Another semester has come and gone. Despite the many challenges, I am incredibly proud of what RUL staff, faculty, and students have accomplished this year. From expanding our resources and services to opening innovative new spaces, we have much to celebrate. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. I wish you and your families a safe, peaceful, and joyous holiday season and all the best for the new year!
Although the Thanksgiving holiday is behind us, expressing thanks does not have a time limit. I want to express my gratitude for your extraordinary dedication, perseverance, and hard work. In a year filled with change, your commitment to delivering exceptional service to our users remained constant. On behalf of the Libraries Leadership Team, I thank each of you for your service.
I also want to thank you for the thoughtful discussions and incisive feedback received regarding our organizational restructure. We are moving forward with option 2 as it resonated with many of you and best positions us to address the evolving expectations and priorities of our university community. Although we have much work in front of us, this decision marks an exciting milestone in this three-phase process.
In Phase I of the organizational restructure, the immediate next steps will be filling new leadership roles, particularly the AVP for Campus and Special Libraries. (These are currently working titles and may slightly change as we think through the details of these roles.) It is important to highlight that the AVP for Campus and Special Libraries will provide focused day-to-day support for the AULs. Additionally, this position will work directly with the AULs to identify synergies across our local libraries to leverage resources that can lead to increased efficiencies. The intent is to have this position filled and solidified by the end of spring 2023, so they can serve as part of the transition team during Phase II.
Phase II will focus on the functional areas and services reporting up through each AVP. We must ensure the services the Libraries offer directly align with the university’s needs and priorities. Phase III will focus on the organization of our workforce across the system.
The restructure will be a long and deliberate process that will take us the better part of 18 months. During this critical juncture for the Libraries, your continued contributions and support throughout this process are deeply appreciated.
I am very pleased to announce the revised RUL Mission Statement and RUL Aspirations Statement were overwhelmingly approved and will be formally adopted (view them on the Libraries’ website at this link). They will serve as our North Star as we move forward with our organizational structure and strategic planning process. As we get further into both those efforts, we may need to revisit and tweak the statements to ensure they fully reflect the work we are doing and aspire to do. I want to thank the RUL Affirmation Group (Isaiah Beard, Laura Costello, Joseph Deodato, Bart Everts, Francesca Giannetti, John Gibson, Tom Glynn, Naomi Gold, Krista Haviland, Amy Joyner, Nancy Kranich, Triveni Kuchi, Barry Lipinski, Mei Ling Lo, Yan Lu, Christie Lutz, Orla Mejia, Tracey Meyer, Ermira Mitre, Sue Oldenburg, Cathy Pecoraro, Michele Petosa, Ayesha Salim, Elizabeth Surles, Roberta Tipton [retired], Bob Vietrogoski, Victoria Wagner, Mary Beth Weber, Zara Wilkinson, Drue Williamson, and Phil Wilson) for their diligence and thoughtfulness as they worked through the process for the last eight months or so, which resulted in these statements. I also appreciate your taking the time to vote and share your thoughts about these statements.
Lastly, we have added a new section to The Agenda to reinforce our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. The DEI Spotlight highlights the vital work of the DEI Committee, upcoming training and events, DEI resources, and more. I encourage you to explore the Spotlight and the resources highlighted (see the link in the top navigation bar).
I am honored and excited to be appointed Rutgers’ 15th University Librarian. One of the most gratifying aspects of this role is the opportunity to witness your skills and talents in action at the Libraries. Your loyalty to RUL is admirable, and your determination to work with grace and dignity and in the university’s best interests is inspiring.
This letter for The Agenda comes at a time of evolution and opportunity. We continue our initiatives designed to address your concerns about RUL’s organizational clarity, culture, and communication. The RUL Affirmation group has worked diligently to define our aspirations and reframe our mission statement. They are incorporating your input from their recent town halls into final statements that will provide a common framework from which we can springboard. We are close to formally establishing the Staff Advisory Committee (SAC), which will serve as a counterpart to the Faculty Planning Committee. Thanks to the stellar work of the SAC Planning Task Force, bylaws have been drafted and are undergoing final revisions. Once that is completed, the task force will focus on stewarding the adoption of the bylaws and conducting the committee’s initial elections process. The goal is to have the SAC up and running by year’s end. We are also reviewing the Libraries’ organizational structure and how our core services are best delivered. We want to ensure we offer comprehensive student and research support across the university’s broad footprint in the most efficient and responsive manner possible.
We aspire to be the intellectual and creative center of the Rutgers community and recognized as essential to the university’s academic mission. It is a noble and obtainable goal. The future holds great promise if we continue to work smart, act with intent, listen to our colleagues and constituents, and pivot to meet the needs of today’s dynamic academic environment.
Since my arrival at RUL, I have been impressed by your ability to imagine and implement creative solutions, often in the midst of change. While things continually evolve, I know your willingness and desire to collaborate and meet challenges with intelligence and good humor will serve us well. I look forward to us working together for the benefit of the faculty, students, and staff of Rutgers University and the broader New Jersey community.
John Brennan was promoted to Senior Executive Assistant to the Vice President for University Libraries and University Librarian (VPUL/UL), effective August 6, 2022. John had ably served in this role in an interim capacity for seven months and will continue to be an asset to the Office of the VPUL/UL and the Rutgers University Libraries administration.
John has been with the Libraries since 2005 as a Senior Administrative Assistant for Technical and Automated Services (TAS), where he managed an assortment of diverse functions that included budget monitoring and reporting, facilities management, project management, and oversight for work-study students. In his new role, John will provide diversified and confidential support to VPUL/UL Consuella Askew and her office in a wide range of library-wide strategic areas. Among his new responsibilities, he will be the primary point of administrative contact for the VPUL/UL and the University Libraries for internal and external constituencies, manage my schedule, and will provide oversight and management for the administrative suite of the University Libraries.