Candidate for President Elect

Mirah J. Dow
Professor, Director Ph.D. Program
Emporia State University

Candidate's Statement:
The landscape of higher education is changing significantly for many reasons including availability of massive amounts of information; new, advanced technologies; evolving business and industry priorities; requirements for a highly technical workforce; public perception of the value of higher education and shifting student demographics and changing student needs. In this current era of change, I believe ALISE must serve as a strong advocate for LIS educators and their students by keeping its members, institutions of higher education, the global society and the general public informed about national and international issues, and trends in LIS education. With vigor and transparency, ALISE must continue to be a relevant, leading voice making clear that education emphasizing high quality research and teaching benefits students at every level and with all occupation and career goals. ALISE must maintain and assert its status as a premier professional organization for promoting excellent education practice and research least we become distracted by competition for students, programs and education dollars.

If elected, as a member of the ALISE Board of Directors, I will engage collaboratively and enthusiastically to achieve ALISE strategic directions while following sound fiscal and management practices. I will support efforts that appeal to the expertise, interests, strengths and mutual professional goals of all LIS faculty. I will work to facilitate dynamic special interest groups and shared governance, online and in-person professional development events and annual conference opportunities, dissemination of publications communicating pedagogical excellence and to make possible scholarships and awards that recognize outstanding achievements. I will partner with others to try new approaches for encouraging leadership and increasing membership by inviting all LIS educators to join the debate about how best to prepare highly qualified librarians and information professionals in all types of libraries and information agencies and in many different professional positions to meet the information demands of people in society.

I pledge to respectfully champion excellent LIS education that graduates professionals who reflect the diversity in the communities we serve as though our democratic society depends on it - - - because I, along with many others, believe that it does.

Biography:
Dr. Mirah Dow is a Professor and Director of the Ph.D. program at Emporia State University (ESU). For the past twenty years, she has taught Master of Library Science students online and face-to-face in Kansas and in the western United States (Colorado, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Utah) at regional sites where the School of Library and Information Management (SLIM) has been invited to delivery its programs. She teaches Ph.D. courses, serves on dissertation committees, and recruits and advises Ph.D. students. While at SLIM, Dr. Dow has served as Interim Dean and in director positions that involve achieving ESU and SLIM strategic goals, managing budgets, developing curriculum and facilitating continuous student and program level assessment processes required by accrediting bodies including the Kansas State Department of Education, American Library Association (ALA), Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and the Higher Learning Commission.

Dr. Dow was recently awarded Institute of Museums and Library Services funding and served as lead faculty in the development of the well-received interdisciplinary Information, Technology, and Scientific Literacy certificate. Dr. Dow has served on numerous ALA, AASL, ALISE, and Kansas Association of School Librarians committees and task forces. She was chair of the AASL legislation committee from 2007-2011 advocating for inclusion of school librarians in the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Dr. Dow’s awards include the 2019 ALA Beta Phi Mu Award, 2019 Emporia State University Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award and the 2014 Kansas Association of School Librarians Vision Award.

Before coming to SLIM, Dr. Dow led the development and implementation of the Kansas Resource Center on Autism (KRCA) at The Teachers College, Emporia State University. This project focused on research and teaching was a collaborative partnership between Emporia State University, Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services, and Division TEACCH at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The information center made available a special collection of print and electronic resources and provided reference and user services, workshops, courses, and conferences for faculty; university students including individuals with autism and other pervasive development disorders; educators, mental health, social service and healthcare providers and community members.

See my complete CV.

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