A Modest Proposal

I am thankful to ACRL's Recruitment & Nominations committee and honored and humbled to stand for election with Lauren Pressley as a candidate for ACRL vice-president/president-elect. ACRL has been my professional home since my initial years as an academic librarian. The landscape of higher education and academic libraries continues to ever evolve as much as technology transforms asynchronous and synchronous learning. Academic libraries and librarians must continue to remain relevant. Highlighting our scholarship, teaching, and service to students, faculty, and administrators at our respective institutions. ACRL initiatives such as the recent Diversity Alliance addresses a personal mission of mine. The lack of demographics from our communities

within academic libraries. Another project is the current joint action-oriented research agenda with OCLC. They are addressing various pertinent issues: the value of academic libraries and student learning and success. Before accepting this nomination, I reflected on how I was offered this opportunity to serve the association in the immediate future. My reflection begins when I graduated with my MLS from the University of Arizona. Since earning my MLS, I have worked at various higher education institutions and organizations. In the past two decades, my academic librarian experiences have enlightened my professional and personal perspectives. After getting my MLS, I began my career at the University of Houston. Followed by the University of San Diego, Arizona State University at the West Campus, California State University, Long Beach and for the past decade plus at Glendale Community College in Arizona. Besides my academic librarian job opportunities, I have also been an active ACRL member, for more than twenty years. My engagement as an ACRL member has aided my professional development and awareness as an academic librarian. Additionally, completing my MPA from California State University, Long Beach and EdD in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University were life-changing events that enhanced my knowledge base about scholarship, teaching, and research. Most recently, being elected as faculty senate president (first library faculty) at Glendale Community College in Arizona provided me with various opportunities to oversee the shared governance processes for faculty and the administration. I have been humbled and honored to have accomplished these events in my professional life and I look forward to representing the ACRL membership. Plan for Excellence ACRL's strategic plan has provided the foundation for this organization to be cognizant of various factors that influence the success of our academic libraries and higher education. The Plan for Excellence's four components: Value of Academic Libraries; Student Learning; Research and Scholarly Environment; and New Roles and Changing Landscapes, provide ACRL members and institutions with the opportunities to contribute to the well-being of academic libraries and librarians.

Each of these four areas from the strategic plan is vital for maintaining and enhancing the present and future contributions of our purpose as an association. Beginning with the Value of Academic Libraries, this area has made good progress in articulating the intricacies in demonstrating the value of the academic library on the campus for each institution. Incorporating the qualitative and quantitative variables within the era of accountability is key. This era also is known as assessment, clarifies the value of academic libraries and how this determining value contributes to the success of our students and institutions. Secondly, there is Student Learning, I will call this area as our raison d'etre. Students personify our contributions to their academic success. This is achieved by academic librarians and libraries being the pillars for information literacy and instilling or refining each student's understanding of this valuable skill while taking classes or beyond their time at our

institutions. Creating an informed citizenry that contributes to society would be the end result. Thirdly, the Research and Scholarly Environment area promotes the transition to open educational resources for all. Another avenue of this area, which is influenced is for the dissemination of scholarly information that is readily available for researchers or any interested individual. The fourth area of the strategic plan is New Roles and Changing Landscapes. In my humble opinion, this last area is an ideal bridge onto our current national landscape. The current state of academic libraries and higher education provides many opportunities to remain highly relevant within our respective communities. How will present and future information professionals provide contributions in the fields of teaching, scholarship, and service to students, faculty, and their respective communities? Fostering creative and significant contributions and establishing enriching partnerships within the academy, has and will continue to provide us with answers.