Gleeson Library aims to work vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people. We acknowledge, respect, and celebrate differences and commonalities. We also acknowledge the roles our institution and many other academic libraries play, both historically and today, in the ongoing subjugation of Black people and the intersections between librarianship and systemic racism. We affirm that Black Lives Matter.
—Shawn P. Calhoun, Acting Library Dean (June 2020 from the Black Lives Matter Statement)
Dr. Calhoun was appointed University Library Dean in August 2022. Prior to this appointment, he served as USF's Acting University Library Dean (February 2020 – July 2022), and USF's Associate Library Dean for Access Services, Reference & Research Services, Scholarly Communication, and Special Collections & Archives. As a member of the Gleeson Library Leadership Team, he regularly participates in a wide variety of library and campus-wide strategic initiatives.
Shawn received his Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from San José State University and his Ed.D. (Learning & Instruction) from USF’s School of Education. Shawn’s scholarly work has focused on multimedia and modular worked-out examples as instructional methodologies as well as the management of student’s cognitive processing associated with information literacy instruction.