Nancy J. Busch has been appointed to a three-year interim dean position at the University Libraries. The appointment, announced in August by senior vice chancellor Ellen Weissinger, became effective with the approval of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents at its Sept. 14 meeting.
A member of the UNL Libraries faculty and administration since 2003, Busch's responsibilities as associate dean included budget and personnel management, and supervision of staff development and diversity personnel. She served as deputy director of the Nebraska Library Commission from 1989 to 2003. Busch has also directed the Panhandle Library System in Nebraska, served as Gila County, Ariz., Library System director, and has served in numerous other libraries and states, including service with the Peace Corps in Nicaragua.
"I am honored to receive this appointment," Busch said. "With the support of faculty, staff, students and the administration, I look forward to enhancing our signature digital programs and services, furthering strategic collaborations with our Committee on Institutional Cooperation colleagues, and improving our Libraries services and spaces to enrich the learning, teaching, and research experience of our students and faculty."
Busch earned her master's in library science from the University of Iowa and a doctorate from the University of Michigan School of Information. She has taught master's and doctoral level research methods classes, and has experience in evaluation and assessment initiatives in public, academic and state libraries. Her doctoral research investigated recruitment and retention of rural public library directors in the United States.
Busch also currently serves as co-administrative director and chair of the internal evaluation team for UNL's National Science Foundation Institutional Transformation Project which is working to integrate the necessary structures to increase the number of women applicants for faculty positions in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
"The faculty and staff of the University Libraries are fortunate indeed that Dr. Busch was willing to accept the Library dean role, and the campus as a whole will benefit from her deep understanding of academic libraries," Weissinger said. "Nancy's long friendship and working relationship with dean emeritus Giesecke will make this transition seamless. Nancy is widely respected across campus as an insightful collaborator and innovative leader and I am fully confident in Nancy's ability to strategically advance the Libraries priorities."
Former libraries dean Joan Giesecke announced her decision to step down on July 17. She has taken a new role coordinating the university's preparation for a 2016 re-accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. Giesecke had been dean for 16 years.
— Joan Barnes, University Libraries