Willard Library Assistant Director Catherine Christ Lucas will be the library’s next director after the Board of Trustees unanimously approved her appointment at a meeting on Nov. 20.

Lucas will succeed Leah Dodd, who submitted her resignation on Sept. 19. She has accepted a position at Cornell University Library in Ithaca, N.Y. Her resignation will be effective Dec. 31.

“I am very excited about the future of Willard. We are grateful for the community support of the library over the years. Together with my exceptional colleagues, we stand ready to serve you, our community,” Lucas said.

A native of Battle Creek, Lucas has served as the library’s assistant director since July 2014. She joined Willard in 2006 as a reference librarian and was reference and local history department head from 2010 to 2014.

She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Albion College with majors in psychology and philosophy, a master of social work degree from the University of Michigan, and a master of library and information science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Before joining Willard, Lucas’ jobs included executive director of the NonProfit Alliance and executive director of S.A.F.E. Place.

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