Meet the Bargaining Team
Marisa Chappell – Lead Negotiator
Briefly describe your role at OSU: I’m Associate Professor of History. I teach US history, direct the History Master’s program, and research and write about American politics, social policy, and social movements.
What motivated you to join our bargaining team: I honestly don’t know how it happened! I suppose I’m committed to the process. Bargaining is about imagining and winning solutions to the problems faculty face in their work lives. It’s important work.
What’s your secret super power: Reading picture books to children. I’m pretty great at it. I should have been a children’s librarian.
Bill Thomas
Briefly describe your role at OSU: I am a Research Associate in the Botany and Plant Pathology department, where I do research on plant disease and develop molecular diagnostic tools for pathogens that affect Oregon field and vegetable crops.
What motivated you to join our bargaining team: Talking to OSU faculty about their needs and concerns. Our first contract did a lot for our faculty, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to protect our most vulnerable colleagues.
What’s your secret super power: I have double-jointed toes. For real. Evildoers, beware!
Dan Andersen
Briefly describe your role at OSU: At OSU I teach part-time in the political science department. Mostly online ConLaw courses. For UAOSU I am staff (CoExecutive Director).
What motivated you to join our bargaining team: Bargaining is sort of the thing I do. I love it. Formerly I was staff with AFT-OR and worked with OSU on the inaugural CBA, and after joining as CoExecutive Director for UAOSU, I’ve been focused primarily on Contract negotiations and enforcement.
What’s your secret super power: I have an infinite supply of sarcasm bombs at my disposal, which I try my best to throw with restraint and only for the greater good.
Felix Maisch
Briefly describe your role at OSU: I am a Senior Instructor II in the Mathematics Department, where I have taught a diverse set of Mathematics courses since Fall 2010.
What motivated you to join our bargaining team: A desire to see prosperity widely shared with academic faculty at OSU and a positive experience on the first contract’s bargaining team..
What’s your secret super power: Being able to always lie.
Kelly McElroy
Briefly describe your role at OSU: I am an outreach and instruction librarian, so I aim to help students feel welcomed into the library, and to make sure they have the skills they need to do college-level research.
What motivated you to join our bargaining team: I love the problem-solving side of it. Often we are discussing entrenched problems at the university, but bargaining our contract offers a chance for faculty to sit face-to-face with administration and hash things out. Even when change is incremental, it can make a big difference for our colleagues, and that really motivates me.
What’s your secret super power: I can help you find that book with the red cover, when you can’t remember the author or title.
Jan Medlock
Briefly describe your role at OSU: I’m an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine. My work is centered on mathematical modeling of infectious diseases and the last few years I’ve been working on foot-and-mouth disease with many fantastic collaborators from OSU and beyond.
What motivated you to join our bargaining team: I’m excited to work on our next contract to improve the conditions in which faculty work. Beyond basic working conditions, our contract is a vital tool for shared governance.
What’s your secret super power: Avoiding questions I don’t want to answer.
Lori Cramer
Briefly describe your role at OSU: Professor of Sociology and Assistant Director of Marine Studies. I have been on faculty at OSU since 1993 and specialize in Natural Resource/Environmental Sociology and Rural Sociology. Most of my teaching and research centers on how communities (mostly natural-resource based) are affected by, adapt to, and demonstrate resilience when facing social and environmental changes. I work with both graduate and undergraduate students, and some pretty awesome colleagues.
What motivated you to join the bargaining team: I bring a lot of experience at OSU and institutional knowledge that I believe can inform the bargaining process. I value my colleagues and students and want to do all I can to ensure that they are able to thrive at OSU.
What’s your secret super power: Infallible Calmness – maintain an unwavering composure in the face of high-stakes negotiations, turning pressure into a source of strength and clarity.
Louisa Hooven
Briefly describe your role at OSU: I have split senior research and instructor positions in Horticulture. I teach a few bacc core classes, including Pollinators in Peril, and do a little research related to bees and pesticides. Right now I am also UAOSU grievance chair. I grew up in Corvallis, got my bachelors and PhD degrees in Biochemistry at OSU, so I’ve had several roles here.
What motivated you to join our bargaining team: I love OSU and I want it to be the best institution it can be. As grievance chair, I hear about some of the ways it could be better, and I want those viewpoints heard in bargaining.
What’s your secret super power: I think every conversation topic is fascinating. My kryptonite is house cleaning.
Megan Dickison
Briefly describe your role at OSU: Formally, I don’t have a role at OSU. I started working with OSU faculty in Fall 2016 as an Organizer with AFT assigned to support faculty who were organizing your union. I worked with your union in this role from pre-certification through the first contract and the election of the first officers. In 2021 I was hired by UAOSU, now I spend 100% of my work time supporting OSU faculty.
What motivated you to join our bargaining team: Although I’ve worked with UAOSU members for several years, most of my bargaining experience is from the member engagement, worksite organizing, and Contract Action Team side of negotiations. This is my first time supporting contract negotiations from the table and I’m excited to work with the team to secure the next CBA for OSU faculty.
What’s your secret super power: I can always find more room to fit things in the fridge. I credit Tetris for this power.