OU Bargaining Team

The OU administration has assembled a strong bargaining team with the knowledge and expertise to have proactive and respectful discussions with the faculty union, aiming toward collaborative solutions. The team includes:

Team Member	Biography
Joi Cunningham VP Human Resources	Joi became VP for Human Resources in Fall 2021, after spending several years as the Assistant Vice President of Academic Human Resources and prior to that as the director of OU’s Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives and university attorney. A strong advocate of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, she has contributed to efforts to develop, implement and refine university processes, practices and structures. Her focus is on ensuring productive and positive employee relations and effectively managing labor relations, including the negotiations of bargaining unit contracts.
Peggy Cooke Assistant VP of Academic Affairs	Peggy joined the Office of Academic Affairs in 2007 as assistant vice president. She has worked at OU since 1986 in various positions in finance, including serving as Director, Internal Audit and Director, Auxiliary Services. Her responsibilities include overseeing the budget for the Division of Academic Affairs and all divisional non-faculty personnel matters. She also provides guidance and support to the academic leadership in financial, personnel and planning strategies. She serves as the chief liaison between Academic Affairs and Finance and Administration.
Nivedita Mukherji Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs	Nivedita is a member of the Provost’s leadership team and supports the overall strategic priorities of Academic Affairs as they relate to faculty recruitment, engagement, development and retention. She works with the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, the deans of the college and schools, the faculty, and the offices of Human Resources and Research Administration to promote best practices and develop innovative, faculty-centered initiatives that drive faculty success as it relates to teaching, scholarship, mentoring, retention, promotion and career development. She also plays a major role in promotion and tenure and related initiatives, workload policy development and oversight, sabbatical requests, new faculty orientation, and department chairs development and communication.
Tom LeMarbe Associate VP for Finance and Administration	Tom has served as the Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration since 2013. He has many years of experience in financial management and overseeing institution strategies and objectives. He oversees the treasury management, environmental health and safety, and University Services areas. Tom started at Oakland in 1994, working in the Provost Office from 1994 to 1999, before moving into the finance division.
Judy Didion retired School of Nursing Dean	Judy has more than 45 years of experience as a nurse, educator and researcher and formerly served as dean of the School of Nursing from 2016 to 2022. She has vast experience and key perspective on the seminal faculty issues facing the university, and though retired, she has key connections across the campus community, allowing her to collaboratively work with faculty union leaders during negotiations.
Rob Boonin External Legal Counsel	An attorney with the Dykema law firm, Rob has served as OU’s chief negotiator for its faculty union negotiations for more than a decade. As a chief negotiator and labor attorney, he helps private- and public-sector clients avoid and resolve labor disputes. Rob advises clients on labor and other employment matters across the United States, including closely held companies, publicly traded corporations, local units of government, K-12 school districts, charter schools, community colleges, and state universities.