Kristian Finlator, Chair

Kristian Finlator joined NMSU’s Astronomy Department in 2015. He earned an A.B. in Physics at Princeton University in 2000 and then worked for three years at a Boston-based speech recognition software company before enrolling in the University of Arizona’s graduate Astronomy program in 2003. After defending his PhD in 2009, he held postdocs at the University of California Santa Barbara and the Dark Cosmology Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark before returning to the desert. He has supervised research by eight graduate and seven undergraduate students; won several national grants, designed a seminar; taught eight different curricula; and chaired two Departmental committees. His first involvement with the Faculty Senate came in February 2021, after NMSU responded to budgetary pressures by cancelling 433 academic journal subscriptions affecting faculty campus-wide. Though not a senator, he contributed to and co-sponsored legislation emphasizing the critical need for faculty input. He joined Faculty Senate in fall 2021 and has served on the Research and Creative Activities and Student Success subcommittees. He has participated in discussions of myriad issues including Departmental evaluation, funding for open-access publications, inter-campus enrollment, international graduate student onboarding, and textbook acquisitions. He has served on the Faculty Senate Leadership Committee for three semesters and chaired the Student Success subcommittee for one. A strong advocate for shared governance and lead sponsor of four successful bills, he takes satisfaction in listening to faculty concerns and weaving them into a consistent message for the NMSU Administration.

Oladayo Bello, Vice Chair

Dr. Oladayo Bello is with the Department of Engineering Technology and Survey Engineering, College of Engineering (CoE). She has over 25 years of work experience as an Engineer, Researcher, and Faculty member. Prior to joining New Mexico State University (NMSU), she worked at Monash University and as Visiting Researcher at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Bello is a passionate advocate, committed to representing and serving as a voice for others. She is an active volunteer with demonstrated leadership experience. Over the years she has served in different capacities and held leadership roles in order to contribute and collaborate for the purpose of fulfilling objectives, missions and shared governance. She has participated in voluntary services within professional bodies and academic environment. Her leadership experience includes section Chair, Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineering Women in Engineering (IEEE WIE) and section Chair, IEEE WIE Nomination and Appointment committee. In addition, she has served in the leadership executive board of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Knoxville Tennessee branch. In this capacity, she represented the association at Tennessee State Capitol Hill to advocate for House Bill 2545 by Potts at the Tennessee 111th General Assembly. During her academic journey, she served as Chair, IEEE Student Branch, Chair, Fundraising Committee, and Chair, Electoral Committee of the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Student Society (EEESS). In recognition of her leadership and commitment to unity, she received the inaugural EEESS Nelson Mandela Award. Since joining NMSU, Dr. Bello was elected as CoE Faculty Senator at Large in 2023/24 and re-elected in 2025/26. She has served as the co-chair, Faculty Grievance Review Board and chair, Curriculum and Planning, Faculty Senate standing committee. She co-sponsored several bills aimed at promoting academic excellence and shared governance. In 2023, she participated in the Leadership Mentoring workshop series led by NMSU Interim Chancellor (23/24), Dr. Jay Gogue. Her teaching and research interests are in communication networks, wireless networks, device-to-device networks, Internet of Things (IoT), mathematical modelling, curriculum development and STEM education. Dr. Bello has authored several peer-reviewed international journals, conference papers and newsletter articles. She advises graduate students, serves as technical program chair, member of technical program committee and reviewer for international conferences and journals. She is also an eMentor for IEEETryEngineering and a Distinguished Higher Education Ambassador for the Council on Foreign Relations. As Vice Chair of the NMSU Faculty Senate, Dr. Bello is committed to upholding the mission of the Faculty Senate through service, collaboration, and advocacy for the faculty, staff, and students who sustain the Aggie tradition and pride.