W. Bede Mitchell

Prof. Mitchell joined Georgia Southern University in 1999 and retired in 2019.

— Biography from the 2019 Spring Commencement program —

Dr. Mitchell holds degrees from the University of Michigan (B.A., Philosophy, and MLS, Library Science), and Montana State University (Ed.D., Higher Education). Dr. Mitchell has served more than 19 years at Georgia Southern, concluding a career of 41½ years as an academic librarian. Prior to coming to Georgia Southern, Dr. Mitchell worked as a library faculty member and administrator at Appalachian State University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Montana State University. As Dean of Libraries, Dr. Mitchell presided over the expansion and renovation of Henderson Library from 2004 through 2008, and the consolidation of Henderson Library in Statesboro and the Lane Library at Armstrong into the Georgia Southern University Libraries in January 2018. Under his leadership, the Libraries established the Digital Commons@Georgia Southern open access digital repository of faculty and student scholarship and earned the 2004 U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Blue Ribbon Consumer Health Information Recognition Award for Georgia (in partnership with the Statesboro Regional Library and the Magnolia Coastlands Area Health Education Center). Dr. Mitchell chaired nine search committees for Georgia Southern vice presidents, deans and directors, as well as the 2001 Information Technology Plan Task Force, the 2003 TEACH Act Task Force, the University Convocation Committee and the 2013-15 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Reaffirmation Compliance Subcommittee on Library and Learning Resources. He has also been very active professionally at the regional and national levels—chairing or serving on more than three dozen American Library Association committees, task forces and boards; serving as President of the Library Leadership and Management Association; chairing Georgia Library Association’s Academic Library Division; chairing the University System of Georgia Regents Academic Committee on Libraries twice; editing The Journal of Access Services; reviewing for the journal College & Research Libraries, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services; co-editing a monograph on access services and authoring dozens of journal articles, conference presentations and book reviews regarding collection management, librarian faculty status, and library administration; serving on five visiting teams for American Council on Education’s Military Installation Voluntary Education Review program and nine reaffirmation review teams for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; and co-founding and co-chairing the annual Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. For these and other distinguished contributions to the Libraries, the University and the profession, Dr. W. Bede Mitchell has earned the title of Professor and Dean Emeritus of Libraries.*