Demsey, Laura

UNC Service

Within the Department of Romance Studies, I coordinate the instructional teams for FREN 101 and 102, mentoring instructors and working intensively with new graduate student instructors. I am currently the organizer of a Fixed-Term Faculty Meeting series in our department, the co-chair of our Recognition and Community Committee, a member of the Graduate Placement and Professional Development Committee, an elected member of the Salary Committee, and the faculty advisor for the ROMS Colloquium Series.
I am an appointed member of the University’s Committee on Student Conduct. I also currently sit on an M.A. thesis committee in Linguistics.

Candidate Statement

I believe strongly in giving a voice to fixed-term faculty and to graduate students, who together make up the vast majority of instructors at UNC-Chapel Hill. If elected to the Faculty Council, I intend to advocate for nontenured faculty and raise concerns that are important to us, such as salary equity, teaching leave, and leadership opportunities, and to be a voice for graduate students who are working to have their wages and working conditions improved.
My experience holding town-hall-style meetings for my department’s fixed-term faculty, as well as working very closely with graduate students across multiple departments, gives me the perspective and the connections to be able to accurately and effectively represent these communities at the university level. I would be honored to do so as a member of the Faculty Council.