Jeehyun Davis
University Librarian
Academic Affairs
Degrees
Master of Public Administration, Villanova University Certificate of Graduate Study in Nonprofit Management, Villanova University Master of Science in Information Studies, University of Texas at Austin Bachelor of Arts, English and English Literature, Mokpo National University, South Korea
Favorite Spot on Campus
I love the third floor of Bender Library where you can sit and look out over the quad.
Bio
Jeehyun "Jee" Davis is committed to organizational development and transformation through meaningful organizational review and strategic planning. Ethical and reflective leadership is central to her approach, and she firmly believes in the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which have been the foundation of her management and leadership practice.
Davis joined American University (AU) as University Librarian in July 2021. Immediately after her arrival, she reopened the University Library’s physical spaces, welcoming students, faculty, and staff back to the library after the long pandemic remote environment. Between 2022 and 2023, Davis led an inclusive and comprehensive strategic planning process that resulted in the development of the library’s first strategic plan, along with the creation of the organization’s mission, vision, and values statements.
Under her leadership, the AU Library has forged crucial partnerships that have yielded impactful and engaging events and services, such as 24/7 building access, SciPop Speaker Series, Anne Frank Center Exhibit, Inclusive Technology Initiatives, and Absentee Ballot Days, among many others. The AU Library was a recipient of the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) from Insight Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.
Previously, as Associate University Librarian for Collections and Stewardship at Villanova University Library (VUL), Davis transformed multiple departments and create key positions to achieve the library’s strategic priorities, aligning them with the University’s mission, vision, and values. At the University of Texas Libraries (UTL), she served as Head of Cataloging and Metadata Services and was a member of the Strategic Planning Task Force in 2010 and the Organizational Review Group in 2016, both of which led to significant organizational changes.
Davis has extensive experience in building partnerships and working collaboratively with colleagues on projects and initiatives that positively impact organizational culture and ethics. She founded the Diversity Action Staff Interest Group (DASIG) at UTL through a grassroots staff movement. At VUL, she played a key role in creating and developing the Affordable Materials Project (AMP), a campus-wide initiative focused on equitable access to textbooks. This project encouraged faculty to select Open Educational Resources (OER) as primary course materials and to help students reduce their textbook costs through strategic resource purchasing. Her work continues at AU by employing strategic programing strategies through meaningful and effective partnerships.
Davis was a fellow of two prestigious leadership programs, the 2010 Minnesota Leadership Institute and the 2013-2014 ARL Leadership and Career Development Program. She served on the editorial board of Library Resources & Technical Services, a peer review journal, and the Knowledge Organization Advisory Board, School of Information, San Jose State University between 2017 and 2021. She is currently a member of the EBSCO Deans’ Advisory Board and MIT Press Advisory Board.
