Social Justice
Lae’l Hughes-Watkins promoted to Associate Director for Engagement, Inclusion, and Reparative Archiving in the UMD Libraries
The UMD Libraries is pleased to announce that Lae’l Hughes-Watkins has been named the inaugural Associate Director for Engagement, Inclusion, and Reparative Archiving in Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA). Hughes-Watkins assumes this new leadership role after serving for over three years as University Archivist. (A search to fill the now-vacant archivist role will be conducted soon.)
UMD Libraries Lay Strong Foundation for Innovative reACT House
The Libraries are proud to play an instrumental role in the 2022-23 interdisciplinary curriculum program “Decolonizing Education to Meet the Demand of Climate Change: resilient Adaptive Climate Technology (reACT) Testbed Lab.” Over the course of one year, students from across seven departments, from Education to Architecture, will work collaboratively on an architecture and engineering project that’s guided by indigenous knowledge in order to live more sustainably in the face of climate change.
In Support of Women and All Those Affected by the Loss of Reproductive Freedom
Stated simply and factually, the US Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, effectively shifts the authority for reproductive decisions from individual women and people who can become pregnant, to state governments.
UMD Libraries joins USMAI in condemning recent bomb threats against HBCUs
UMD Libraries is joining USMAI in condemning the recent bomb threats against Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Read the full statement.
UMD Libraries names inaugural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
“I hope to be a catalyst for a procedural, cultural and operational shift towards a more inclusive, equitable and accessible workplace.” Nneka Chisholm-Edwards (she/her) has been named UMD Libraries’ first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer.
Commitment to Anti-Racism and Social Justice
Statement of Commitment to Anti-Racismi and Social Justice by the Undersigned Faculty and Staff at the UMD Libraries The undersigned at the UMD Libraries join in solidarity with campus and community members who seek to promote social justice and to end racism, especially the scourge of systemic anti-Black racism in American society. We affirm the importance of our work together as a library and higher education community, and the need to co-create new knowledge and build a better society, one free from violence, hate, and fear.
In support of the Asian American Community
On March 16, 2021, we were confronted with another act of horrific violence in our society. This time, after witnessing an alarming increase in the numbers of attacks on Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) people during the pandemic, we learned about the brutal, hate-based murder of eight people in Atlanta, six of whom were women of Asian descent.