Margaret C. Merrill honored with emerita status
Margaret C. Merrill, college librarian for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of “assistant professor emerita” by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The title of emeritus may be conferred on retired professors, associate professors, and administrative officers who are specially recommended to the board of visitors by Virginia Tech President Timothy Sands. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board of visitors receive an emeritus certificate from the university.
A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1997, Merrill supported both students and faculty not only in the College of Agriculture and Life Science but also those associated with the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station and Virginia Cooperative Extension.
She advised numerous faculty members on changes in scholarly communication and helped them secure references for scholarly publications. She also increased student awareness of how to find and evaluate information and was dedicated to enhancing student information literacy.
During her career, Merrill developed an online textbook in information literacy, The Information Skills Modules.
She was active in several professional organizations and served on two library advisory boards for publishers of life science information. She was also active on committees within University Libraries and the university.
Merrill received her bachelor’s degree from Converse College, a Master of Library Science from the University of Denver, and a master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Georgia.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
