Four new NC State University Libraries Fellows begin their appointments this summer

* Due to the uncertainty created by COVID-19, the Libraries extended the fellowship to 2022 for the 2019-2021 class. As always, we remain committed to the growth, support, and success of each and every Fellow and we are happy that all four extended their time with us as well!

The NC State University Libraries welcomes the 2019-2021 class of Libraries Fellows. Victor Betts, Tori Culler, and David Tully begin fellowships in July, and Ashley Evans Bandy begins in August.

The NC State University Libraries Fellows Program develops future leaders for academic libraries, with a focus on science, engineering, and digital librarianship, on diversity, and on library management. Since its inception in 1999, the Fellows program has attracted an impressive group of talented new graduates from universities throughout North America. Fellows are appointed for a two-year term as members of the library faculty, combining an assignment on an initiative of strategic importance with an appointment in a home department.

After receiving a Master of Library and Information Science degree from UCLA this June, Ashley Evans Bandy will join the Acquisitions & Discovery department, and her initiative, “Are You Experienced? Designing and Deploying Services for the Data Experience Lab,” will be based in Data & Visualization Services.

She currently serves as a Research and Instructional Technology Consultant at the UCLA Center for Digital Humanities, providing customer service, technology support, and training on the learning management system for faculty and students. Bandy also collaborates with Art History faculty as part of the “Paris: Past and Present” research team, developing 3D models of Parisian Gothic chapels based on historical illustrations and measurements of ruins. She interned at the California State University, Long Beach University Library in 2018, providing reference and instructional services for a diverse student and faculty population. Bandy has a BFA in Fashion Design from Woodbury University in Burbank, CA.

Bandy will be the Cyma Rubin Library Fellow for 2019/2020. Cyma Rubin, past president of the Friends of the Library and holder of an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from NC State, is an award-winning producer of musicals, documentaries, and exhibitions, whose endowment helps support recruitment and professional development for the named Fellow.

Victor Betts will be joining the Special Collections Research Center, and his initiative, “Developing Student Success Services: New Library Programs adjacent to the Academic Success Center,” will be based in the Student Success division.

Betts will receive his Master of Library and Information Science degree from San Jose State University in May 2019, with a focus in archives and preservation. Currently he is a Library Specialist in the Computer Technology Center at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In addition to helping patrons with computer and technological needs, he assists the Special Collections department in processing and cataloging archival materials and developing finding aids. He provides reference, circulation, and youth services as well.

Before pursuing his MLIS, Betts was the Student Life & Diversity Coordinator at UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering—IDEA Engineering Student Center, where he served as an advisor to student chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Out in STEM (oSTEM), and Women in Computing (WIC). Betts has a Master of Arts in Education from California State University at San Bernardino and a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Literature & Culture: Japanese with a minor in Sociology from the University of California at Riverside.

Betts will be the Donald E. Moreland Library Faculty Fellow for 2019/2020. Dr. Donald Moreland, an alumnus and professor at NC State, established this endowment to help support recruitment and professional development for the named Fellow.

Tori Culler will be joining the Learning Spaces & Services department, and her initiative, “Toward a Library Technology Career Jump-Start Program,” will be based in Digital Library Initiatives.

A North Carolina native, Culler will receive a Master of Science in Information degree with a Concentration in Digital Curation this spring from the University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI). She has worked with community makerspace programs through UMSI, collaborating as part of the Michigan Makers team to help facilitate makerspaces in schools and in public libraries, and helping develop the CompuGirls project for adolescent girls from underrepresented populations to increase their engagement with and representation in STEM fields. Culler has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with minors in Social Work and English from Appalachian State University.

Culler will be the Henry McDonald Tate Fellow for 2019/2020. Established by Hope Tate, former President of the Friends of the Library, this memorial endowment serves as a tribute to her late husband, who was a graduate of NC State in Computer Science, and helps support the NCSU Libraries Fellows Program.

David Tully will be completing the Master in Library and Information Studies program at UNC-Greensboro this June. He will join the Information Technology department, and his initiative, “Student Advocacy,” will be based in Learning Spaces & Services.

Tully has been working as a University Library Technician at the Libraries since 2013. During that time, he has created and managed two internal Good Idea grant projects. In 2017, he redesigned the Mobile Scavenger Hunt in the augmented reality social media app Snapchat, making the Libraries the first academic library in North America to use Snapchat in this way. In 2018, Tully implemented a full-time Library Escape Room to introduce students to a wide variety of Technology Lending items through an immersive, problem-solving game. As a popular student activity, the Escape Room also promotes other technology-focused spaces such as the Virtual Reality Studio, Digital Media Labs, and the Makerspace. Tully has a Bachelor of Arts in Education Studies from the University of Plymouth, UK.