Jeff Gatten to Retire in January 2021

At the end of this month, Associate Dean Jeff Gatten will retire from the William H. Hannon Library. Initially hired in 2016, Jeff has been a driving force behind innumerable library initiatives, including ushering the library through its strategic planning process, leading the development of annual performance review rubrics, and implementing significant facilities enhancements, such as the installation of the new front doors, the PA system, and the software that controls the building’s door locks.

Additionally, Jeff managed the 67% increase in student employment minimum wages over the last 5 years with minimal impact on the library’s operations, and he successfully navigated the unexpected budget reductions caused as a result of COVID-19’s impact on the university. While at Loyola Marymount University, he also served as secretary for the SCELC Board of Directors.

Jeff came to LMU from California Institute of the Arts where he had served as Dean of the Library and Information Resources since 2004. Prior to that, Jeff was the Assistant Dean for Collection Management, Libraries and Media Services at Kent State University in Ohio.

As for his plans in retirement, Jeff is not committing to anything at the moment. His main goal is “to be open, available, and flexible to whims and opportunities.” We are incredibly grateful to Jeff for his time at Hannon Library, especially his characteristic “even-keeled” approach to leadership and management. We wish him the best in the coming years.

Jamie HazlittJamie Hazlitt, librarian for collection development and evaluation, will serve as interim associate dean. Jamie holds a B.F.A. in visual communications from the University of Washington and M.L.I.S. from UCLA. She has been a librarian at LMU since 2005, holding positions in three departments. She has served as a Reference Librarian and as the first outreach and communications librarian. She was appointed to her current position in June 2015. Jamie has an impressive record of accomplishments in performance, scholarship, and service. In recognition of her achievements, Jamie was recently promoted to the rank of Librarian, the equivalent of full professor for librarians.

Jamie is a well-recognized champion for Open Educational Resources (OER). In 2017 she created the CATs program, designed to expand the library’s collection of course adoption e-books for our students. In 2019, she was selected as a SPARC Open Education Leadership Fellow; her capstone project was the Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative, which provided a $10,000 grant to an academic department to incentivize faculty to adopt open educational resources as alternatives to costly textbooks. Jamie has a reputation as a trusted colleague and successful collaborator throughout the library and across the university.