Mary-Jo Romaniuk re-appointed vice-provost (libraries and cultural resources)

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Mary-Jo Romaniuk, PhD, has been reappointed for a second term as vice-provost (libraries and cultural resources). Following Dr. Romaniuk’s confirmation of her willingness to be considered for reappointment, an advisory review committee was established. This committee considered Dr. Romaniuk’s performance during her first term as vice-provost and invited and reviewed feedback from those within Libraries and Cultural Resources (LCR) and our community. Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in this important process and provide input. The committee’s recommendation and feedback were shared with President and Vice-Chancellor Ed McCauley, who was pleased to accept the recommendation and proceed with renewal.

Dr. Romaniuk, who has an extensive background in library sciences, was first appointed to the role of vice-provost in 2018. She holds a PhD from Queensland University of Technology, an MLIS from San Jose State University and a BComm with distinction from the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Romaniuk spent four years as a librarian at the University of Manitoba before joining UCalgary. Prior to working at UManitoba, she was the acting chief librarian at the University of Alberta.

During her first term at UCalgary, Dr. Romaniuk led LCR through one of the most challenging periods in its history while continuing to forge important connections with the community. Under her leadership, the Nickle and Founders’ Galleries, as well as Archives and Special Collections, were able to continue to offer services during the COVID-19 pandemic by digitizing exhibits and offering online content to students, faculty and communities. The University Press’s commitment to open access publications resulted in more than 24,000 downloads per month of press titles during the pandemic.

She has modernized the library by investing in self-service technologies such as reserve kiosks, mobile self-check-out, proactive chat reference, chat bots and 24-7 access to facilities, and she led the move of the Glenbow Library and Archives, one of the largest transitions of collections ever, to the Glenbow Western Research Centre at the university. In addition, she secured $760,000 of additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, allowing LCR to implement world-class digital asset management and preservation systems and become a recognized leader in the preservation of audio-visual materials in Canada and North America.

UCalgary prioritizes the value of LCR in serving not just the research community, but in providing the greater community access to our collections. Dr. Romaniuk is excited to continue developing innovative resources and supporting a top research university.

Dr. Romaniuk has proven herself to be a leader in her field. Her focus remains on using technology to meet student needs and on improving a sense of inclusivity that will elevate our campus community. 

I would like to thank the members of the advisory review committee, which I chaired, for their participation in this process. They are: Rob Thompson (vice-president (research) designate), Heather Ganshorn (academic staff representative), Christena McKillop (academic staff representative), Kent Donlevy (TUCFA representative), Ian Holloway (decanal representative), Joanne Perdue (provost team representative), Brian Scrivener (MaPS representative), Marla Halsted (AUPE representative), Mateusz Salmassi (SU representative), Kyla Flanagan (GFC representative), Jean-Christophe Boucher (GFC representative), and David Peabody (community representative).

Please join me in congratulating Mary-Jo as she continues her work at UCalgary.

Penny Werthner 
Interim Provost and Vice-President (Academic)