Assistant Professor Nicole A. Cooke has been selected to receive the University YWCA’s 2015 Leadership Award in Education in recognition of her work in social justice and higher education.
The annual award honors individuals or organizations whose work supports the mission of the YWCA, which is “dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.” Honorees display leadership, initiative, creativity, and dedication through their work in the community, and set positive examples for others.
A statement from the YWCA described Cooke as “an excellent academic, mentor, and proponent for institutional diversity and social justice. Dr. Cooke has worked diligently to diversify the curriculum and create spaces of inclusion for people of color within [the] library and information sciences.”
“I’m very excited about the award and grateful for this recognition. It’s wonderful to know that my work has inspired others.” said Cooke. She and other Leadership Award recipients will be recognized at the Women’s Achievement Celebration on April 23.
Cooke graduated from Rutgers University with a PhD in communication, information, and library studies in 2012 (where she was a 2008 American Library Association Spectrum Doctoral Fellow). Previously, she was an instruction librarian and tenured assistant professor at Montclair State University’s (NJ) Sprague Library. Named a Mover & Shaker in 2007 by Library Journal, Cooke is professionally active in ACRL, ALISE, and several other professional library organizations. She holds the MLS degree from Rutgers University, and a M.Ed. in adult education from Penn State.
Her research interests include human information behavior, particularly in an online context, eLearning, and diversity and social justice in librarianship. She has published articles in journals including The Library Quarterly, Library & Information Science Research, InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information, Polymath: An Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Journal, Information Research, The Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, The New Review of Academic Librarianship, and The Library and Book Trade Almanac 2013. Cooke also coauthored Instructional Strategies and Techniques for Information Professionals (Chandos Press, 2012).