NSU’s Louderback chosen for 2015 Leading Change Institute

(Tahlequah, Okla.)-- This May, Dr. Pamela Louderback flew to Washington D.C. to participate in a six-day program with the Leading Change Institute. The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) created the program, which aims to engage library and information technology leaders in further developing their skills to take back to their respective institutes of higher education.

The institute discusses new sources of competition, uses of technology to support effective teaching and learning, distance learning, the changing modes of scholarly communications and how to rapidly and effectively adapt and succeed as a leader in an ever-changing environment.

Steven Edscorn, the executive director of libraries at NSU, initially suggested that Louderback apply for the program. Edscorn is an alum of the Frye Leadership Institute which is now the Leading Change Institute.

Upon receiving notice that she had been chosen for the prestigious and selective program, Louderback felt both humbled and excited for the opportunity to learn not only from the speakers and the institute itself, but also from her peers who were in attendance. Going into the experience, she hoped to enrich her understanding of higher education administration and some of the challenges that arise in terms of information organization.

Louderback emphasized that continued professional development and training are essential to remain successful in any profession.

Professional development ensures that your capabilities keep pace with current standards of others in the same field and that you are able to maintain and enhance the knowledge and skills you need to deliver professional service to your patrons. As professionals we cannot stand still, we must always strive to improve.

Although Louderback is not new to using the CLIR as a resource, she saw the opportunity to meet with others as a huge benefit both personally and professionally.

Programs like this provide opportunities for community and professional mentorship. The opportunity to network and to meet real-thought leaders in the industry is crucial to improvement. And it can be extremely energizing, inspiring, and impactful on a professional as well as a personal level, to hear from other perspectives and to look at something in a different way, she said.

Louderback described the experience as both educational and informative.

On the agenda for the institute were two deans, Joanne Kossuth, the vice president for Operations and CIO of Olin College of Engineering and Elliot Shore, the executive director of the Association of Research Libraries. Many notable speakers were also in attendance, including Jack Dunn, the director of the Office of News & Public Affairs for Boston College, Nick Lee, the senior program officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rick Legon, the president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and John Walda, the president of the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

Louderback recalled that her favorite speaker was Charles Henry, the president of the Council on Library and Information Resources, who spoke on safeguarding cultural artifacts and the use of inventory and digitization to secure and preserve the cultural heritage of the Middle East. She saw many ways in which she could bring back the information and recommendations and apply them to efforts being done in the United States with indigenous peoples.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have been able to meet with and listen to the many speakers from such a wide range of backgrounds share real-life problems across the higher education landscape, she said.

Although the institute experience has been over for nearly a month, Louderback continues to meet with her LCI group teammates via Google Hangouts, where they check in on one another with professional updates and share how their initiatives and projects are progressing.They also use the opportunity to continually bounce ideas off of one another and discuss how they have or might incorporate LCI concepts into their lives or work environments.

More information about the Leading Change Institute.