Charles E. Kratz, Dean of the Library and Information Fluency is retiring at the end of 2019. We celebrated his retirement on December 7th with remarks from some of his colleagues including, Eugeniu Grigorescu, Director of the CTLE; Dean Deb Pellegrino, PCPS; Sheli Pratt-McHugh, Assistant Dean of the Library; Dr. Marian Farrell, Nursing Department; Betsey Moylan, retired Chair of the Library Faculty; and Gretchen Welby from the Friends of the Weinberg Library. Former University Provost, Hal Baillie served as MC for the evening.
For over 28 years, Dean Kratz has lead the Library, from opening the new Weinberg Memorial Library in 1992 and renovating the first floor for its 20th Anniversary to include more collaboration space and technology. He built collections to meet the needs of its students, instituted and extended 24 hour accessibility for study space, and worked with University administration, faculty, and students to improve Library services, spaces, and collections. We will miss his leadership, advocacy, and support. We wish him all the best in his retirement.