UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries Associate Dean for Learning, Undergraduate Services and Commonwealth Campus Libraries Leo Lo has been named the dean of University Libraries at The University of New Mexico College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences. Lo's appointment is effective Sept. 1.
Lo joined Penn State in May 2019 after serving as associate university librarian for research and learning at Old Dominion University. Earlier this month he was promoted to full librarian faculty status at Penn State, and in summer 2020 he completed an executive doctor of education degree in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania. His dissertation focused on Open Access policies at U.S. R-1 Carnegie Classification research universities, which include Penn State and The University of New Mexico. His research interests also include library employee professional development, open and affordable educational resources and student academic success.
“Though my time at Penn State has been brief, I have appreciated Dr. Lo’s contributions to our organization and to the University — leading our strategic planning process, coordinating our COVID-19 response, and representing the Libraries at University, consortial and professional settings focused on teaching and learning, assessment and user services, especially those focused on undergraduates,” said Faye Chadwell, dean of Penn State University Libraries and Scholarly Communications. “I want to thank him for those contributions and wish him well, and I look forward to having him as a colleague within the Association for Research Libraries.”
During his time at Penn State, Lo led the University Libraries’ most recent strategic planning process. Under his leadership, the Libraries hosted Pennsylvania’s first Open Educational Resources Summit for higher education librarians across the commonwealth to discuss challenges of and solutions for lowering the cost of attending college through the use of free and low-cost open textbooks and course materials. In addition, diversity initiatives and international student engagement grew under his portfolio of responsibilities through new efforts such as Libraries co-sponsored student events and support of a special on-campus living option.
Lo also oversaw the Libraries’ pandemic response, from the transition of library engagement events, instruction sessions and the annual Open House to digital modules and virtual events to the gradual, phased reopening of lending services and public spaces, ensuring both library user and employee safety. His leadership enabled on-site Access Services teams to quickly reinstitute scanning of print materials to support Penn State course instruction. This work also enabled the Libraries’ voluntary participation in a free, temporary Interlibrary Loan resource-sharing service to help libraries worldwide fulfill document requests when those institutions’ services were constrained by COVID-19 circumstances.
“I am honored and delighted to be joining The University of New Mexico as dean of the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences. I am looking forward to working with the college’s talented faculty and staff — including the organization, information and learning sciences degree program, the academic library and The University of New Mexico Press — to leverage the strengths of all these units,” said Lo. “I also look forward to collaborating with the outstanding faculty and staff across the university to support the research, teaching, learning and service missions of the university.”
Lo also holds three master’s degrees: in survey research from the University of Connecticut, in screenwriting from Hollins University, and in library and information studies from Florida State University. He earned his undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Texas at Arlington.