“Carla D. Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to serve as the U.S. Librarian of Congress, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Rutgers University–Camden during the College of Arts and Sciences commencement ceremony on Wednesday, May 17,” the university announced recently in a news release. Additionally, Dr. Hayden will deliver the keynote address to the graduating class of 2017.
Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on Sept. 14, 2016. Prior to her appointment by President Barack Obama, Hayden was longtime chief executive of the Enoch Pratt Free Library system in Baltimore and a former president of the American Library Association.
RU-Camden Chancellor Phoebe Haddon stated, “Dr. Hayden is the leader of the world’s largest library and one of the nation’s most passionate champions of equity in access to information. She is the ideal role model to charge graduating students to take what they learned at Rutgers–Camden and work to improve their communities and world.