More Information

About the Program

Now accepting nominations!

Since its creation in 1982, the UCLA Library Senior Fellows program has identified and developed numerous academic library leaders who have gone on to distinguished careers. Over the years, more than 250 academic librarians have participated in this highly prestigious program.

Scheduled every two years, this intensive, three-week residential program combines management perspectives, strategic thinking and practical and theoretical approaches to the issues confronting academic institutions and their libraries. The next UCLA Library Senior Fellows will be held July 7-27, 2024.

The program receives generous administrative support from UCLA Library.

Program Faculty

Director Janice Welburn

A prominent academic library leader, Janice Welburn most recently led Marquette University Libraries from 2006 through her retirement in 2021. Her decades of experience includes leadership positions at University of Arizona and University of Iowa libraries, and librarian positions at New York University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Indiana University, Princeton University and Bishop College, where she first began her career.

Among her current professional activities, Welburn serves as a senior endowment trustee for the  American Library Association (ALA) and is an ALA councilor-at-large. She is also a member of the ALA’s Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL); Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures; the Rainbow Round Table (RRT); Black Caucus American Library Association (BCALA); Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), and National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA).

In 2011, Welburn was selected by her peers as Academic/Research Librarian of the Year, a national award recognizing her contributions to the profession of librarianship.

Other Faculty

Faculty in past years have included:

  • Christine Borgman, distinguished research professor of information studies, UCLA
  • Charles Henry, president, Council on Library and Information Resources
  • Mary Lee Kennedy, executive director, Association of Research Libraries
  • Clifford Lynch, executive director, Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
  • Jeff MacKie-Mason, university librarian and chief digital scholarship officer, UC Berkeley
  • Mark Puente, associate dean for organizational development, inclusion and diversity, Purdue University Libraries
  • Roger C. Schonfeld, vice president of organizational strategy, Ithaka S+R
  • Melissa Woo, executive vice president for administration and chief information officer, Michigan State University

Program Cohorts

From its beginnings in 1982, the UCLA Library Senior Fellows Program has attracted the profession's best and brightest. Drawn from across the United States and Canada, the Program's participants are a rich and varied group, reflecting a broad range of academic library organizations and librarians.

See our past Senior Fellows cohorts(opens in a new tab) (PDF).

Location and Accommodations

The Senior Fellows program is held on the UCLA campus, with all classes located in the Charles E. Young Research Library. Fellows can participate in a wide variety of cultural and entertainment opportunities in the Los Angeles area, including world-class dining, theater, beaches, mountains and more.

Fellows are housed in one of the residential plazas on campus, in single-occupancy rooms with private baths and air conditioning. Weekly maid service, telephones and Internet access are provided. Please note that while the guest rooms are private, secure and in newer residential buildings, they are in student housing and not of a full hotel standard. All beds are twin extra-long, there are no televisions in the rooms, and hair dryers and irons are not supplied.

The residential plazas are just under one mile from the Research Library. The UCLA residential facilities contain units accessible to people with disabilities, and the Research Library is also ADA-compliant. Please note that UCLA is a completely tobacco-free campus.

Application and Fees

Individuals wishing to participate need to be nominated by a colleague before they can apply. After nominees confirm their intent to apply, they will be directed to the application.

If accepted, fellows are required to pay a program fee of $9,500, which covers all program sessions (including excursions), lodging on campus, and most meals.

The deadline for nominations and applications for the 2024 program has passed. All applicants will be notified of their status by February 29, 2024.

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