To honor the memory and extend the legacy of longtime ARL staff member Julia Blixrud, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has founded an annual keynote lecture at the ARL Fall Forum in memory of Julia. Candidates for the Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecture award are individuals who have made a long-lasting contribution to or indelible impact on key issues related to the theme of the Fall Forum, which focuses on a different area of interest to the research library community each year.
The 2016 presenter of the Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecture is Ajay Nair, senior vice president and dean of campus life at Emory University. As Emory’s chief advocate for nearly 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Nair’s broad portfolio of responsibilities ranges from intercollegiate athletics and the Greek experience to student health services and residence life. He also provides leadership and strategic direction in cultivating an ethically engaged community consistent with Emory’s vision.
Previously, Nair served as senior associate vice provost for student affairs at the University of Pennsylvania. He has also held positions at Columbia University, Penn State University, and the University of Virginia. During his tenure in higher education, he has served in a variety of capacities as faculty member, student affairs administrator, and academic administrator. Nair’s research interests include quality assurance in educational systems, service learning and civic engagement, and Asian American identity. His co-edited book, Desi Rap: Hip-Hop in South Asian America, focuses on the complexities of second-generation South Asian American identity.
“We are delighted that Ajay Nair is the 2016 Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecture award recipient,” said Chris Bourg, director of MIT Libraries and chair of ARL’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. “Dr. Nair’s leadership at Emory University is helping Emory and other institutions of higher education reimagine their calls for racial justice. This paradigm shift is extremely important to all of us.”
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in the US and Canada. ARL’s mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at https://www.arl.org/.
