Lauren Pressley

Work

University of Washington

The University of Washington (UW) is one university with a Seattle main campus and campuses in Bothell and Tacoma. UW is Washington’s flagship public institution. UW Seattle educates more than 48,000 students annually and employs over 4,500 faculty. UW Seattle is classified as an R1 Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity with a research expenditure of $1.89B in sponsored grants and contracts. UW Seattle includes 17 schools and colleges.

Senior Associate Dean, Research & Learning Services
 8/2022 – present
Associate Dean for Research & Learning Services
12/2019 – 8/2022

Additional Interim Roles
Co-Interim Assistant Dean for Administrative Services
 7/2021 – 8/2022
Co-Interim Dean
 7/2021 – 8/2021

Responsible for vision and oversight of operations, personnel, and budget for Public, Access, Research, and Learning Services across the Seattle campus. Responsible for the main Suzzallo and Allen Libraries, Odegaard Undergraduate Library, Health Sciences Library, Tateuchi East Asia Library, Friday Harbor Labs library, eight subject library branches, and an offsite repository facility. Also responsible for Assessment and Planning, Communication, and Facilities and Events. Collaborate with other senior library leaders to ensure services and collections are responsive to the needs of diverse user groups. Supervise ten direct reports and approximately 140 staff members, including most subject librarians. Represent Libraries public services with external senior leaders including the Vice Provost of Academic and Student Affairs, the Faculty Council on University Libraries, and organizations outside UW such as the Big Ten Academic Alliance.

Selected by the Dean to serve in a deputy capacity as one of two Senior Associate Deans. Selected by the previous Dean to serve as co-interim Dean and interim Dean of record and reported directly to the Provost. Responsible for the tri-campus environment, including 350 staff (148 librarians), 16 libraries, and an operating budget of approximately $90M on a biennial basis and $60M in endowments.

Accomplishments include:

  • Implemented a new agile, collaborative, and empowering structure that supports the evolving needs of the community and facilitated change and transition management in support of this new structure.
  • Co-led $10M UW Libraries planning and implementation for expanded off-site collections storage and renovation of existing libraries; secured $400K in central funding to remodel the main library’s ground floor to create the Open Scholarship Commons and one point of service for aligned units across the University; secured an additional $193K to add zoom pods and a recording studio to the space; partnered with a registered student organization to create a family room within the library. Currently using a series of endowments to develop a Wellness room in the Odegaard Undergraduate Library.
  • Led Libraries COVID-19 public service response strategy and implementation through shepherding strategy, internal communication, and external messaging. Created an Online Learning & Innovation unit to support all Libraries operations during this period. Led Cabinet planning to create documentation to support caregivers while working remotely.
  • Supported advancement efforts through presentations to the Friends of the Libraries, meeting with donors, writing donor letters, and facilitating a question-and-answer session at the 2020 Maxine Cushing Gray Distinguished Writer Lecture. Wrote annual letters to donors of endowments focused on research and learning.

Association of College & Research Libraries

At the time, the Association of College & Research Libraries represented more than 10,000 individuals and libraries. ACRL develops programs, products, and services to help all academic and research librarians learn, innovate, and lead within the academic community. ACRL publishing includes CHOICE, books publishing, College & Research Libraries, and C&RL News.

Past President
7/2019 – 07/2020
President
6/2018 – 07/2019
Vice President/President Elect
7/2017 – 06/2018

Election to ACRL’s chief leadership role is a three-year appointment of deep engagement with ACRL staff and member leaders. Throughout this appointment participated in weekly phone calls with the Executive Director and Presidents, advised the creation of agendas, monitored the division’s strategic goals, identified actions in the best interest of the association and of the profession, and recommended actions to the Board of Directors.

As President: Chaired the Board of Directors and Executive Committee and was responsible for planning and facilitating meetings of the Board, Leadership Council, and membership meetings. Created an effective environment for the Board to conduct its work. Held broad communication responsibilities including presenting Excellence Awards at on-campus ceremonies and presiding over opening ceremony at the ACRL Conference.

