Jennifer Brannock selected to 2015 Archives Leadership Institute at Luther College

News item published on: 2015-02-10 15:04:14

            DECORAH, Iowa—In a competitive application process, Jennifer Brannock has been selected as a participant in the 2015 Archives Leadership Institute (ALI).

            ALI is a program funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a statutory body affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration, and is being hosted at Luther College for the years 2013-15. The Archives Leadership Institute at Luther College (ALI@Luther) will provide advanced training for 25 emerging and innovative leaders, giving them the knowledge and tools to transform the archival profession in practice, theory and attitude. To learn more about ALI@Luther see www.archivesleadershipinstitute.org.   

            In support of the project, Luther College Archives was awarded $216,150 by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the granting agency of the National Archives and Records Administration.

            Participants were selected for the 2015 ALI@Luther program participant based on their leadership skills and potential, ability to influence policy and change within an organization and the archival field, commitment to the archival profession, career progress and history, organizational involvement, professional motivation and goals, a collaborative and innovative spirit and diversity and specialization within the profession.

            Jennifer Brannock is an Associate Professor and Curator of Rare Books and Mississippiana at the University of Southern Mississippi.  Prior to joining Southern Miss, she was the Kress Fellow in Art Librarianship at Yale University.  She currently serves as president of the Society of Mississippi Archivists, steering committee member of the Regional Archival Associations Consortium (RAAC), chair of the RAAC education subcommittee, and is the former chair of the Mississippi Library Association chapter of the Association of College & Research Libraries. Jennifer holds an B.A. in Art History and an M.L.S. from the University of Kentucky.

            The Leadership Intensive held at Luther College is a weeklong immersion program that embraces a distraction-free, focused opportunity for emerging archival leaders to develop necessary theories, skills and knowledge. Participants will engage in daylong workshops focusing on current and vital strategies for archival leadership such as new leadership thinking and methods, strategies for born digital resources, project management, human resource development and advocacy and outreach. Participants will also take part in team building
activities that embrace the beauty and fresh-air of the Upper Iowa River bluff country in northeast Iowa.

            Following the weeklong intensive at Luther College, participants will return to their institutions to develop a post-intensive practicum project. The chosen practicum project will serve as the primary focus for all ALI@Luther participants in the following year and will meet the goal of connecting archival leadership skills with practical application. Throughout this process, an ALI steering committee mentor will provide guidance and support for the proposed project.

            The institute will conclude with a practices workshop to be held in conjunction with the Society of American Archivists' annual meeting in August 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. The content of the practices workshop will consist of facilitated conversation focused on applying leadership learning to ongoing projects and practicums.