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Symposium for Strategic Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Travel Awards Application Deadline Extended to March 14

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image CC-BY by Tony Webster

The application deadline has been extended to Wednesday, March 14, for travel awards to attend the Symposium for Strategic Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, cosponsored by Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL). The symposium will be held Thursday–Friday, May 10–11, 2018, at the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a preconference on Wednesday, May 9.

The Symposium for Strategic Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will increase understanding and capacity among academic and research library professionals for creating healthy organizations with diverse, equitable, and inclusive climates. This event will provide actionable information and tools for library and archive leaders to take back to their organizations and help develop authentically inclusive environments, where people from underrepresented and marginalized groups can thrive and succeed. Additionally, the symposium will strengthen the community of practice around diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic and research libraries and archives.

Featured Speakers

Symposium speakers will include:

  • DeRay Mckesson, Host of Pod Save the People, organizer and civil rights activist
  • Rusty Barcelo, Visiting Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Diversity at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Who Should Attend?

The primary audience for this event is human resources, organizational development, and other professionals in academic and research libraries and archives who have leadership responsibilities for institutional or campus diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. ARL member library directors and assistant/associate directors will also find value in the symposium.

Travel Awards

ARL and ACRL are offering ten $1,000 travel scholarships to academic and research library workers who are in need of financial assistance to attend the Symposium for Strategic Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Funds from the travel awards may be used to cover the cost of registration, travel to and from the conference, lodging, and meals.

These travel awards aim to encourage conference participation by a wide range of individuals interested in transforming academic and research libraries into organizations that truly embody the values of diversity, equality, and inclusion. Factors that will be taken into account in determining award winners will be: financial need, commitment to diversity values, and the desire and potential to influence change within academic/research library organizations. Each applicant is asked to submit an essay describing why they want to attend the conference and addressing the factors listed above.

Travel Award Applications

Apply online by Wednesday, March 14, 2018. The selection committee will be composed of members of the symposium planning group. Applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision by April 9, 2018.

Each applicant must provide:

  • An essay (400 words maximum) that describes how the applicant will benefit from attending the Symposium for Strategic Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and/or how the event supports the applicant’s professional goals, or learning and developmental interests and needs
  • A brief statement of financial need
  • A résumé or CV
  • A recommendation letter from a supervisor or library/archive director emailed directly to Mira Swearer, mira@arl.org

More Information

To learn more about the symposium, including registration and hotel information, visit the Symposium for Strategic Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion webpage.


About the Association of Research Libraries

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 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 ARL.org.

About the Association of College & Research Libraries 

The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) is the higher education association for librarians. Representing nearly 11,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals, ACRL (a division of the American Library Association) develops programs, products, and services to help academic and research librarians learn, innovate, and lead within the academic community. Founded in 1940, ACRL is committed to advancing learning and transforming scholarship. ACRL is on the web at acrl.org, Facebook at facebook.com/ala.acrl, and Twitter at @ala_acrl.

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