Clara Chu is a Chinese-Canadian

library and information science Library and information science(s) or studies (LIS) is an interdisciplinary field of study that deals generally with organization, access, collection, and protection/regulation of information, whether in physical (e.g. art, legal proceedings, e ...

scholar. She is the Director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. Her research interest is in multicultural library and information services.

Early life and education

Chu was born in

Chiclayo Chiclayo (; qu, Chiklayu) is the principal city of the Lambayeque region in northern Peru. It is located inland from the Pacific coast and from the nation's capital, Lima. Founded by Spanish explorers as "Santa María de los Valles de Chiclay ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, to

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

parents. Her family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, when she was 10 years old. Chu completed her undergraduate education from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, majoring in Spanish literature. She graduated from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

with master's and doctoral degrees in library and information science.

Career

Chu previously held positions at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

. She is a former president of the

Association for Library and Information Science Education Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(ALISE). She was appointed the Director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs, and Mortenson Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2015. Chu is one of the leading scholars on multiculturalism and information practices. She co-wrote a work exploring the value of internship as a form of experiential learning in library and information science education.

Awards and honors

She was honored by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

with the Equality Award in 2002, and again in 2018 with the

Beta Phi Mu Award The Beta Phi Mu Award is an annual prize recognizing an individual for distinguished service to education for librarianship. First bestowed in 1954, Award recipients include various prominent leaders in the field of librarianship. The Award is spo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chu, Clara Living people Canadian librarians University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty University of Western Ontario alumni American Library Association people University of British Columbia alumni University of North Carolina at Greensboro faculty UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies faculty American librarians American women librarians Canadian people of Chinese descent Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) American women academics American librarians of Chinese descent 21st-century American women Canadian women librarians