Deb Ward has been appointed interim vice provost for libraries and university librarian, effective Nov. 28, 2019. Ward has been the director of the MU health sciences libraries, which includes the J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library and the Zalk Veterinary Medical Library, for over 20 years. In 2016, she also became the associate university librarian for specialized libraries. Ward has been active in local, regional and national library organizations. Ward was a co-creator of the Missouri AHEC Digital Library, an information service for health care providers in the state of Missouri, created in partnership with the Mid-Missouri Area Health Education Center. In addition, she has been the principal investigator for the Missouri coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine since 2002. She is a partner with three other campus collaborators in the three-year project “Librarians as Catalysts for Healthy Communities,” funded by the Institute of Library and Museum Services. Previously, Ward held a number of administrative appointments at three other academic health sciences libraries. She earned a bachelor of arts in German and a master of arts in education from Eastern Kentucky University. She also earned a master of library science from the University of Kentucky.

Other interim assignments:

• Kate Anderson, veterinary medical librarian, Health Sciences and Specialized Libraries Division, assigned oversight for three additional specialized libraries
• Corrie Hutchinson, associate university librarian, Acquisitions, Collections and Technical Services Division, assigned oversight for technical services functions of the Health Sciences Library
• Jeannette Pierce, associate university librarian, Research and Instruction Services Division, assigned oversight for the division currently assigned to Ann Riley
• Chris Pryor, NNLM coordinator, Health Sciences and Specialized Libraries Division, assigned oversight for the Health Sciences Library Circulation Department and responsibility for facility and administrative aspects of the Health Sciences and Specialized Libraries divisional operation
• Diane Johnson, assistant director for the Health Sciences Library Information Services and Resources, will take on additional temporary duties including serving on the Collection Steering Committee