Associate Dean for Research and Learning Laura W. Gariepy, Ph.D., has been selected for the prestigious and competitive UCLA Library Senior Fellows Program. This summer Gariepy will join 16 other top managers of academic libraries as a senior fellow. 

The biennial program brings together emerging leaders for an immersive experience that emphasizes peer learning, collaboration and leadership development focused on the evolving role of academic libraries. The longest-running leadership development program in the academic library profession, the three-week hybrid program includes two weeks onsite at UCLA.

In her letter of support nominating Gariepy for the program, Dean of VCU Libraries and University Librarian Irene Herold, Ph.D., wrote: “As a member of my leadership team she is always prepared, creative, and thoughtful in her interactions with her colleagues. Given Dr. Gariepy’s broad and diverse portfolio of responsibilities, she has repeatedly shown depth and caring in her approach to problem solving.”

Among academic librarians, UCLA’s Senior Fellows program is widely recognized as a pinnacle experience in professional development. Since its founding in 1982, more than 300 fellows have participated in the program, with nearly 100 going on to become library directors, including about 60 at Association of Research Libraries institutions.

“The UCLA Library Senior Fellows program is one of the most transformative leadership experiences in our field," said Athena Jackson, the Norman and Armena Powell University Librarian and a member of the 2018 cohort. "The program fosters the kind of thoughtful, resilient and strategic leadership needed to manage the complex challenges facing research libraries today and to anticipate those opportunities we have yet to imagine.”

The 2026 program is co-directed by Lorraine J. Haricombe, vice provost and director emerita of the University of Texas Libraries at Austin, and Mark A. Puente, associate dean for organizational development at Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies and principal, Mark A. Puente & Associates LLC. 

The 2026 cohort is listed here https://www.library.ucla.edu/about/news/ucla-library-to-welcome-2026-senior-fellows-cohort