December 14, 2022
Dear Members of the Connecticut College Community,
I am writing to share the bittersweet news that Lee Hisle, Vice President for Information Services and Librarian of the College, will retire at the end of the academic year after more than 23 years at Connecticut College.
As Conn’s chief information officer, Lee has been an invaluable presence on the senior administrative team, overseeing all libraries, instructional technology, administrative systems, networks and telecommunications during a period of great technological change. Since arriving in New London in January 2000, he has helped Connecticut College significantly advance its information resources and technology infrastructure.
Lee has brought vision, strategic planning and effective administration to the division, manifested in the award-winning transformation of the Charles E. Shain Library into a 21st-century facility. Under his leadership, the College moved to a digital-first environment, implementing countless new systems, including the ExLibris Library System, the Bepress Digital Commons repository, the Digital Scholarship and Curriculum Center, Solarwinds WebHelpDesk, Salesforce for Advancement, Slate for Admissions, Google Workspace for Education and, most recently, the move of Banner and other enterprise technology to the cloud. He was also instrumental in establishing three iconic spaces within Shain: the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives, the Charles Chu Reading Room and the Blue Camel Cafe.
Developing excellent systems, staff, and practices to support Connecticut College’s students, faculty and staff has been one of Lee’s great strengths. His approach to data security is a case in point. The response of his division to the COVID pandemic is another—and a point worth underscoring. We will always be grateful for the way the IS staff worked to keep the College operating through the infrastructure and training they offered in alternative hybrid and remote teaching methodologies, while supporting new information delivery strategies and even a COVID testing center. Of Lee’s many achievements, he is perhaps most proud of hiring and developing the outstanding team of information and instructional technologists and librarians we have today.
In January, we will begin the process of identifying Lee’s successor. Danielle Egan, Dean of the Faculty, will serve as a co-chair of the search committee. We will announce the full committee and other information about the search as it becomes available. Later this spring, of course, there will be occasions to recognize Lee’s many contributions to Connecticut College. For now, please join me in thanking him for more than two decades of exemplary leadership.
Yours,
Katherine Bergeron
President