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Appointment of Dr. Erik Mitchell as the Audrey Geisel University Librarian

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Erik Mitchell, Ph.D. as the Audrey Geisel University Librarian, effective April 16, 2018.

In this crucial role, Dr. Mitchell will report directly to the Executive Vice Chancellor-Academic Affairs, serve as a member of the Academic Senate, and work closely with the campus administration, the faculty, and colleagues throughout the University of California in planning and implementing the goals of the University Library. The University Librarian serves UC San Diego's faculty, students, staff and greater community by providing information resources, services, and spaces that support the diverse teaching, research, creative endeavors, and public service programs of the UC San Diego community.

Dr. Mitchell is currently the Associate University Librarian of Digital Initiatives and Collaborative Services, Associate Chief Information Officer, and Director of the Northern Regional Library Facility at UC Berkeley where he has served since 2013. A Senior Fellow at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science, Dr. Mitchell's research focuses on the role of information design, technology, and literacy in empowering and shaping information communities. Prior to joining UC Berkeley, he served as an Assistant Professor and Senior Research Fellow with the Information Policy and Access Center (iPAC) at the University of Maryland, College Park, and as an Assistant Director for Technology Services at Wake Forest University's Z. Smith Reynolds Library. He holds a Ph.D. in Information and Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

At UC Berkeley, Dr. Mitchell has worked with various leadership teams to advance the mission of the University, drawing on principles of service, shared values, and collaboration. He has advocated for and led a charge to incorporate preferred name services into the campus' library systems, worked with vendors and systemwide colleagues to select a digital imaging platform that is ADA compliant, and established processes to ensure that all new programs and services include diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations at the design and decision-making stages. He has co-led the creation of programs for research data management, the expansion of targeted and mass digitization programs, and comprehensive computing services for students. Additionally, he has been integral to cross-institutional and nationally shared print initiatives and has served as co-principal investigator on funded research and development activities.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Mitchell to UC San Diego and in congratulating him on his appointment as UC San Diego's University Librarian. He is passionate about education and student success, believes library space can create transformative experiences, and sees many opportunities to partner with schools, academic departments, and the Teaching + Learning Commons, among others, in new ways that enable student achievement. We look forward to his leadership of the UC San Diego Library, which is widely recognized as one of the top academic libraries in the nation. Please also join us in recognizing Tammy Nickelson Dearie, Associate University Librarian for Enterprise Services, for her exemplary service as Interim University Librarian throughout the past year. She has kept important renovation and advancement projects moving forward smoothly, and her attention to student and faculty needs has been outstanding.

Pradeep K. Khosla Chancellor Elizabeth H. Simmons Executive Vice Chancellor