Melissa Just, holder of the Valerie and Ronald Sugar Dean’s Chair of the USC Libraries, will serve as incoming vice president and president-elect for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) starting January 1, 2025.
During 2026, Just will serve as president of ARL, a nonprofit organization of 127 research libraries in Canada and the U.S. whose vision is to create a trusted, equitable, and inclusive research and learning ecosystem and prepare library leaders to advance this work in strategic partnership with member libraries and other organizations worldwide.
“I am honored to be elected to this role and look forward to working with ARL’s Board of Directors, executive director, and staff – as well as all member libraries – to advance the visibility and impact of the critical work of research libraries,” said Just. “The work that ARL leads in influencing policy and advancing open and equitable scholarship is particularly important as we work within our member institutions and collectively to support information accountability and transparency, contributing to informed decision-making.”
The USC Libraries joined ARL in 1962, and Just’s work with the organization dates to 2013 when she was a fellow in the ARL Leadership Fellows program. During her time as an ARL member representative, she has served on ARL’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee; Membership Taskforce; and Board of Directors. Just has previously served on the boards of directors of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, and the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN), where she also served as vice-chair.
During its fall 2024 meeting, ARL’s membership ratified the Board’s election of Just as vice president and president-elect. Rhea Ballard-Thrower, dean of libraries and university librarian at the University of Illinois Chicago will begin a one-year term as president on January 1, 2025. Just will begin her term as ARL president on January 1, 2026.
“USC is proud of the USC Libraries' collaborations with national library and academic organizations, including its membership in influential groups like ARL and the Big Ten Academic Alliance,” said USC Provost Andrew Guzman. “Dr. Just’s selection for this important role at ARL is a reflection of her leadership impact here at our university and across the U.S. and Canada.”
Just assumed leadership of the USC Libraries in November of 2023 after six years as dean of libraries at the University of Saskatchewan. Assuming the Valerie and Ronald Sugar Dean’s Chair of the USC Libraries marked a homecoming – to USC and Southern California – for Just, as she launched her career in libraries at the USC Norris Medical Library in 1995. Just is also a USC alumna with a doctorate from the USC Rossier School of Education.