Librarians Leading the Charge: Championing Student Success at Faculty Development Day
Last month, the 2025 Perimeter College Faculty Development Day at the Clarkston Campus featured an engaging presentation by librarians Amy Shaw, Alvin Blount, Lauren Rich, and Jennie Law. Their presentation, titled “The Library Is Open: Partnering with Librarians for Student Success” highlighted how librarians are partnering with faculty across diverse disciplines to enhance student learning. The presentation focused on the collaborative efforts to develop innovative curricula, provide tailored research support and subject-specific instruction, and create digital learning tools. Attendees were invited to explore these collaborative opportunities and discover how such partnerships can drive academic excellence and student success.
Dr. Robert Woodrum, Associate Professor of History and Political Science has consistently been a dedicated advocate for the library, championing its impact over the years.
“Working with librarians allows me to draw on their expertise to help expose students to the powerful research tools that will be essential for their future lives and careers. Collaboration with librarians means students get direct experience researching in primary source databases, like online newspaper archives, as well as high quality secondary sources. The research projects that librarians Scott Pieper and Alvin Blount have collaborated with me in developing help students improve their research and writing skills. It helps them sharpen the skills they need when they transition from college to the workforce and beyond,” said Woodrum.
Down the hall, Angiah Davis, Clarkston Library Department Head and Library Faculty Champion, along with other Perimeter Affordable Learning Georgia (ALG) Champions Cyntoria Johnson, Senior Faculty Associate, CETLOE Teaching Effectiveness and Faculty Champion, Mustafa Elsawy, Learning Technologist and Design Campion, and Ms. Nakita Afaha, ALG Program Manager, presented “Affordable Learning Georgia (ALG) and the Price of Student Success.” ALG promotes student success and fosters educational equity through supporting the adoption, adaptation, and creation of affordable and open educational resources (OERs) by USG faculty and professional staff. In this presentation attendees learned more about USG’s ALG Grant Program, met their ALG Champions, identified funding opportunities for OER projects, and more.
According to the ALG website, over the past ten years, Georgia State University students have saved $17,517,955.48 in textbook cost avoidance thanks to ALG-funded grant projects. The percentage of marked no-cost materials course sections in Banner (ZNCM) is higher than the USG average as a whole and higher than the average for Research Universities. Way to Go, Panthers!
Teaching faculty can contact your campus GSU librarians to discuss collaborative partnerships. Now, that’s the State Way to Student Success!