEA) statewide Assembly. She is committed to labor rights and has conducted research on the intersection of youth employment initiatives and precarious labor protections in global contexts. She looks forward to further campus and state involvement with the United Faculty of Florida.
Leon Hardy
Candidate for Senator
I am a “professor” of physics at USFSP. Well, more correctly an Associate Professor of Instruction now or in the past Instructor II. Yes, it’s very exciting. The university thinks all I can do is teach like any other instructor. Some do want to teach. Fine. I don’t. I do research but get a zero in research from the university. However, I get credit with next to zero support. Even if you just want to teach, are tired of no support for your efforts. How about you?
Feeling frustrated? Feeling like no one cares? You can change it. Join and more importantly become active in UFF USF. We can use your help.
Please contact me if you have any concerns. I am all ears!
Justin Henry
Candidate for Senator and Delegate
Justin Henry is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at USF. Active in UFF USF since 2024, Henry is currently Publicity Committee Chair, and was a Senator and FEA Delegate from 2025-2026.
Andrew Kramer
Candidate for Senator
Last year was my first year as a UFF senator. I found the interactions with other chapters and the state organization very valuable, and things learned in those interactions can benefit our local chapter. I am motivated to be active in USF UFF by the challenges we have faced bargaining and by the state efforts to impede us in exercising our rights.
W. Steve Lang
Candidate for President (and Senator ex officio)
I have been a member of UFF for 34 years, and served as a UFF Senator, Vice-President, Chapter President, a member of the Bargaining Team, Communications Committee, Government Relations Committee, and the Grievance Committee. I have also been active in faculty governance having served in past years as the USF St. Petersburg Senate President, COE Chair of Promotion and Tenure, Chair of the COE College Council and Chair of Annual Review, a Faculty Senator (after consolidation), and numerous other roles. I have also served on the University System Council (before consolidation) and the President’s Athletic Committee.
As an active member of the UFF leadership, my focus has always been to negotiate a contract, enforce the CBA, support member rights, and strengthen the USF UFF chapter. In recent years, our attention has turned to Florida legislation, and our chapter was forced into TWO certification elections in the last year. This was difficult and time consuming. The public union system in Florida is under attack, and UFF is our best weapon to fight back!
Some of my plans as President last year were difficult because we had a lengthy attempt to bargain a new CBA, and we still do not have a ratified contract. We have changed leadership in the Bargaining Committee as faculty retired. As President, I am ex-officio on the Bargaining Committee with authority to veto the contract if it is not in the best interest of the employees.
As the voice of the UFF USF chapter, I speak at all Faculty Senate meeting, Board of Trustee meetings, and multiple interviews with press. I also lead consultations with USF administration, and circumstances have dictated more confrontation than any time in the past except for the Sami Al-Arian attempted firing in 1986.
In the 2025-2026 term, I also oversaw the scanning of all past records from our previous Bargaining Chair (Bob Welker) and our UFF-USF offices. I also met regularly with the statewide UFF Executive and elected UFF President (something we had not done much in the past). I participated in legal actions (Unfair Labor Practice, representation of employees) far more than usual. In fact, the legal demand is becoming pervasive with UFF, and I believe we need to consider a chapter officer or change if this activity becomes routine.
If elected President, my plans for 2026-2027 would be to obtain a ratified CBA, increase the membership, and maintain due process for grievances. I would also concentrate on more government relations as becoming critical to unions in Florida. All of these are challenges, but our chapter has new members stepping up, and our resolve is strong, and we are strongest when organized together.
John Lennon
Candidate for Senator
I have been a UFF member since beginning as an assistant professor at USF Polytechnic 15 years ago. I realized then, as I realize now, how important it is to have a strong and vocal union. I have been a faculty senator in the past and I would like to be again.
Serving as a Faculty Union Senator for the UFF-USF means standing up for the rights, voices, and working conditions of my colleagues. It ensures that faculty have a direct role in shaping policies that affect our teaching, research, and service at a time where many policies are negatively affecting our lives and careers. A strong union protects academic freedom and promotes shared governance across our campuses.
Being a senator would allow me to advocate for fair compensation, equitable workloads, and transparent decision-making while creating a channel for open communication for faculty to express their vision for USF. Our collective voice is most powerful when it is informed, engaged, and united.
I believe active participation strengthens not only our union, but the entire university community.
For these reasons, serving as a Faculty Union Senator would be both a responsibility and a privilege.
