The University of Texas at Arlington names Rebecca Bichel new dean of libraries
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The University of Texas at Arlington has appointed a senior Florida State University library administrator with expertise in academic services, organizational redesign, and facility development as the new dean of libraries.
Rebecca Bichel has served as FSU’s associate dean for public services since 2005. She joins UT Arlington on July 16.
“Rebecca Bichel’s extensive record of library experience and leadership at top-tier institutions has prepared her well as the new dean,” said Ron Elsenbaumer, UT Arlington provost and vice president for academic affairs. “She is the right person at the right time to advance our library and information services to the highest levels for our students, faculty and community scholars.”
Bichel said she looks forward to helping advance UT Arlington’s mission of becoming a top tier research institution.
“I am delighted to join The University of Texas at Arlington,” Bichel said. “I am so impressed with UT Arlington’s ambitious climb to Tier One status, and I look forward to supporting that goal by working with colleagues to shape a world-class library system serving UT Arlington students, faculty and the North Texas community.”
At FSU, Bichel oversaw development of a Learning Commons and Scholars Commons, with specific facilities and staffing to support undergraduate and graduate students and faculty scholarship. She is credited with updating services, improving customer service and developing services for patrons with disabilities. She supervised a team of more than 65 and served a student population of 40,000.
Before her appointment at FSU, Bichel served in multiple roles at Pennsylvania State University, including social sciences and information literacy librarian. She also served in various roles at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville and at the University of Hawaii.
Bichel earned undergraduate degrees in economics and business administration at Valdosta State University in Georgia and earned her Master of Library Information Science degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
As dean of the UT Arlington Library, Bichel will lead a staff of about 115 employees and manage a collection of more than 1.2 million print volumes, more than 275,000 electronic volumes and more than 72,000 serial titles. The dean also will direct UT Arlington Special Collections, including the University’s renowned cartography collection in the Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Library and its extensive collection of historic photos, manuscripts and other archived material.
The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive research institution of nearly 33,500 in the heart of North Texas. Visit www.uta.edu to learn more.
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Media contact: Kristin Sullivan, Kristinsul@uta.edu, 817-272-5364
The University of Texas at Arlington, www.uta.edu
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