Accomplishments included:

  • Advocated for ACRL’s adoption and implementation of the Core Commitment for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). My President’s Program centered on organizational change in support of building more equitable, diverse, and inclusive libraries. <https://acrl.libguides.com/2019presidentsprogram>
  • Demonstrated strong executive leadership and shared governance expertise in planning the annual Strategic Planning and Orientation Session for the Board and senior staff to clarify our commitment to EDI and develop a plan for implementation. Contributed to changes for committee appointment processes to support the new Core Commitment.
  • Advocated for, represented, and promoted ACRL and academic librarianship for the ALA legislative agenda, speaking on background for the Chronicle for Higher Education, and quoted in Inside Higher Ed. Brought a deep understanding of the changing role of academic libraries in the 21st century including open access, digital scholarship, physical spaces, student success, online learning, innovation, open educational resources, scholarly communication, knowledge curation, the continued development of both print and digital collections, and the role of libraries in building more equitable communities.
  • Demonstrated a deep understanding of the mission of academic libraries, representing ACRL for ten local chapters and in meetings of the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the Coalition for Networked Information, the Orbis Cascade Alliance, and Ex Libris Users of North America.
  • Served as Ex Officio for the Budget and Finance Committee as Vice President, participated in twice- annual budget and finance meetings for the three-year term.
  • Collaborated with other association leadership to partner in support of equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts.
  • Spoke at all donor events and personally thanked all individual donors during presidential year.

University of Washington Tacoma

The UW Tacoma campus is classified as a Master’s College & University: Larger Programs. UW Tacoma is a member of the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities and is a recipient of the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification. The campus enrolls over 5,000 students in eight schools and institutes. UW Libraries span all three campuses; the Director of the UW Tacoma library is also an Associate Dean and Cabinet member for UW Libraries.

UW Libraries Library Director, UW Tacoma &
Associate Dean, UW Libraries
9/2015 – 11/2019

Reported to the Dean and Vice Provost of University Libraries with a dotted-line relationship to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the UW Tacoma campus. Responsible for strategic visioning, policy and program development, and operations and personnel for the UW Tacoma Library. Responsible for a biennial budget of approximately $4M, independent from the UW Libraries budget. Provided leadership for transformational and user-centered services, integrated educational and curricular programs, and mentoring and staff development. Worked closely with the Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, Associate Vice Chan­cellor for the Student Services and Ad­ministration, and the Faculty Assembly Executive Council to support campus priorities. Built strong collaborative relationships with senior administrators for UW Tacoma, UW Libraries, and other South Sound libraries.

Accomplishments included:

  • Created first Library strategic plan within the context of UW Libraries and the UW Tacoma campus. The vision reimagined the Library with goals that supported both organizations’ strategic plans.
  • Positioned the library as a campus leader in facilitating collaborations. For example, established “Publish and Flourish” with the Office of Research to celebrate faculty publications, coordinated across multiple units to develop and implement a makerspace for the campus, and worked closely with the writing center and quantitative tutoring to ensure learning excellence.
  • Redeployed spaces strategically, e.g. secured funding and worked with campus to convert a restroom to be all-gender. Converted a public-facing and glass-walled office into a graduate student space.
  • Facilitated a collaborative process to redefine “subject librarianship” and redistribute subject areas and collection development, reference, and instruction duties across all librarian lines.
  • Initiated the creation of equity statement for the Library, reviewed of the UW Tacoma Library Code of Conduct for equity and inclusion issues, supported community programming, and approved the adoption of a land acknowledgment statement for the Library.
  • Strengthened relationships and partnerships across the Tacoma/Pierce County region through regularly convening library directors of South Sound academic, public, and school libraries to amplify the outreach and social mission of the UW Tacoma Library and other libraries in the region.
  • Partnered with advancement and a regional donor to fund a temporary staff member for the Founding Stories oral history program. At the request of the Dean, attended advancement events and spoke about the impact of the tri-campus UW Libraries.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Virginia Tech is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. Nine colleges and a graduate school enroll 37,000 students and employ over 2,000 instructional faculty. As a Carnegie ranked Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity, Virginia Tech had a research expenditure of more than $531M.

