Spectrum Scholarship Program Announces Sponsorships for the 25th Scholarship Cohort

CHICAGO - The Spectrum Scholarship Program, which advances racial equity, is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Through the Spectrum Scholarship Program, the American Library Association (ALA) new generations of racially and ethnically diverse librarians with a network committed to mutual support, advancing one another’s leadership, and making social justice part of everybody's everyday work.

The Spectrum Scholarship Program actively recruits and provides scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students.

The program is celebrating its 25th anniversary and invites the community to celebrate this milestone and the graduation of the next cohort at the ALA Annual Conference in San Diego this June.

The Spectrum program funds scholarships through its endowment and the generous contributions of individuals and organizations whose donations support scholarships in the Spectrum Family of Funds. For 2023-2024, scholarships have been awarded in honor of the following supporters: Leo Albert, the Calloway family, Louise Giles, William R. Gordon, Satia Marshall Orange, Miriam Tuliao, and Dr. Betty J. Turock.

The 2023-2024 Endowment Scholars are as follows:

• Darshai Hollie, Simmons University (Leo Albert Scholar)
• Tommy Lim, University of Texas at Austin (Calloway Family Scholar)
• Anthony LaBat, University of Missouri, Columbia (Louise Giles Scholar)
• Victor Jesus Lopez, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (William R. Gordon Scholar)
• Gabrielle Bass-Butler, University of Alabama (Satia Marshall Orange Scholar)
• Aliyanda K Harris Cobbinah, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (Satia Marshall Orange Scholar)
• Christine Thuy Minh Nguyen, San Jose State University (Miriam Tuliao Scholar)
• Starr Grace Ngo, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (Dr. Betty J. Turock Scholar)

ProQuest, part of Clarivate, continues its support of the Spectrum Scholarship Program. Since 2001, ProQuest has funded more than 200 Spectrum Scholars through sponsorship of the Scholarship Bash and now through their direct support of eight scholarships a year including one dedicated in memory of Ron Clowney, a former ProQuest executive. This year’s scholars are:

• Maria Fernanda Arteaga Cuevas, University of Washington
• Ruby Constantino, Rutgers University
• Kayla Davis, University of South Florida
• Shira Grace Greer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Lisa Ann Maholmes, Valdosta State University
• Shabrina McPherson, University of North Carolina Greensboro
• Krystal Elizabeth Mendez, University of California, Los Angeles
• Ana Alicia Rico, University of Texas at Austin

Elsevier is sponsoring two Spectrum Scholars and is a new sponsor of the Spectrum Scholarship Program as of 2022. This year’s scholars are:

• Brianne Sau Mei Imada, University of Hawaii
• Janelle Patrice Lyons, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign

The Medical Library Association & National Library of Medicine (MLA/NLM) support two scholarships annually. The MLA/NLM Spectrum Scholarships support students with an interest in the field of medical or health sciences librarianship. This year’s scholars are:

• Bernice Meja, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Camryn "Cam" Burkins, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

The Northern California & Nevada Medical Library Group (NCNMLG) is sponsoring a 2023 Spectrum Scholarship to support a student interested in a career in health sciences librarianship. This year’s scholar is:

• Candace Hernandez, Pratt Institute

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) established the ALSC Spectrum Scholarship through funding from the Frederic G. Melcher Endowment in 2010. Three ALSC Spectrum Scholars interested in library service to children are designated annually. Ellen Fader, past-president of ALSC, has generously donated to the Spectrum Scholarship Program. Her support has provided follow-up grants for Spectrum Scholar alumni to accelerate their path toward graduation and an annual Spectrum Scholarship in her name. This year’s scholars are:

• Cristina Amelia Bueno, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
• Tatiana Anabel Morales, Louisiana State University
• Brianna Morales, San Jose State University (in honor of Ellen Fader)
• Louise Yu, San Jose State University

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is supporting two 2023 Spectrum Scholars pursuing a career in academic and research libraries. This year’s scholars are:

• Sage Innerarity (Ione Band of Miwok Indians), Simmons University
• Jordan Rhym, University of Michigan

Thanks to the generosity of sponsor OCLC, Core, a division of the American Library Association, is supporting a 2023 Spectrum Scholar with a demonstrated interest in library technology. OCLC has supported a LITA/Core scholarship since 1991. This year’s scholar is:

• Wei Ling Goh, University of Missouri, Columbia

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) annually funds two Spectrum Scholars pursuing a career in young adult librarianship or secondary school librarianship. This year’s scholars are:

• Angelica Moreno Lopez, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
• Heidi Samantha Orozco, Simmons University

The Rainbow Round Table (RRT) has committed to sponsoring a 2023 Spectrum Scholar who expresses commitment to serving the information needs of the LGBTQIA+ professional library community, and the LGBTQIA+ information and access needs of individuals at large. This year’s scholar is:

• Izchel Ajanta Quintero Martinez, University of Arizona

The Spectrum Scholarship Program is additionally grateful to library associations across the country which offer support to Spectrum Scholars with additional grant funding, registration to conferences, inclusion in publications, and much more.

The Illinois Library Association (ILA) has committed to the support of Spectrum Scholars in Illinois since 2003 through the establishment of the Sylvia Murphy Williams Award. The award offers registration to the ILA conference of the scholar’s year, recognition at ALA Annual Conference, and article feature in an ILA publication. The 2023-2024 ILA Scholars are:

• Alyssa   Brown, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Cristina Amelia Bueno, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Camryn "Cam" Burkins, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Abigail DeWeese, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Ted Farias, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Sarah Rebecca Velazquez Gaglio, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Aliyanda K Harris Cobbinah, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Melina Hegelheimer, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Victor Jesus Lopez, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Janelle Patrice Lyons, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Angelica Moreno Lopez, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Starr Grace Ngo, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Tanisha Roman, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Andrea Serna, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Sally Vinanzaca, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Evie Qi Wang, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Zaria Whitlock, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

The New England Library Association (NELA) offers a supplemental grant of up to $1,000 for Spectrum Scholars residing in New England. This year’s NELA scholar is:

• Katya E. Mueller, Syracuse University

To learn more about the Spectrum Scholarship Program, contact ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services at spectrum@ala.org or visit www.ala.org/spectrum. The application period for 2024 Spectrum Scholarships is open until March 1.

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