For immediate release:
October 20, 2009

For more information, contact:
Mark A. Puente
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
mpuente@arl.org

ARL Selects 2009-2011 Diversity Scholars

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Diversity Working Group has selected 20 MLIS students to participate in the 2009–11 Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce as ARL Diversity Scholars.

The ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce offers stipend funding in support of MLIS education of up to $10,000 over two years to students from underrepresented groups who are interested in careers in research libraries. The program is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and by voluntary contributions from 52 ARL member libraries. This program reflects the commitment of ARL members to create a diverse academic and research library community that will better meet the challenges of changing demographics in higher education and the emphasis on global perspectives in the academy.

The 2009–2011 Diversity Scholars are:

Anissa Ali, Wayne State University

Langston Bates, University of North Texas

Johnnie Blunt, Wayne State University

Roy Brooks, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Jeffery Cruz, University of Arizona

Kiyomi Deards, Drexel University

Marcela Estevez, University of South Florida

Emmanuel Faulkner, University of Maryland–College Park

Roland Garcia-Milian, Southern Connecticut State University

Xiaomei Gu, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Stacy Harris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Christina Herd, San Jose State University
Jennifer Huck, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Sheetija Kathuria, University of Tennessee–Knoxville

Samip Mallick, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Yasmin Mathew, Pratt Institute
Myrna Elsa Morales, Simmons College
Derek Mosley, Simmons College

Laksamee Putnam, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Umesh Thakker, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The 2009–2011 Diversity Scholars will receive:

• leadership development by attending ARL’s annual Leadership Institute;
• a hosted visit to an ARL member library to learn more about the advanced operations of a research library;
• mentoring from an ARL librarian or an alumnus of either ARL’s Leadership and Career Development Program or the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce;
• paid membership in one of five ethnic caucuses of the American Library Association; and
• a stipend of up to $10,000 over two years to assist with the costs of MLIS education.

For more information about the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce, see http://www.arl.org/diversity/init/.

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, 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 http://www.arl.org/.