2023 Rules Committee Nominees [4 candidates] (only 3 positions are open to be filled each year)

Roy Hartfield
Andrew Pendola
Laura Plexico
Murali Dhanasekaren

Biographical Sketches for Rules Committee nominees for 2-year term from August 2023 through July 2025

Roy Hartfield


Roy J. Hartfield, Jr. is the Walt and Virginia Woltosz Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.  He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia (1991).  Dr. Hartfield’s technical interests include the optimization of aerospace systems, propulsion, and aerodynamics including system modeling, wind tunnel testing, and optical diagnostics. Dr. Hartfield has authored or co-authored over 100 conference papers, 35 journal articles, and five patents in these areas and maintains an active research program.  Dr. Hartfield has taught short courses in the area of propulsion for NASA, DoD, the intelligence community, and the University of Kansas and he is the 2018 recipient of the Herman Oberth Award.  He is actively involved in aircraft aerodynamics.  Dr. Hartfield co-founded Research in Flight, which develops and markets FlightStream® worldwide. In 2023 Dr. Hartfield was selected to receive the national American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Award for Applied Aerodynamics. Dr. Hartfield is active as an Associate Fellow in the AIAA, having served as a member of the High-Speed Airbreathing Propulsion Technical Committee, a member of the Applied Aerodynamics Technical Committee, and as Technical Chair of the 25th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference. Dr. Hartfield is also a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Andrew Pendola

Dr. Andrew Pendola is a faculty member in the Educational Leadership program in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Technology. Prior to joining the faculty at Auburn, Dr. Pendola served as an 8th grade history teacher and received his doctorate in Educational Theory and Policy from the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Pendola’s research focuses on the intersection of educator labor markets, school policy, finance, and equity. Specifically, he examines large scale patterns of recruitment and retention to address issues surrounding effective placement, workplace satisfaction, and educator shortages. He currently teaches graduate courses on school law, budgeting, politics, leadership ethics, and equity.

Laura Plexico

Laura W. Plexico, Ph.D., is Department Chair and Professor in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at Auburn University. She also serves as the Director for the Auburn Speech and Hearing Clinic. She received her Master’s degree and a Doctor of Philosophy from The University of Memphis. Dr. Plexico’s research interests include the psychosocial consequences of stuttering, factors that influence successful stuttering management, and the nature of conversational interaction in typical and disordered populations. She teaches courses in fluency, speech science and counseling. She has received NIH funding, published in the area of fluency and voice disorders, and has presented at regional, national and international meetings.

Murali Dhanasekaren

Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran, Ph.D., is a Program Director and Professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Harrison College of Pharmacy (HCOP), Auburn University. He obtained his B. Pharm, Annamalai University, M.Pharm, Jadavpur University, and Ph.D., Indian Institute of Chemical Biology. His current research focuses on Novel and effective drug development for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Epilepsy, Novel Pharmacological actions of “Designer drugs”, Chemotherapy-Induced Cognitive Impairment, and Pharmacodynamic actions and neuroprotective effects of the natural bioactive and its metabolites. Over his many years of service at Auburn University, he has served on dozens of important HCOP, Senate, and University committees (and chaired many) over the years, such as, the Campus Health and Wellness Committee as a Chair, Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, Faulty Dismissal Hearing Committee (chair), Appeal Committee for Promotion and Tenure, Faculty Nomination Committee, the IACUC Committee, the Faculty Grievance Committee (chair) and the Promotion and Tenure Committee, to name a few.