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Faith-sharing Fridays: Janice and William Welburn
RECORDED ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2021
Presented by Janice Welburn, Dean of Libraries, Marquette University; and Dr. William Welburn, Vice President for Inclusive Excellence, Marquette University
Moderated by Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther, Arts '85, Grad '88, '98, Senior Mission & Ignatian Leadership Specialist, University Advancement, Marquette University
Join us for inspiration, conversation and community as we discuss our varying faith journeys, beliefs and the people we have met along the way. Marquette leaders will reflect on their faith as we explore these holy invitations in our lives and the influence a growing faith can have on us over a lifetime. All are welcome for this inspiring monthly gathering!
More about this session
Janice Welburn has been dean of Marquette University libraries since 2006. A leading achievement of her 13-year tenure has been the Digital Scholarship Lab, a facility established in 2015 as the centerpiece of a growing suite of library services aimed at fostering digital scholarship. From 2003 to 2006, she served as associate dean of libraries at the University of Arizona.
At the University of Iowa libraries from 1990 to 2003, Welburn served in many leadership positions, including director roles for public services, facilities, human resources, and technical services. She also served on the planning committee that created the first information commons in a university library and acted as coordinator of personnel and diversity programs. >Earlier, Welburn held librarian positions at New York University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Indiana University (where she was interim head of the Medical Sciences Library), and Princeton University, where she was head of the Psychology Library. She also served as a librarian for the Indianapolis–Marian County Public Library and at Bishop College in Dallas, where she began her professional career.
Welburn has published extensively and made numerous presentations in the areas of diversity, leadership, and human resources. Her extensive academic and professional engagement currently includes serving as an American Library Association endowment trustee and as a member of the ALA Council, the ALA International Relations Committee, and the Association of College and Research Libraries 2019 Coordinating Committee. In 2011, Welburn was selected by her peers as the ACRL Academic/Research Librarian of the Year, a national award recognizing her contributions to the profession of librarianship. Welburn also was past chair of the Catholic Research Resources Alliance Board, past vice chair and past secretary of the Center for Research Libraries Board, and former editorial board member of the portal: Libraries and the Academy.
Welburn’s teaching contributions include several years leading online courses in fund development and conflict management with the Association for Research Libraries online lyceum. Welburn also is an active community leader. She currently serves as a member of the Friends of the Haggerty Museum of Art board and the School of Information Studies advisory board. In addition, Welburn is current president of the Milwaukee chapter of Links, Incorporated, a national service organization for professional women of color that works to strengthen African-American communities.
Dr. William Welburn is the vice president for inclusive excellence for Marquette University’s Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion. As executive director, Welburn is responsible for leadership in setting a strategic direction on campus diversity and inclusion by working with faculty, administrative, staff and student communities on a range of issues leading toward a more inclusive Marquette. His office’s portfolio includes implementation of the university’s strategic planning theme “A Culture of Inclusion,” and in assisting the university in full implementation of actions recommended by planning and climate assessment.
Welburn joined Marquette after having served as associate dean of the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 2006–09, where he held administrative responsibility for graduate student academic services, including initiatives on diversity, handling student problems and assisting in establishing an electronic thesis and dissertation program. He began his career in 1978 in the library at Indiana University–Bloomington. Since that time, he has held positions in the libraries at Princeton University, William Paterson University and the University of Iowa. He has also taught in library and information science graduate programs at Atlanta University, Rutgers University, University of Iowa and University of Arizona. While at Iowa, he shifted his career trajectory when in 1993 he accepted a position as the Graduate College’s assistant dean and interim chair of the African American Studies Program.
A native of Chester County, Pa., Welburn received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University in 1975, his master’s degree in library science from Atlanta University in 1978, and his doctorate in library and information science from Indiana University in 1991. He remains active in his discipline of library and information science through service and publications. He edited a volume for the Association for College and Research Libraries with Beth McNeil and Janice Welburn titled Advocacy, Outreach, and the Nation’s Academic Libraries: A Call for Action. He continues to write and present papers on diversity, documenting diverse cultures and communities, and the bridge between libraries and African-American studies.
Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther currently serves as the Senior Mission & Ignatian Leadership Specialist in University Advancement at Marquette University. Additionally, Kathy serves/has served as adjunct faculty for undergraduates and clinical adjunct faculty for graduate students at Marquette University. Kathy received a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Marquette University and a certificate in spiritual direction from the Aquinas Institute of Theology. For many years, Kathy has worked with a particular emphasis in Ignatian spirituality as a means for healthy spiritual and emotional living. Kathy has also served as a spiritual director, speaker and consultant to religious congregations, clergy and religious, and parishes focusing on the work of community building, conflict resolution and spiritual growth. Kathy serves as current consultant for diaconate formation in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and served as the past Co-Chair of the Community Advisory Board for Clergy Abuse in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.