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Faculty Council

The purpose of the Faculty Council of the Maxwell School is to provide the faculty with a group of representative peers to act on its behalf in certain circumstances including, (a) to critically examine the merits of ideas about and proposals for the School brought to it by the dean and others, (b) to participate on its own initiative in developing and revising polices for consideration by the faculty and appropriate academic officials of the School, and (d) to appoint the members of the Committee on Scholarship and Research.

In accordance with the  Maxwell Faculty Bylaws, three members of the Council are elected annually to staggered three-year terms.

Maxwell faculty members with business for the Council's attention should contact the Council Chair, Yüksel Sezgin, or any member of the Council.

Maxwell Faculty Council Meetings

The Maxwell Faculty Council meets as a full council once a month. Maxwell Faculty Council documents, including meeting minutes, may be found on the G drive folder named “Maxwell Faculty Council-kjbliss-S19”.

Look for MAX-Filer --> Collab --> Maxwell Faculty Council-kjbliss-S19. If you have questions about how to connect to the Maxwell Faculty Council G drive, contact Maxwell's ICT team at service@maxwell.syr.edu.

Faculty Council Members

Headshot of a smiling person with curly hair, wearing a dark blazer over a light-colored shirt, set against a blurred natural background.

Christopher DeCorse

Distinguished Professor and Chair, Anthropology Department

Senior Research Associate, Maxwell African Scholars Union

207 Maxwell Hall
315.443.4647 | crdecors@syr.edu

Michael R. Ebner

Michael R. Ebner

Associate Professor, History Department

Senior Research Associate, Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration

Senior Research Associate, Center for European Studies

531 Eggers Hall
315.443.1264 | mebner@syr.edu

Amy Kallander

Amy Aisen Kallander

Professor, History Department

Faculty Affiliate, Women’s and Gender Studies, College of Arts and Sciences

306 Maxwell Hall
315.443.5883 | akalland@syr.edu

Natalie Koch

Natalie Koch

Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Geography and the Environment Department

Director, Central Asia and the Caucasus Initiative

Senior Research Associate, Middle Eastern Studies Program

323 Eggers Hall
315.443.2605 | nkoch@syr.edu

Prema Kurien

Prema Kurien

Professor, Sociology Department

Senior Research Associate and Advisory Committee Member, South Asia Center

Senior Research Associate, Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration

317 Maxwell Hall
315.443.1152 | pkurien@syr.edu

Inge O'Connor

Inge O'Connor

Teaching Professor, Economics Department

110F Eggers Hall
iwoconno@syr.edu

Yüksel Sezgin

Yüksel Sezgin

Associate Professor, Political Science Department

Director, Pre-law Program in Europe

O'Hanley Faculty Scholar

100F Eggers Hall
315.443.4431 | ysezgin@syr.edu

Chair

Abdulaziz Shifa

Abdulaziz Shifa

Associate Professor, Economics Department

117 Eggers Hall
315.443.3802 | abshifa@syr.edu

Michiko Ueda

Michiko Ueda-Ballmer

Associate Professor, Public Administration and International Affairs Department

Senior Research Associate, Center for Policy Research

Research Affiliate, Center for Policy Design and Governance

412 Eggers Hall
315.443.9046 | miueda@syr.edu

Staff Council

Mission: The Maxwell Staff Council will serve the staff by providing enrichment opportunities, supporting initiatives that cultivate a positive work environment, facilitating communication, and advocating on behalf of the staff.

Visit the Maxwell Staff Council Answers page for more information.

Current Maxwell Staff Council Members

George Tsaoussis Carter

Event Specialist, Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs

346 Eggers Hall
315.443.9248 | gtsaouss@syr.edu

(chair, 2025-2026)
Lynnell Cabezas

Lynnell Cabezas

Administrative Specialist, Maxwell Research Office

Administrative Specialist, Center for Environmental Policy and Administration

309B Maxwell Hall
lncabeza@syr.edu

(2025-2027)
Michael Cavallaro

Michael Cavallaro

Computing/AV Support, Information & Computing Technology Office

034E Eggers Hall
315.443.3847 | mcavalla@syr.edu

(2024-2026)
Christina Cleason

Christina Cleason

Academic Coordinator, History Department

145 Eggers Hall
315.443.2210 | cmcleaso@syr.edu

(2025-2027)
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Vicente Cuevas

Undergraduate Student Engagement Manager, Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health

426 Eggers Hall
vcuevas@syr.edu

(2025-2027)
Vanessa Gatmaitan

Vanessa Gatmaitan

Director of Research Administration, Maxwell Research Office

403 Maxwell Hall
315.443.7281 | vqgatmai@syr.edu

(filling the remainder of the term for Gabriela Vasquez Jimenez, 2024-2026)

Kelly Montague photo

Kelly Montague

Program Coordinator, Geography and the Environment Department

Program Coordinator, Environment, Sustainability and Policy

144 Eggers Hall
315.443.5829 | kemontag@syr.edu

(2025-2027)