Director of Learning Environments, Virginia Tech University Libraries
7/2014 – 8/2015
Associate Director of Learning and Outreach, Virginia Tech University Libraries
2/2013 – 6/2014

As Director of Learning Environments: Led, developed, and managed the new Learning Environments unit. Responsible for vision and strategic operations, change management, and policy and program development. Learning Environments was comprised of Academic Programing, Access Services, Community Engagement, Learning Spaces, Online Learning, Reference, and Roving Services. Managed physical space and solicited feedback from students, faculty, and Libraries employees on space development. Defined the University Libraries’ role as a learning environment, built continuity between physical and virtual interactions and services, and facilitated physical and digital space improvements.

As Associate Director of Learning and Outreach: Led and supported numerous learning, outreach, and engagement initiatives. Operationalized the unit’s vision through collaborations across campus and through inter-departmental teams. Partnered with Student Affairs. Designed and built an outreach unit to communicate the evolving role of the Libraries to the campus and external community.

Accomplishments included:

  • Worked closely with Dean and Associate Dean to create and execute a strategic vision, mission, and measurable goals that reimagined the role of the University Libraries.
  • Led the Learning Environments leadership group to evolve circulation, reference, roving, and other departmental services based on contemporary practices and faculty, students, and staff needs and desires. Supervised student internship on library spaces. Co-led two classroom renovations.
  • Worked closely with Associate Dean for Learning & Outreach to form a Student Advisory Board.

Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University is a private collegiate university with a liberal arts curriculum. It holds a Carnegie classification of Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity. At the time, Wake Forest University had a total university enrollment of over 8,750 across six colleges and schools and received $9.8M annually in external funding.

Head of Instruction, Z. Smith Reynolds Library
7/2011 – 2/2013
Instructional Design Librarian, Z. Smith Reynolds Library
7/2007 – 7/2011
Microtext Specialist, Z. Smith Reynolds Library
11/2003 – 6/2007

As Head of Instruction: Provided strategic leadership and direction for the planning, development, and management of the Library’s instruction program. Responsible for library instruction including credit-bearing courses and online tutorials. Planned and offered ongoing professional development for library instructors across the main campus. Administered LIB100/200 program. Led efforts to assess learning and provide consistency for library courses. Promoted academic benefit of courses to larger University community. Provided reference services, managed monograph budget, and as served as liaison to Philosophy, Women and Gender Studies, and the Teaching and Learning Center.

 

As Instructional Design Librarian: Introduced instructional design to campus as the sole instructional designer at the University. Forecasted emerging technology scenarios and adapted Library services as needed. Developed, contributed to, and provided services through technology and digital scholarship pilots. Consulted on the introduction of open access and digital humanities. Provided regular reference services. Taught credit-bearing information literacy courses. Managed monograph budget and liaised with Women’s and Gender Studies, Philosophy, and Teaching and Learning Center.

 

As Microtext Specialist: Directly supported faculty, staff, students, and public in accessing microforms collection. Developed procedures and recommended policies for departmental operations. Copy cataloged incoming state and federal government documents. Led and managed 20 to 25 student workers each semester. As a volunteer, co-taught library classes and provided in-person and virtual reference services.

Accomplishments included:

  • Developed and taught the first online LIB100 course at Wake Forest University.
  • Presented the case for online learning, and the Library’s role in education, to stakeholders including college faculty, the Provost, and the College Board of Visitors. Directly contributed to the Provost’s and Dean of the College’s planning during early discussions about Wake Forest University’s first online degree program.
  • Introduced Instructional Design to the campus community, advocated for additional staff support for this work, partnered with the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center to hire for the role, and worked closely with successful candidates so that they could learn campus culture and establish the Teaching and Learning Center as the center of Instructional Design support.
  • Co-authored the successful application for the ACRL Excellence Award.
  • Created, proposed, and implemented the Library’s first social media strategic plan with Library’s Web Services Librarian.
  • Created and maintained student wiki, which led to creation of a library-wide intranet and library-wide student training wiki.