The School of Library and Information Studies is pleased to announce that Dr. Bharat Mehra will join its faculty in January of 2019 as the EBSCO Endowed Chair with emphasis in social justice and diversity.
Mehra has a distinguished national and international reputation as a scholar and advocate for librarianship as a profession engaged in work toward a more inclusive and just society. His research focuses on diversity and social justice in library and information science and community informatics, or the use of information and communication technologies to empower minority and underserved populations to make meaningful changes in their everyday lives.
He will provide leadership to a faculty already committed to social justice as evidenced by its unique curricular offerings and commitment to equity and inclusiveness as core library values through teaching and research.
Mehra received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign in 2004. He comes to Alabama from the University of Tennessee where he has been on the faculty since completing his doctoral work. He has authored or co-authored over fifty articles in peer refereed journals, and co-edited one book, Progressive Community Action: Critical Theory and Social Justice in Library and Information Science. He has also been funded for over a $1,000,000 for his work with public librarians as change agents in the southern Appalachian region.
His research areas include diversity and inclusion, intercultural communication, social justice in library and information science, critical & cross-cultural studies, community engagement, community informatics, rural libraries, human information behaviors of underserved populations, action research, and qualitative methods.
Professor Mehra is a highly respected leader in Library and Information Science in the areas of social justice, inclusion, and diversity. The School of Library and Information Studies is thrilled to have him join them in January 2019.
To learn more about the School of Library and Information Studies, visit their website.
