For Immediate Release
January 30, 2007
For more information contact:
Sarah Segura
Association of Research Libraries
(202) 296-2296
sarah@arl.org
Washington, DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has appointed Crit Stuart as Program Director for Research, Teaching, and Learning. Stuart is currently Senior Associate Director for Public Services for the Library and Information Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He will assume his role at ARL in early May.
The Research, Teaching, and Learning (RTL) program is ARL’s newest strategic direction, established following ARL’s recent strategic planning. The fundamental mission of this new position is to develop and implement imaginative and practical strategies that promote and facilitate the integration and use of research library resources and services throughout the research institution.
At Georgia Tech, Stuart has most recently worked to coordinate the evolution of “library as place,” emphasizing enhancements to spaces, technologies, and services that support student productivity and success in a 24-hour environment. His work there has relied on genuine collaborations with campus partners and the results have attracted the attention of academic libraries throughout North America.
“ARL’s establishment of the Research, Teaching, and Learning program and the new Program Director position is evidence that the leaders of ARL libraries see the need for change and are ready to move their libraries in new directions,” said Stuart. “This is a terrific opportunity to promote and facilitate this kind of fundamental change across many libraries. I look forward to working with the ARL community and beyond to meet this challenge.”
On January 22, Stuart made a presentation at the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative 2007 Annual Meeting: “Setting the Stage for Academic Engagement: Reengineering a Georgia Tech Library.” In March, prior to the ACRL National Conference, he is co-presenting with Joe Branin and Sally Rogers from Ohio State University a one-day pre-conference on “Knowledge Management in Academic Libraries.” Stuart’s recent publication includes a chapter “Engineering Student Success through Critical Partnerships” in Learning Commons: Evolution and Collaborative Essentials (London: Chandos House, December 2007).
A historian by training, Stuart earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Arkansas before earning the MLn at Emory University. His career as a librarian developed during his 32 years at the Georgia Tech Library, beginning in the circulation and reserves departments with progressively greater responsibilities until he was named Senior Associate Director for Public Services in 2001.
“I’m delighted with this appointment,” said Betsy Wilson, Dean of University Libraries at University of Washington, and chair of the ARL Research, Teaching, and Learning Steering Committee. “The membership of ARL has great expectations for the new program to help research libraries lead innovation and successful teaching and learning efforts, to highlight success factors, and to identify opportunities for extending library roles. Crit Stuart’s experience and knowledge of the research library community make him a perfect choice for this position.”
“We are very pleased that Crit Stuart has accepted the challenge of advancing this new and important strategic direction for ARL,” said ARL Executive Director Duane Webster. “Crit brings the experience, energy and—especially—the vision that is needed to realize the tangible outcomes and community relationships that ARL seeks.”
Beginning in May, Crit Stuart may be reached at crit@arl.org.
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 research libraries in North America. Its 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, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is located on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.