Shahla Bahavar

Dr. Shahla Bahavar is the Associate Dean, STEM & Health Sciences Libraries at USC Libraries. The USC STEM and Health Sciences Libraries portfolio consists of the Wilson Dental Library, Science & Engineering Library, and the Norris Medical Library. Dr. Shahla Bahavar holds a Ph.D. in Library and Information Management from USC and a B.A. with Honors in Library Science from the University of Tabriz. She holds the USC Senior Faculty rank of University Librarian with continuing-appointment. She has held many leadership positions within the USC Libraries, including that of Head of the Library for International and Public Affairs, Head of the Science and Engineering Library, Director of Social & Behavioral Sciences Libraries Division, Director of Sciences and Social Sciences Libraries Division, Director of Public Services Division I, and Instruction and Reference Coordinator of USC Libraries. Her leadership has included invaluable contributions to strategic research initiatives and information literacy. For example, Dr. Bahavar provided strategic research workshops for Viterbi School of Engineering, including the Engineering Freshman Academy, as well as students enrolled in the American Language Institute (ALI) courses.

In 2013, she was honored to be selected, from hundreds of librarians across the nation, as the winner of the Carnegie Corporation’s “I Love My Librarian” 2013 National Award. The nomination was submitted by USC Viterbi School of Engineering faculty in recognition of her leadership in the field of library and information science and the impact she has had on many students, staff, and faculty throughout the years. Additionally, as Associate Professor she has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in library and information science at the School of Management, Library and Information Science, Iran University of Medical Sciences.

Dr. Bahavar has authored and co-authored many scholarly publications, including professional conference presentations and publications. She has been PI,Co-PI, and Co-organizer on several grant funding programs, such as “Aroosi: Wedding in Iranian Culture,” as well as Visions and Voices-funded “Birds of No Nation Afghan Women on Art, Gender, Freedom and Exile,” and “Borrowed Recipes: Migrant Food Worlds of the Silk Road.”