Clifford Lynch, executive director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), has announced his plans to retire in June 2025. His statement follows:
I have informed Andrew Pace, the Executive Director of ARL, John O’Brien, the President of EDUCAUSE, and the CNI Steering Committee, of my plans to retire as Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) at the end of this program year (June 30, 2025) and transition to the role of Director Emeritus. This should provide ample time to select a new Executive Director and navigate a smooth transition in the organization’s leadership. Andrew and John will keep the CNI community apprised as this process moves forward.
I have been the Executive Director of CNI since mid-1997; this has genuinely been the role of a lifetime for me, a fantastic opportunity and honor. As a community, I think we can all be proud of what CNI has accomplished and what it has grown to be, and of the value it has brought to all of us. Working with the fantastic CNI staff, the leadership—past and present—of ARL and EDUCAUSE, the (sometimes very long-serving) members of the CNI Steering Committee, and all of you who make up the broader CNI community has been an incredible experience. Thank you.
I look forward to working together with you to continue to advance our collective agenda during this final year as Executive Director, as well as doing my best to ensure that CNI will continue to thrive far into the future.
Finally, please rest assured that as Director Emeritus I intend to remain engaged in the intellectual work at the heart of CNI’s agenda; I’m looking forward to having more time to think and to write about these issues and developments.
Clifford Lynch
Director, CNI
“Clifford’s impact on our profession will be felt long after he has left his post,” said Andrew K. Pace, ARL executive director. “CNI began as an idea ahead of its time and, when Cliff took the reigns in the 1990s, he kept CNI ahead of the curve for the next 30-plus years. He will be missed.”
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of research libraries in Canada and the US whose vision is to create a trusted, equitable, and inclusive research and learning ecosystem and prepare library leaders to advance this work in strategic partnership with member libraries and other organizations worldwide. ARL’s mission is to empower and advocate for research libraries and archives to shape, influence, and implement institutional, national, and international policy. ARL develops the next generation of leaders and enables strategic cooperation among partner institutions to benefit scholarship and society. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
About the Coalition for Networked Information
The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is a joint initiative of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and EDUCAUSE that promotes the use of information technology to advance scholarship and education. Over 200 organizations representing higher education, publishing, information technology, scholarly and professional organizations, foundations, and libraries and library organizations, make up CNI’s members. Learn more at www.cni.org.