Gregory McColm
Candidate for Secretary, Senator, and Delegate
I am an associate professor of Mathematics & Statistics, and I came to USF in 1986. I have devoted most of my time to research (two external grants) and teaching. For many years I have been the webmaster and editor of UFF USF Chapter’s electronic Biweekly Newsletter. I have also served as UFF Senator for many years, more recently as FEA Delegate, and I am now a Representative to the National Education Association; I have also served for many years as Chapter Secretary. I have also served for several years in the Faculty Senate, and I once chaired the ad hoc committee to report on departmental governance.
During the past few years, the primary duties of the Secretary have been to compose and post the minutes of the Chapter and the Council and to maintain critical records. In addition, with the membership growth of the UFF USF Chapter and the United Faculty as a whole, the Secretary has been charged with maintaining the membership lists.
The Secretary is also a member of the Chapter’s Executive Committee, which consists of six elected officers and two standing committee chairs, and deals with the daily routine of the union in collaboration with the Chapter President. I believe that the current highest priority of the Executive Committee should be to recruit new activists to support the work of the union.
This is going to be a challenging year. The union is running a campaign to achieve at least 60% density and address several systemic problems that the Legislature is creating. This is a period of critical growth, and I hope to continue in this effort and would appreciate your support.
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Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan
Candidate for Senator
I am Associate Professor of Political Science, Founding Director of the Center for Civic Engagement, Lead Instructor for the USFSP YMCA Civic Fellows Program (a statewide civics education initiative that is a partnership with the YMCA Youth In Government Program).
I started at USF in 2003. Before I selected my heath care and retirement plans – I signed up for UFF. I am a passionate advocate for our union, and it would be a privilege to represent USF UFF in the UFF Senate.
Deanna Michael
Candidate for Senator
I believe that being part of the UFF is important. Our membership sends a message to the administration and the Board of Trustees of USF that we care about our jobs and each other’s working conditions. I joined in 2000; the year I was hired for a tenure earning position because I understood that the UFF was the only way I could have any job protection. We are now living in much more challenging times, and the unity that we need is represented by the UFF.
Cynthia Patterson
Candidate for Senator
I have served the union almost as long as I have been at USF (20 years), beginning with serving as a Senator for the USF Lakeland/Polytechnic campus. I serve on behalf of the members of my department (English).
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Mildred F Perreault
Candidate for Senator
I have been a faculty member at the USF Tampa Library since January of 2005. I have been a member of UFF since then and have served on many committees for UFF (Grievance, publicity, and election committees). I keep up with issues regarding our union and attend chapter meetings regularly. I will do my best to serve as senator in 2026.
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Christopher Pyfrom
Candidate for Senator
I have been a member of the faculty since 2015 teaching in the School of Theatre and Dance within the now College of Design, Art, and Performance. I am a proud UFF member since 2020 and have served on the Contract Enforcement Committee for the past year and recently joined the Bargaining Committee. It would be an honor to represent USF UFF at the state level.
Matt Reichel
Candidate for Senator
I have a background in union organizing while in graduate school at Rutgers, as well as a research interest in current political battles over education policy.
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Arthur S. Shapiro
Candidate for Vice President, Senator and Delegate
I am the co-chair of the critical Collective-Bargaining Committee. We are achieving success in developing a fair contract to support faculty.
I am also the Vice-President of UFF and chair the Membership Committee. We have been running socials at the New World Brewery after our Chapter meetings every other Friday. These socials run from 5 to 7.
In view of the attacks on higher education nationally and certainly in Florida, we are reaching out to faculty and their families with a variety of additional programs, such as tailgates at soccer, baseball and football games.
As you know, the Vice-President has to step in for the President when needed.
Brian Turnbull
Candidate for Senator
I want to push for change and realignment within our union to revitalize and expand our appeal to more faculty.
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Sonia Ramírez Wohlmuth
Candidate for Treasurer and Senator
I envision the role of treasurer as a support role as manager of the UFF chapter’s finances in order to offer regular and special meetings for its members, to reimburse members for travel to statewide meetings of FEA and UFF, to pursue the collection of documentation for faculty grievances, to maintain communication with members through the chapter’s web site and other media, as well as compliance with IRS requirements. I have faithfully carried out these duties for the past 12 years and hope that this will be a year of transition as new members embrace the opportunity to support this valuable organization in a difficult and complex political environment.
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