I am pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Mary M. Case to the position of University Librarian, effective July 1.
Ms. Case has been a national figure in advancing alternative models for scholarly communication and publication as the director of the Office of Scholarly Communication at the Association of Research Libraries, a membership organization consisting of more than 120 of the largest research libraries in North America. At ARL, she strived to develop innovative ways for scholars and researchers to share information and helped develop the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), an effort to introduce increased competition into the scholarly publishing industry.
Earlier in her career Ms. Case served in several positions at Northwestern University. She was director of program review and special projects in the Office of the Vice President for Administration and Planning. In the Northwestern library, she was head of serials and acquisition services.
At UIC, Ms. Case will be responsible for the leadership and administration of the University Library, comprising the Richard J. Daley Library, the Library of the Health Sciences, and the Science Library, with a collection of 2.2 million volumes, 25,483 serial titles, and 4.6 million other items, including microforms, government documents, and maps.
Ms. Case has a master's degree in library science from the University of Michigan, a master's degree in speech communication from Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree in English from LeMoyne College. Among her many awards and honors are the Beta Phi Mu Award for Outstanding Achievement, University of Michigan, 1988; the John Comaromi Award for Promise in Technical Services; and a Fellowship from the CLR Program for the Professional Education for Academic Research Librarians.
I would like to thank the search committee and its chair, Dean Susan Scrimshaw, and I would ask you all to join Chancellor Manning and me in thanking Nancy John for her fine service as Acting University Librarian and then as Interim University Librarian for the two years since the death of Sharon Hogan. Ms. John will return to her position as assistant university librarian and associate professor, University Library.
R. Michael Tanner
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
