Elizabeth Nicholson, Interim Senior Director of Operations at the Hesburgh Libraries, has been selected as a 2025 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Intensive Learning Program (ILP) fellow. 

“I’m delighted that Elizabeth has been chosen for this opportunity, which promises to further develop her strengths in strategic planning and management,” Margaret Meserve, Interim Edward H. Arnold Dean of Hesburgh Libraries and University of Notre Dame Press said. “Professional development experiences like this can be transformative for the faculty and staff who participate in them, and they are also valuable to the rest of the organization that benefits from the new ideas and initiatives they introduce.” 

Nicholson will join an elite cohort of 20 fellows from across the United States and Canada in an eight-month-long program exploring the operational aspects of senior-leader portfolios in research libraries and archives as well as responsibilities related to managing those portfolios. The hybrid experience will include monthly educational sessions, summits and the annual ARL Meeting.

“I am so pleased to be accepted into the 2025 cohort of ARL's Intensive Learning Program,” Nicholson said. “It offers an exploration of all aspects of research library leadership and sessions that focus on a variety of operational themes, including the incorporation of compassion into strategic thinking and decision-making processes, a topic that really resonates with me.”

The Intensive Learning Program for senior leaders aims to strengthen “strategic thinking and decision-making skills to ensure effective leadership of research libraries in a time of rapid, continuous change.”

“It's a great opportunity to learn from, and with, other librarians about successful leadership strategies and how to use those strategies both within their organizations and within the broader institution context to position their libraries as key partners for success,” Nicholson said. 

Read more about the ARL Intensive Learning Program and 2025 cohort.