As Dean, Melissa is responsible for the strategic and operational success of the library as a vital academic and administrative unit, and for advancing the university’s ambitions through leadership on university-wide activities including research data management strategy, collective bargaining, and administrative renewal. For an 18-month period she also served as the institution’s Interim Provost and Interim Deputy Provost. Prior to joining USask in 2017, she was Assistant Vice-President for Information Services and Director of New Brunswick Libraries at Rutgers University, preceded by a variety of positions in biomedical libraries at UC San Diego, UC San Francisco, City of Hope National Cancer Center/Graduate School of Biological Sciences, and the University of Southern California
Dr. Just also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN), and on the Board of Directors of both the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Canadian Digital Research Alliance. She previously served on the board of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), where she currently chairs the Strengthening Capacity Committee which fosters development of expertise and capacity for new and emerging library roles. She also represents the university as the institutional representative for the Council of Prairie and Pacific Libraries (COPPUL).
She holds a BA in psychobiology from UC Riverside, a master of library and information science from the University of Texas at Austin, and a doctor of education from the University of Southern California.
See her CV for additional information.
Executive Assistant to the Dean: Kerry.Evans@usask.ca, (306) 966-6094