Provost Speaks to Library Staff

Tamara Brown, UTA Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, expressed her thanks for the daily dedication shown by library staff to the university during a recent visit to UTA Libraries central campus. Brown was the keynote speaker at the regular library staff meeting on Tuesday, May 30.  

Brown started her new role at the university on Aug. 1, 2022, after serving as the University of North Texas's Executive Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. 

While at UTA, Brown met with faculty and staff to learn about their roles in the campus community. Brown's goal through these meetings is to discover how she can help them achieve even greater success. 

"I am really glad to be here at UTA. It is an amazing university with many amazing things going on," Brown said. "My goal is to help and expand by supporting you and the good work you are already doing." 

Brown told the audience that she believes in the shared governance model. Through this model, everyone works together and shares ideas to make the organization as a whole better. 

"I believe that is a role that all of us play in the affairs of this institution in charting its direction," Brown said. "I may be ultimately responsible at the end of the day in committing this institution to a particular direction, but I don't make those decisions in isolation or alone." 

The decisions Brown makes are after receiving input from people around the university, including staff here at the library. She considers them experts on the ground, seeing what is happening in the university community. 

Brown asked staff members about things they were doing right at the university. Some of the thoughts shared by the audience included the experiential learning programs offered at the library, the university's commitment to diversity, maintaining transparency, and being an affordable place for higher education. 

When asked by Brown what the university needs to do better, staff members gave several suggestions. Some of these answers included improving pay for student workers, staff retention, advertising services offered by the library, improving the libraries' infrastructure, and providing students with opportunities to develop professional skills. 

Brown expressed her thanks for the work done by the staff, who often work behind the scenes, sometimes going unnoticed. She also thanked Peter Zhang, who is serving as the Interim Dean of Libraries, for his leadership during this time of transition.  

"I just wanted to thank you for all the things you do in the big and small ways that matter and make a difference," Brown said. "I wanted you to hear from me that I appreciate the work you are doing." 

Staff can reach out to Brown if they have any suggestions or thoughts about how improvements can be made here at UTA Libraries and the university. Brown can be reached through her email at provost@uta.edu.