EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Denise Cobb, PhD, has appointed Lydia Jackson as the interim dean of Library and Information Services (LIS), effective immediately. Jackson steps into the role for former Dean Regina McBride, who retired in early October.
“As interim dean, Prof. Jackson will lead the LIS faculty and staff in strategic planning, and most importantly, she will engage the campus community in these discussions as we work together to reimagine LIS and its central role in our campus,” Cobb said. “I look forward to seeing what the future holds in our next steps toward a fully realized 21st century university library.”
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“The most essential elements of my role will be embedded in advocacy, collaboration and support to ensure the research needs of all users are met and sustained,” Jackson said. “I want to acknowledge the exemplary role that each member of the LIS faculty and staff demonstrate daily by providing excellence and dedication to their service and in their support of students, teachers, scholars and community members.”
An associate professor and director of research commons, Jackson has served Lovejoy Library in a variety of roles. She began her professional affiliation with SIUE in 1983 as a library technical assistant III, and provided reference services, conducted library instruction sessions, managed computing problems, and assisted in the development, planning, implementation, promotion, and assessment of instructional programs.
In 1998, Jackson was named assistant instruction and reference librarian. As a tenure-track and tenured library faculty member, she has served in leadership roles such as instruction librarian, director of instruction and outreach, and director of the research commons. Before joining SIUE, she held positions at the Saint Louis University Medical Library and the East St. Louis Public Library.
Jackson was recognized as an assessment scholar in 2007-2008 and as one of 50 teacher-scholars at SIUE in 2008. She has been actively involved in the reform and implementation of SIUE’s general education program since 2005. She has been a participant in the nationally recognized Association of College and Research Libraries “Immersion Program.” Throughout her career, she has continually been engaged in leadership roles in library associations at the local, regional, state and national levels.
Jackson is the author of several peer-reviewed publications on subjects ranging from “Creating Collaborative Partnerships” and “Incorporating Information Literacy in the Middle School Curricula” to “The Art of Film Criticism.” She has also participated in numerous academic presentations, most recently at the 2017 American Library Association Conference. She continues to be an active contributor to grant production and is currently participating in a Library of Congress grant.
Jackson earned a bachelor’s in government and sociology from SIUE in 1983. She also holds master’s degrees in both instructional technology and library science.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose to shape a changing world. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of nearly 14,000.
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