Rahni B. Kennedy, Music & Media Catalog/Metadata Librarian and Physical Processing Manager, has been selected to participate in the
(ARL) 2022-2023 Leadership and Career Development Program (LCPD).
The LCDP is a yearlong program that prepares mid-career level librarians from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to prepare them to take on leadership roles in their careers and in the profession at large. The LCDP addresses the lack of representation of BIPOC professionals in leadership ranks within academic and research institutions and other communities of practice.
Rahni says, “I am certainly honored to have been selected for the ARL Leadership and Career Development Program, primarily for two reasons. First, this program was mostly started for librarians that are employed at ARL libraries (in which, SMU Libraries is not) and only a few, if any, are selected from non-ARL libraries. Second, I am on the technical services side of the profession which traditionally gets less attention than other areas. However, I argued in my essay that on top of the lack of BIPOC representation in academic librarianship as a whole, there is even less on the technical services side. I am glad that the selection committee saw the strength in my application despite these two factors and I look forward to starting this journey with my other cohorts. This is a unique opportunity to collaborate with other BIPOC peers and have access to current leaders in research libraries.”
The ARL established the LCPD in 1997. Since its inception, a large percentage of alumni have assumed expanded responsibilities within their institutions and within professional organizations. The LCDP helps research libraries and archives develop a more diverse professional workforce and leadership that can contribute to library success in serving the research, teaching, and learning of increasingly diverse scholarly and learning communities.
Congratulations, Rahni!