Tonya Fawcett Receives Statewide PALNI Award

Grace College Director of Library Services Tonya Fawcett was recently selected from a community of library directors across 23 institutions to receive the PALNI Leadership in External Collaboration Award. The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) awards this honor to an individual who has built or supported the advancement of the PALNI strategic goals to improve student success and retention through partnerships that support and strengthen library services.

Fawcett has leveraged her role as a librarian, extending her leadership beyond the library’s traditional boundaries. She has used her relationships, institutional knowledge and understanding of collaboration to connect library priorities with broader campus goals and help create opportunities for institutions to work together.

Fawcett has led in numerous groups on campus and beyond, including chairing an AI Ad Hoc Committee, contributing to a recent AI grant writing team and serving on the Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education (AIHE) grant writing team. She also orchestrated “The Discerning Scholar: A Philosophy of Information Literacy,” which synthesized academic faith integration within the librarian’s guiding framework. Her contributions were recognized in 2018 when Fawcett earned the Association of Christian Librarians‘ Outstanding Service award and in 2024, when she was named ACL Member of the Month.

“Tonya fosters a culture of curiosity, hospitality and excellence that is situated in the Morgan Library-Learning Center and extends far beyond its physical space,” said Miriam Leithen, digital services librarian at Grace. “An exemplary campus leader, Tonya aligns the Library-Learning Center’s strategy with institutional initiatives and is known across campus and beyond for her leadership acumen, keeping up with emerging technologies and collaborating with stakeholders to ensure students are well prepared for industry upon graduation.”

“Throughout her career at Grace, Tonya has embodied excellence in every project and through every student she has served,” said Dr. Kevin Roberts, provost at Grace. “Her election is incredibly well-deserved, as she demonstrates unwavering dedication and expertise in her discipline. Tonya’s passion for her students and her integrity in all matters set her apart. Her humility, love for her students and steadfast commitment to excellence in all endeavors demonstrate her profound commitment to the mission of our institution.”

PALNI currently supports 23 private colleges, universities and seminaries throughout Indiana, representing approximately 40,000 students. The consortium brings library staff and institutional leaders together to share expertise, technology, services and resources that individual institutions might not be able to sustain on their own.

Fawcett’s colleagues, Miriam Liethen and Carrie Halquist, student engagement librarian at Grace, also received special recognition for their service on task forces supporting the PALNI Open Systems Initiative, a consortium-wide library systems migration.

Grace’s academic librarians are educators, researchers, technology partners and collaborators who help students and faculty navigate an increasingly complex information environment. They teach students how to find, evaluate, use and create information effectively, work directly with faculty to support teaching and research and manage scholarly and institutional content.

To learn more about PALNI, visit www.palni.org.

For more about Grace College’s Morgan Library, visit www.grace.edu/library.