Elections Commission

Sen. Sarah Hansen is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry. Since joining Columbia in 2004 she has taught introductory chemistry lecture/laboratory courses and supports pedagogical development through graduate seminars and workshops. Her aim is to foster a collaborative approach to learning, shifting the teacher into the role of facilitating meaningful engagement between students while decreasing the distance between chemistry in and out of the classroom. Dr Hansen was the 2024 recipient of the Division of Natural Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence.

Her research focuses on reflection, visual engagement, and laboratory learning. She co-edited Eye-tracking for the Chemistry Education Researcher (2019) and serves on the advisory committee for Columbia’s Science of Learning Research Initiative.

From 2020-2023 she served on the Lecturer Advisory Council from 2020-2023, chairing for two years. Through advocacy and committee work she actively seeks opportunities to ensure the unique and vital perspectives of untenured faculty at the University are included in Governance and Policy decisions.

Sen. Melinda Aquino (she/hers) is the Associate Dean of Multicultural Affairs in Undergraduate Student Life, Columbia College and Columbia Engineering. Working at Columbia University since 2005, she brings a long history of advocacy and community building; deep understanding of campus culture and dynamics; collaborative relationships across the University; and dedication to equity, access, and inclusion. Her 25+ year career in higher education has centered educational access and equity, intergroup dialogue and facilitation training, climate assessment and advocacy, conflict resolution, and restorative justice. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Florida, M.A. in English Literature from the University of Miami (Florida), M.A. in Cinema Studies from New York University, and a M.S. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Columbia University. She is the proud mother of four young children, who are often seen attending student cultural events around campus with her.

Brendan O’Flaherty is Professor of Economics. On the University Senate, he serves as parliamentarian, co-chairs the Senate Structure and Operations Committee and is a member of the Elections Commission.

Professor O'Flaherty's research focuses on homelessness, race, and the economics of cities. Before coming to Columbia in 1987, he spent two years as an aide to Kenneth Gibson, the first black mayor of Newark, N.J. He previously served as acting director of finance for the City of Newark and chaired the Program and Planning Committee of the Arts and Sciences at Columbia. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard. 

Sen. Ann Thornton is Vice Provost and University Librarian for Columbia University in the City of New York, where she is responsible for one of the top five academic research library systems in North America with world-class physical and digital collections and expert staff in support of research, teaching, and learning. On the University Senate, Vice Provost Thornton serves on the Libraries and Digital Resources Committee, and the Elections Commission.

She came to Columbia in June 2015 after serving for nearly two decades at the New York Public Library, where she was most recently the Andrew W. Mellon Director, a position she held since 2012, with responsibility for research and reference services, collection development, preservation, fellowships, and exhibitions. Vice Provost Thornton’s previous roles at the New York Public Library included Director of Reference and Research Services, Associate Director for the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, and Assistant Director of Electronic Resources for the Science, Industry and Business Library.

Early in her career, Vice Provost Thornton served as a systems librarian at the University of Houston Libraries. She was a Leadership Fellow in a program sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries and subsequently served on the board of that organization. Additionally, Vice Provost Thornton has chaired the Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation and has served on the New York State Education Department’s Board of Regents Advisory Council on Libraries and on the Council of Experts for the National Academic Library and Information Systems Foundation of Bulgaria. She currently serves as chair of the board of governors for the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium.