ACU Library is proud that Mark McCallon, Associate Dean for Information Services, was named “Member of the Month” by the Texas Library Association, an association with over 7,000 members.
TLA offers services to its members that allow for leadership, continuing education, professional support, awards to recognize excellence, scholarships to promote library careers and grants to nurture quality programming.
TLA offered Mark the opportunity to participate in two significant leadership experiences. He was the first ACU librarian to participate in the TALL Texans Leadership Institute in 1996, which provided opportunities to be mentored by academic and public library directors who were influential in the state. They encouraged him to further his leadership training by pursuing a doctorate in education, which he completed in 2001. Mark explains, “Last summer I participated in a TLA Executive Leadership Immersion Summit with American Library Association President Julie Todaro. It was a great opportunity to learn from one of the best leaders and advocates for libraries in the U.S. and network with other library leaders from Texas and other states.”
Mark became the Associate Director of the Library in 2003, Associate Dean in 2010 and currently serves as Associate Dean for Library Information Services. In his role, he oversees the research and public services aspects of the library, including collection development and liaisons to faculty and academic departments for instruction and library support. He also teaches in two online programs, the M.Ed. in Student Services and the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership.
When asked what Mark enjoys most about his work, he replied, “My favorite aspect of my work is providing assistance to students and faculty with their research needs. I love seeing the students gain new knowledge through the books and articles that they read, and I also love learning from the students through the variety of research topics that they are working on. ACU is a very special place and I love my colleagues and the accomplishments that I have been able to see and participate in over the years.”