Welcoming New Members to the Board of Governors
November 11, 2024
Thanks to all the Member Representatives who participated in this year’s election. The members of HathiTrust elected María Estorino (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill) and Carmelita Pickett (University of Virginia) to the Board of Governors for three-year terms running from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027. Lorrie McAllister (Hofstra University) was appointed by the board to a one-year term, filling a vacancy left by resigning board member Gohar Ashoughian, who is joining Simon Fraser University as Dean of Libraries. The proposed 2025 budget was also unanimously approved by members participating in the vote.
Beth Namachchivaya, University Librarian at University of Waterloo, and Chair of the HathiTrust Board of Governors, welcomed the new board members at the 2024 HathiTrust Member Meeting in October.
Update (Nov. 11, 2024): Holly Jeffcoat, Library Dean at Southern Methodist University and current member of the Board of Governors, has been elected by the Board of Governors to be our Incoming Chair, beginning on January 1.
María Estorino, vice provost for University Libraries and university librarian at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, returns to a leadership role with HathiTrust.
“During my time on the Program Steering Committee from 2018 to 2021, HathiTrust led strategically with its landmark Emergency Temporary Access Service and later engaged collaboratively with a strategic visioning process that resulted in a renewed commitment to its core: the collection. With threats of censorship and climate change, as well as the potential risks and rewards of emerging technologies, HathiTrust’s contributions to the preservation of the record of human knowledge are more important than ever. I am honored to represent our vibrant community in service to advancing HathiTrust’s vision and ensuring that we remain accountable to it and to each other.”
Carmelita Pickett, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources & Content Strategy at University of Virginia, has a long history with HathiTrust.
“Since 2014, HathiTrust has been a crucial part of my professional growth. My long-standing involvement includes serving on the Program Steering Committee, where I also functioned as a Shared Print Program Liaison, along with active engagement in various collections committees between 2014 and 2017. These leadership responsibilities and service opportunities have provided me with a comprehensive understanding and a unique viewpoint on the HathiTrust corpus and its strategic vision. As a Board member, I am committed to enhancing access and services that support the use of the HathiTrust corpus, with a strong emphasis on copyright clearance, accessibility services, and building relationships to draw in new members.”
Lorrie McAllister, Dean of Libraries at Hofstra University, served as a member of the HathiTrust Visioning Task Force in support of the strategic visioning process.
“Over my 20+ years as an information professional and library leader, I have sought to affect change in collections work with an ongoing commitment to inclusion and a passion for access to information that benefits all of the diverse communities that we serve collectively. As a member of the HathiTrust Board of Governors, I will help guide implementation of HathiTrust’s renewed vision, as well as advocate for its initiatives. I will contribute to coalition-building activities, and help oversee budget planning to enable the success of HathiTrust committees and ultimately bring benefits to our member organizations and the public.”
Departing the Board at the end of 2024 will be Theresa Byrd (University of San Diego) and Xuemao Wang (Northwestern University, as well as resigning board member, Gohar Ashoughian. Each of these leaders contributed to HathiTrust’s strategic visioning work in 2022-2023, leaving a legacy upon which the organization will build in the coming 3-5 years.
The HathiTrust Board of Governors has ultimate responsibility for HathiTrust’s activities, strategy, finances, and operations. It includes six at-large members elected by the membership and six members appointed by the founding institutions, which include Indiana University, the University of California, the University of Michigan, and the members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance. The current members of the Board and their terms follow:
Gohar Ashoughian, Wilfrid Laurier University (2023-2024)
Theresa Byrd, University of San Diego (2022-2024)
Lisa Carter, University of Michigan (appointed)
Diane Dallis-Comentale, Indiana University (appointed), Chair-elect
Ping Fu, Whitman College (2024-2026)
Mike Furlough (HathiTrust), ex officio
Damon Jaggars, The Ohio State University (appointed)
Holly Jeffcoat, Southern Methodist University (2024-2026)
Rice Majors, University of California, Davis, PSC Chair, ex officio (2024-2026)
Steven Mandeville-Gamble, University of California, Riverside (appointed)
Beth Namachchivaya, University of Waterloo (2022-2025), Chair
Claire Stewart, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (appointed), Past Chair
Günter Waibel, California Digital Library (appointed)
Xuemao Wang, Northwestern University (2022-2024)