Friends of AU Library: About

Who are the Friends?

Activities celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Jack I. and Dorothy G. Bender Library and Learning Resources Center in 1999 inspired the founding of Friends of American University Library. The Friends of AU Library is a community of alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, neighbors, businesses, associations, and other well-wishers with a strong commitment to the library's centrality to university life. The organization works to raise awareness and build support for the library. The Friends recognize the vital role the library plays in learning, teaching, and research.

Become a Friend of the AU Library today! By becoming a member of Friends of the AU Library, you demonstrate your support for the central role of the library in the intellectual life of the academic community, and you personally contribute to its growth.

Friends Help:

As a Friend of the AU Library, your contribution will help:

  • Fund innovative renovations, such as the new Graduate Research Center, to accommodate students' changing needs and update facilities to house our growing collections and the latest technology.
  • Enhance the library’s physical and electronic collections to support student learning in AU’s nationally recognized academic programs.
  • Maintain and expand the services provided by library staff for AU students and faculty to facilitate the pursuit of academic excellence.
  • Acquire and conserve special collections of rare books, manuscripts and other items that spark imagination, provide unique research opportunities, and align with AU’s strategic scholarly strengths. These irreplaceable holdings currently include the Spinks collection of rare Japanese materials, the Martin arithmetic textbook collection, archives of the National Peace Corps Association, theatre playbills, and numerous other collections (link to: Special Collections).
  • Expand the capabilities of the online catalog, ALADIN, with its links to the collections of the eight-member Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC).
  • Support professional development for library personnel to meet the changing needs of AU’s vibrant academic community.

University Library Council:

  • Jason PhillipsJason Phillips (KSB / MBA ’99) is Director, Institutional Participation & Strategic Partnerships for ITHAKA, a not-for-profit organization that helps the academic community use digital technologies to preserve the scholarly record and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways. In his role, Jason is responsible for building partnerships between ITHAKA and the library and scholarly community. A native of the New York City area, Jason earned a B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, an M.B.A. from AU’s Kogod School of Business, and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Library Science degree from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

  • Robin SeitzRobin Seitz is a leading education & training innovations specialist with expertise in learner-centered blended-learning curriculum design, teaching, and facilitation. Robin is currently a consultant with Business-Community Strategies, supporting curriculum design and development for the US Department of State-Agency for International Development’s (USAID) EGAT Bureau –Education Division. Dr. Seitz has a Master’s degree from American University/School of International Service in International Communication and a Ph.D. in Education/Instructional Technology from George Mason University (GMU).

  • Derrick CogburnDerrick Cogburn is Associate Professor of International Relations at the School of International Service at American University. In addition, he is Senior Scientist and Chief Research Director at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. His research and teaching includes: global information and communication technology and socio-economic development; institutional mechanisms for global governance of ICTs; transnational policy networks and epistemic communities; and the socio-technical infrastructure for geographically distributed collaboration in knowledge work. Dr. Cogburn directs the Center for Research on Collaboratories and Technology Enhanced Learning Communities (Cotelco), an award-winning social science research collaboratory investigating the social and technical factors that influence geographically distributed collaborative knowledge work, particularly between developed and developing countries. Cotelco is an affiliated center of the Burton Blatt Institute, Centers of Innovation on Disability. Cogburn is the immediate past president of the Information Technology and Politics section of APSA, and of the International Communication section of the ISA.

  • Diana Vogelsong

  • Kate PerrinKate Perrin (BA CAS’73, MSPR KSB ’81) is CEO of PRofessional Solutions, LLC, the public relations staffing agency she founded in 1994. She’s active in PR professional organizations and serves on the Board of Dress for Success. Although Kate is social media savvy and gets professional news online, she still enjoys paper books when reading for pleasure. Kate earned a B.A. in Print Journalism and an M.S. in Public Relations from American University.

  • Don Hester, originally from near Chicago, graduated from AU’s School of International Service (BA’64) and then earned his Masters from Syracuse University and Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a career Foreign Service Officer for the Department of State with postings to Canada, Africa, South Asia, the Department of Defense and Congress. He is an SIS adjunct faculty member writing a history of SIS and a founding member of the Friends of AU Library.

  • Penny Pagano

  • Alison Amy Dingwall

  • Ann Marie Sharratt

  • Robert Newland

  • Allan StypeckAllan Stypeck