First dean candidate for KU Libraries to present Feb. 13

LAWRENCE — The first candidate for the University of Kansas Libraries dean position will give a public presentation at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 13 in Watson Library, Watson 3 West Event Space.

The presentation will be livestreamed, and the passcode is 995514.

Nadia Ghasedi is the first of four candidates who will describe her vision and aspiration for the role of libraries in the next 10 years at a flagship university. She currently serves as the associate university librarian for special collections services division at Washington University in St. Louis, a position she’s held since 2016.

The university is seeking a leader who will guide KU Libraries beyond its traditional responsibilities to meet the emerging needs of the university and the community it serves.

The other candidates will be announced approximately two business days before their respective campus visits. All public presentations will take place in Watson Library in the Watson 3 West Event Space and will be livestreamed. Public presentations for each of the candidates are scheduled for the following dates:

• Nadia Ghasedi: 2:30-3:30 p.m. Feb. 13
• Candidate 2: 3:30-4:30 p.m. Feb. 16
• Candidate 3: 3-4 p.m. Feb. 21
• Candidate 4: 3-4 p.m. Feb. 23

Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to offer their impressions and observations of each candidate online. There will be a limited-time feedback survey where members of the KU community will have the chance to share their opinion on each candidate. Feedback on Ghasedi’s presentation is due by 5 p.m. Feb. 16. A recording of her presentation will be available the morning after the presentation on the search website until the survey closes. Additional search information is also available on the Provost Office website.

Each candidate will meet with Chancellor Douglas A. Girod, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Barbara A. Bichelmeyer, senior administrators, KU Endowment, KU Alumni Association, University Governance and KU Libraries groups, including faculty, staff and the board of advocates. Each candidate will tour KU Libraries’ facilities.

A 16-year employee at Washington University, Ghasedi oversees the collection development for seven distinct areas, which include both physical and digital collections and associated processing, access and use, and reference and instruction. Ghasedi oversees University Libraries-wide physical and digital preservation, digitization and exhibition programs. She is a member of the University Libraries senior leadership team.

Ghasedi has contributed to numerous initiatives with University Libraries, such as building a framework for managerial performance, conducting a workforce analysis, completing and executing strategic planning and designing and implementing organizational restructurings.

Ghasedi has served as principal investigator on numerous grant-funded projects, including Eyes on the Prize Preservation Project, a four-year project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She aided in the effort to complete the film preservation of part one of the award-winning documentary series and associated interviews.

Prior to her current position, she served as an associate university librarian for collection management and access services division, head of the visual media research lab and film media archivist and cataloging and preservation archivist at Washington University. Ghasedi is a member of the American Library Association, the oldest and largest library association in the world.

Ghasedi holds an executive Master of Business Administration from Washington University and a certificate in film preservation from the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. She also earned a master’s degree in information science and learning technologies with an emphasis in library science from the University of Missouri and a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Wisconsin.