Bios for Rules Committee Nominees for 2-year appointment beginning August 2022

Nominees are: David Blersch (Biosystems Engineering), David Han (Crop, Soil, & Environmental Sciences), Kasia Leousis (Libraries), and Liliana Stern (Economics). 

These Rules Committee nominees will be voted on by senators at the March 15, 2022, Senate Meeting.

David Blersch (Biosystems Engineering)

David Blersch is Associate Professor of Ecological Engineering in the Biosystems Engineering Department in the College of Agriculture and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. He has been on the faculty at Auburn University since 2013. Dr. Blersch received his BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and his MS and PhD in Biological Resources Engineering from the University of Maryland. David’s research is broadly in applications of ecological engineering for sustainable water management and food production, with an emphasis in nutrient cycling in and pollutant recovery from aquatic systems. He has published over 35 peer reviewed journal articles and over 100 abstract and presentations on the topics.

At Auburn University, David is serving as the senator for the Department of Biosystems Engineering in the University Faculty Senate since 2020. He has served on multiple committees in two colleges, including the Budget Advisory Committee in the College of Agriculture, and the Undergraduate Research Committee in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. He leads multiple committees in professional societies, including the Alabama Section chair of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and as Secretary of the Executive Committee of the American Ecological Engineering Society. David has broad experience on collaborative work in academic committees across all levels of professional work.

David Han (Crop, Soil, & Environmental Sciences)

David Han is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Crop, Soil & Environmental Sciences in the College of Agriculture. He earned his PhD from The Ohio State University and his BA and MS degrees from Cornell University. Dave’s extension and research program is in sustainable turfgrass management. He works with all segments of Alabama’s turfgrass industry, including golf courses, lawn care, sod farms, sports fields and individual homeowners. He’s even been known to work with the field managers from the University of Alabama from time to time. Dave also serves as Educational Director for the Alabama Turfgrass Association, coordinating their educational programs. At Auburn, Dave serves as Senator for the CSES department and on the College of Agriculture Curriculum Committee. He also coordinates the department’s annual academic program assessment.

Kasia Leousis (Libraries)

Kasia Leousis is an Associate Professor and Senator for the Libraries. Since arriving at Auburn University in 2011, she has served as the librarian for the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, Department of Art and Art History, and the Master of Community Planning program. She holds an MA in Art History and MS in Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This spring, Kasia is teaching a new seminar designed for the Honors College, Art of the Book, on the history of book illustration, production, and technology. Her teaching and research interests include undergraduate engagement with original materials from special collections and archives, primary source pedagogy, visual literacy, and visual thinking strategies. She previously served on the Library Senate Committee.

Liliana Stern (Economics)

Liliana Stern is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics. She holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in economics from Indiana University, as well as a Master’s degree in economics from Kyiv School of Economics (formerly, EERC), Kyiv, Ukraine. Prior to coming to the US to get her PhD in economics, Liliana worked as a consultant at Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID), conducting economic policy analysis and providing assistance to different branches of the Ukrainian government (the National Bank of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Finance). Since joining the Department of Economics at Auburn in 2006, Liliana has been serving as a faculty advisor to the Economics club, which is a registered student organization that organizes formal and informal meetings featuring different speakers and guests and discussing current economic issues. Liliana is very passionate about teaching and has taught several different economics classes at different levels. She also participated the College of Business study abroad programs in 2018 and 2019 and taught both micro- and macroeconomics classes for the students registered for the program. Liliana is currently serving as the Senator for the Department of Economics. This is her second term as a Senator, as she also served as the Senator in 2015-2018.