College Chairs
Current College Chair Council (AY2023-2024)
SEO and Council President: Charity Njeshi
Charity Njeshi (she/her/hers) is a PhD student in the Interdepartmental Toxicology Program. Her home department is Biomedical Science in the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Her research involves pharmacological characterization of ion channels as potential drug targets for parasitic infections.
Charity holds a Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in Microbiology from the University of Buea, Cameroon, where she took up some leadership roles. In her Bachelor’s she served as the Public Relations Officer of the University of Buea Microbiology Students Association; and during her Masters study, she served as the Vice President of the Faculty of Science Postgraduate Student Association of the University of Buea, in charge of Academics.
Since she enrolled at Iowa State University, she has served as the GPSS Senator for the Interdepartmental Toxicology program, and the Social Chair of the Toxicology Graduate Student Organization (TGSO). She currently serves as the Senate Engagement Officer of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate and the president of the TGSO.
She can be reached at gpssseo@iastate.edu
Vet Med College Chair: Alexis Frese
Lexi Frese (she/her) is a 3rd year PhD Candidate in Biomedical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine. She received her B.S. in biology from Iowa State University in 2021. Lexi’s doctoral research focuses on prion diseases and the interspecies transmission of chronic wasting disease specifically. She has served in the Graduate and Professional Student Senate since 2023. Lexi enjoys spending time with her golden retriever, trying new coffee shops, and reading in her free time.
She can be reached at ajfrese@iastate.edu
CALS College Chair: Boris M.E. Alladassi
Boris Alladassi is a Ph.D. student in Plant Breeding with a Statistics minor at Iowa State University. He is currently working on two research projects in the Quantitative Genetics and Maize Breeding lab led by Dr. Jianming Yu. He is working on two research projects in Dr. Jianming Yu’s lab. The first combines UAV imagery and functional QTL mapping to study the dynamics of sorghum plant height genetics across development. The second integrates genomic and transcriptomic analyses to dissect the genetics of maize leaf angle.
Boris received his B.S. in Agronomic Sciences from Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Benin, and his M.S. in Plant Breeding and Seed Systems from Makerere University, Uganda. Boris is actively involved in the leadership of many student organizations. He was a co-Chair of the organizing committee for the RF Baker Plant Breeding Symposium in 2022 and a member of the CALS Dean’s Graduate Student Advisory Council. In his free time, Boris enjoys reading, cycling, and playing logic games.
He can be reached at aboris@iastate.edu
Engineering College Chair: Gaurav Arwade
Gaurav Arwade is a 3rd-year PhD candidate in the field of Industrial Engineering, specializing in precision healthcare and applied computer vision. Currently, Gaurav works on development of explainable machine learning algorithms, striking a delicate balance between achieving high accuracy and ensuring the interpretability of these algorithms. Beyond his work in explainable machine learning, Gaurav also applies novel computer vision techniques to quantify various plant phenotypes, further expanding the horizons of his research expertise.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Gaurav has taken on the role of Senator for Industrial Engineering, a position he has held since the spring of 2023. When Gaurav steps away from the academic world and his research, he finds solace and inspiration amidst the serene beauty of nature.
He can be reached at gbarwade@iastate.edu
Business College Chair: Swati Kumari
Swati Kumari is a graduate student majoring in Management Information Systems and MBA. She is from Patna, India. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and has 4.5 years of IT industry experience working as a Digital Marketing specialist and Data analyst at Accenture. She is also an ambassador for the MSIS program at IVY College of Business.
Apart from her academic excellence, she is also a certified yoga instructor and teaches Barre and Yoga at ISU Recreation Services. She is an avid Yoga practitioner and a plant enthusiast, and that's her favorite hobby.
She can be reached at swatik@iastate.edu
Human Sciences College Chair: Alycia N. West
Alycia West (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Higher Education program. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Northern Iowa and her M.Ed. in Higher Education from Iowa State University. She is also completing the Education for Social Justice and the Applied Research certificates. Alycia’s research interests focus on telling the stories of Asian American transracial/transnational adoptee communities and understanding how undergraduate students within this identity make meaning of their racial identity. Critical Race Theory and AsianCrit largely influence Alycia’s research and praxis. She believes in co-creating knowledge that centers truth-telling, collectivism, and care in working to dismantle systemic racism and violence in educational spaces.
In her free time, Alycia loves expressing her creativity through baking for others and digital media projects. She also enjoys game nights with friends and traveling to new places.
She can be reached at alycia@iastate.edu
CLAS College Chair: Wren O. Bouwman
Wren Bouwman (she/her) is a second-year Ph.D. student in Applied Linguistics and Technology. She also received her B.A. in English and her M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language / Applied Linguistics at Iowa State. Wren has been a GPSS senator for the Department of English since 2021. Her research centers around using biometric data collection tools to improve students' writing processes.
Outside of her academic career, Wren enjoys reading, playing video and board games, and sewing.
She can be reached at bouwman@iastate.edu