Congratulations to Dr. Lisa O’Connor, Chair and Associate Professor of the Library & Information Science (LIS) Department, who has been named President-Elect of the Association for Library & Information Science Education (ALISE)!
ALISE is a non-profit professional association that serves as the intellectual home of educators and scholars in Library & Information Science and allied disciplines, and promotes innovation and excellence internationally through leadership, collaboration, advocacy, and dissemination of scholarship. The ALISE presidency is a three year commitment, and as President-Elect, Dr. O’Connor will also serve on the Board which is the main decision-making group of the organization. She will help plan the organization’s annual conference and regular webinars, and will work with the American Library Association (ALA) to streamline the accreditation process.
Dr. O’Connor began her association with ALISE as a practicing librarian and Ph.D. student in the early 2000s, and says that it was an essential component of her growth as an educator and administrator in LIS. She has served ALISE in various capacities, most recently as a co-coordinator for the ALISE Webinars, as a member of the ALISE Statistics Revision Task Force, and as a presenter at the ALISE Leadership Academy.
Dr. O’Connor joined UNC Greensboro as LIS Department Chair in 2016 — after a mentor that she knows through ALISE encouraged her to apply for the position and gave her the confidence that she could take on an administrative role. Since then her tenure as Chair has been marked by innovation, including the funding, design, and creation of a polysynchronous classroom; the establishment of a general education information literacy course; new undergraduate and graduate degree programs; and a study abroad program.
“This organization has had a really profound impact on my career, in helping me make the transition from practitioner to Ph.D. student to faculty member, and making the transition from faculty member to administrator,” Dr. O’Connor says. “For me, this is my way to give back — serving as President-Elect is a way for me to repay ALISE for the critical part in my career they have played.”
Learn more about Dr. O’Connor’s appointment and past experience here.
