Kathy Downes, dean of WSU Libraries, will retire at the end of the year. Downes has served as dean since 2017 and has worked for over 40 years at Wichita State.
During her time with WSU Libraries, she spearheaded many facility expansions, including coordinating the west addition project from 1985 to 1989 and helping with the 2019 expansion of the 24-hour study room.
She also co-led the systems migration from NOTIS to Voyager and initiated an ongoing project to prepare for the next generation of cloud-based library services. Many other transformations and enhancements of Ablah Library’s learning spaces, collections and services were also led by her.
“Dean Downes is leaving a lasting impact and legacy at WSU and will be missed,” said Shirley Lefever, provost and executive vice president. “The WSU community wishes her well on her well-deserved retirement.”