The Elm

I write today to let you know that M.J. Tooey, MLS, AHIP, FMLA, will retire as associate vice provost and dean of the Health Sciences and Human Services Library (HSHSL) at the end of 2022. She plans to enjoy her well-deserved retirement. Alexa A. Mayo, MLIS, AHIP, assistant dean, Research and Information Services, will serve as interim and UMB will commence a national search for a new dean.

HSHSL, founded in 1813, is believed to be the oldest library associated with a medical school in the country and is the founding library in the University System of Maryland. Dean Tooey joined UMB in 1986. At HSHSL, she has had many roles including that of project manager for the “new” library that opened in 1998. This iconic building is a point of pride for all of UMB. She was named associate vice provost and dean of HSHSL in April 2022. Her previous title was associate vice president of academic affairs and executive director, HSHSL. 

Dean Tooey is the principal investigator and director of the Network of the National Library of Medicine’s Region 1 and the Network Web Services Office under a cooperative agreement with the National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine (NLM) that runs through 2026. HSHSL has served as a regional office for almost 40 years, generating approximately $66 million in funding for UMB, supporting the outreach activities of NLM.

While at UMB, Dean Tooey has shared her expertise on countless university and school initiatives including leadership training, strategic planning, translational and data science, Maryland Charities, scholarly communications, Middle States and other accreditation committees, arts and culture, and information technology. She also is a proud founding member of the UMB Roundtable on Empowerment in Leadership and Leveraging Aspirations (UMBrella) Group.

She served as president of the Medical Library Association (MLA) from 2005-2006, is an MLA fellow, and is a distinguished member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals. She was the 1997 recipient of the MLA Estelle Brodman Award as Academic Medical Librarian of the Year and was the MLA Janet Doe Lecturer in 2016. In 2019, she received the Marcia C. Noyes Award, the association’s highest honor. She has served on the MLA Board of Directors, MLA/Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) Joint Legislative Task Force, and the Future of MLA Task Force. She also was AAHSL president from 2012 to 2013 and has served on its Board of Directors.

Dean Tooey received her bachelor’s degree in education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and her Master of Library Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh. In 2011, she received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Information Sciences.

Please join me in thanking Dean Tooey for her wonderful service and leadership of HSHSL and wishing her well in this new phase of her life.