As the dean of UC Libraries, I serve as an ambassador for the university and the Libraries on a global scale. My travel takes me across the United States and around the world for conferences and site visits from San Francisco, California to Zhejiang, China. It is equally important, however, for me to foster my relationships on a local and regional level with the universities and library systems across the state.
This summer, Ohio University hosted a two-week Institute for Chinese Academic Leaders. Scott Seaman, the university’s dean of libraries, invited me to Athens to participate in a panel about “Current Trends & Changes in U.S. Research Libraries.” This gave me the opportunity to spend time with the OU library leadership, support their international partnerships, and to reinforce the ties between our two libraries.
Upon their arrival at Ohio University, the visitors presented dean Seaman and OU’s dean emeritus Dr. Hwai-Wei Lee with handmade scrolls decorated with Chinese calligraphy commemorating the visit.