Library veteran Melissa Just has been named USC’s new dean of libraries, effective Nov. 27. Just — a Trojan who received her doctoral degree from the USC Rossier School of Education in 2007 and spent several years early in her career at USC Libraries — has worked in academic libraries for nearly three decades.
Just joins USC Libraries following 6½ years as university library dean at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada. In that role, she oversaw the strategic, fiscal and operational success of a library system serving 26,000 students and 1,000 faculty across 17 colleges, schools and professional programs.
[Clip]
Just says her biggest achievement during her tenure at the University of Saskatchewan is a goal she hopes to accomplish in her new role at USC.
“I was able to develop the relationship between the library and different aspects of the university — including the colleges and the schools — but also other offices on campus that help the university achieve its research, teaching, learning and clinical goals,” Just said.
Just believes the key to her success at USC will include tapping into her experience as a leader who builds relationships that increase understanding of what libraries have to offer.
[Clip]
Just describes returning to USC as a “full circle” moment. She credits the university as the environment in which she first received mentorship to kick off her decades long career in libraries.
“Early in my career, I didn’t know that I had the capacity or the capability of being an administrator; it was just not something that had ever occurred to me,” Just said. “But I had an amazing set of mentors, starting from when I was at USC, who saw something in me and encouraged me in this direction.”
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
