Felix N. Ubogu
University Librarian
University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Felix is responsible for the strategic management of the university libraries and the provision of high-level library and information services for all of the University’s students, academic staff and other employees.
For over a decade, Felix’s landmark achievements include having made Rhodes theses and dissertations available on the web (the first library in Africa to do so) in 1998; having served as Project Manager of a UNESCO pilot project to improve the management of and access to theses and dissertations prepared at universities in two of UNESCO’s Member States in Africa – Ethiopia and South Africa, 2003-2004; and having served as Chair for the Advisory Committee of the Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD) Pilot Project, July 2000 to February 2005.
Felix’s dedication to digital library developments and open access in scholarly communications has put the South African national and African continental ETD programs in many nations on the global map.
Laura Hammons
Director for the Thesis Office
Texas A&M University, U.S.A.
Laura is the Director for the Thesis Office at Texas A&M University (TAMU) serving a graduate student population of over 9,000 graduate students. Laura and her staff are responsible for providing effective guidance to students in the preparation of a thesis/dissertation through conducting pre-submittal conferences for each thesis/dissertation and reviewing final manuscripts to ensure compliance with TAMU thesis/dissertation requirements.
Laura has led efforts state of Texas for the Vireo User’s Group, which facilitates communications regarding the state-wide repository system for Texas Digital Library Consortium. Additionally Laura was the founder of the Texas ETD Association (TXETDA), which provides a network of support for ETD professionals in the state of Texas. Most recently Laura has been an integral founding member of the United States ETD Association (USETDA), which provides information on best practices, develops and disseminates information on ETD initiatives, supports the development of state-wide ETD associations and provides networking opportunities to support ETD program faculty and staff throughout the United States.
