LSAA honors 2015 award recipients

From left: LSAA President Donna LaFollette, Merinda Hensley, Fred Schlipf, Vailey Oehlke, board member Jeff Sichaleune

11701396_10207321999825245_772686252_o.j The GSLIS Library School Alumni Association (LSAA) has announced the 2015 recipients of its annual awards. The recipients were recognized on June 28 at the LSAA Annual Meeting and reception held at the annual meeting of the American Library Association in San Francisco.

Merinda Hensley (MS '06) is the recipient of the Leadership Award, which is given to an alum who has graduated in the past ten years and shown leadership in the field of library and information science. Hensley is an assistant professor and instructional services librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and co-coordinator of the University Library’s Scholarly Commons. At Illinois, she has successfully developed campus-wide and cross-disciplinary instructional opportunities, including the Savvy Researcher workshop series. Hensley has taught at GSLIS as an adjunct instructor and has worked closely with many graduate assistants from the School. She has held leadership roles with the Association of College & Research Libraries and at Illinois.

Vailey B. Oehlke (MS '92) is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Each year this award is given to an alum who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of library and information science. Oehlke is the director of libraries for Multnomah County, Oregon, where she heads a system of nineteen branches and more than five hundred employees. She holds a national leadership role as the current president of the Public Library Association. Other leadership roles include serving on the Digital Content Working Group of the American Library Association (ALA), the Executive Board for the Urban Libraries Council, and the Library Advisory Committee for ALA’s Policy Revolution! initiative.

Adjunct professor Fred Schlipf is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. Each year this award is given to a friend of GSLIS who has served LSAA or the School in an exceptional way. Schlipf joined the GSLIS faculty as an assistant professor in 1970 and has served as an adjunct professor since becoming director of the Urbana Free Library in 1974. He collaborated with former GSLIS director Herbert Goldhor to develop the practicum program and hosted many students. He retired from the Urbana library in 2007 but has continued to teach a course on library buildings at GSLIS. Schlipf’s knowledge of library building projects is extensive; he oversaw a major renovation of the Urbana library building and has served as a consultant on approximately 150 library construction projects.  

Tags:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Get to know Mojgan Momeni, executive director

Now the executive director of the World Innovations Network, Mojgan Momeni (MSLIS '09) credits her iSchool experience with leading her to discover her true passion—creating an innovative and entrepreneurial network model for global collaboration.

Mojgan Momeni

PhD at 75: Jeanie Austin

The PhD degree program at the iSchool celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2023. This profile is part of a special series featuring PhD alumni. Jeanie Austin (PhD '17) is a jail and reentry services librarian at San Francisco Public Library.

Jeanie Austin

Quiballo selected for I Love My Librarian Award

Ted Quiballo (MSLIS '17) has been selected for a 2024 I Love My Librarian Award. Honorees were selected for their outstanding public service accomplishments. The award is administered by the American Library Association.

Ted Quiballo

iSchool course leads to career with United Airlines

For Elysia Woodward (BSIS '23), it was an introductory class, Exploring the iSchool with a Human-Centered Lens (IS 100), that kickstarted her career. Now an associate in the ECDLP (Early Career Digital Leadership Program) at United Airlines, Woodward found out about United's internship programs and the ECDLP program through IS 100. She applied for an internship position in the summer of 2022 and received a return offer as an ECDLP associate.

Elysia Woodward

PhD at 75: LaTesha Velez

The PhD degree program at the iSchool celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2023. This profile is part of a special series featuring PhD alumni. LaTesha Velez (PhD '17) is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

LaTesha Velez