photo by Margo Reed
Members of the ARL Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and their designees have chosen 18 master of library and information science (MLIS) students to participate in the 2020–2022 Kaleidoscope Program as ARL Diversity Scholars.
Funded by ARL member libraries, the Kaleidoscope Program offers financial support to program participants as well as leadership development through the ARL Annual Leadership Symposium, a formal mentoring program, career placement assistance, and a site visit to an ARL member library. This program reflects the commitment of ARL members to address the historical underrepresentation of many racial and ethnic groups within the research library and archives workforce. The Kaleidoscope Program helps create a diverse professional community that will better meet the needs of researchers, students, and other constituencies whose demographics and perspectives are quickly evolving.
“The selection committee was delighted to see the breadth and depth of experience represented in this year’s accomplished group of applicants,” said selection committee member, Robert McDonald, dean of University Libraries and senior vice provost of Online Education for University of Colorado Boulder. “It was extremely challenging to select from amongst such a talented group of individuals. We are honored to have had the opportunity to be part of the selection process and warmly welcome this year’s cohort of Kaleidoscope Diversity Scholars.”
The 2020–2022 ARL Diversity Scholars are:
- Kimberly Villafuerte Barzola, Simmons University
- Dymond Bush, Simmons University
- Brittany Butler, San José State University
- Valeria Estefanía Dávila Gronros, The University of Alabama
- Laquanda M. Fields, University at Buffalo, SUNY
- Ramón García, University of North Texas
- Kaia MacLeod, University of Alberta
- Arianna McQuillen, Simmons University
- Karla Michelle Roig Blay, The University of Texas at Austin
- Luis Rubio, Pratt Institute
- Brave Heart Sanchez, The University of Arizona
- Alexander Soto, The University of Arizona
- Jerilyn Pia Tinio, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Y Vy Truong, The University of British Columbia
- Hailey Vasquez, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Kelly West, Louisiana State University
- Max Wiggins, University of Maryland
- Alexandra Wong, University of Toronto
For more information about the program and the Diversity Scholars, visit the ARL Kaleidoscope Program website.
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in Canada and the US whose mission is to advance research, learning, and scholarly communication. The Association fosters the open exchange of ideas and expertise, promotes equity and diversity, and pursues advocacy and public policy efforts that reflect the values of the library, scholarly, and higher education communities. ARL forges partnerships and catalyzes the collective efforts of research libraries to enable knowledge creation and to achieve enduring and barrier-free access to information. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
