The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) Alumni Board has awarded the 2020 Alumni Achievement Award to Jennifer Gordon ’02MS, school librarian at the Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Gordon was honored with the award via a Zoom presentation on October 28.
The SLIS Alumni Achievement Award is presented annually to a SLIS graduate who has demonstrated significant achievement in the library and information professions. This SLIS graduate also demonstrates excellence in a way that exceeds the expectations of their current position by achieving influence as an outstanding role model for library and information professionals.
“This year’s slate of nominees was truly outstanding,” noted Glynys Thomas ’89MS, president of the SLIS Alumni Association. “Not only were the nominees themselves very accomplished in the fields of government, archives, business, and academe, but those who nominated them showed a degree of respect and admiration for colleagues that should be a hallmark for our profession.”
Thomas also noted that this year, the nominees “had faced some of the most challenging problems with educating our children during a time of tremendous changes in education, followed by the COVID pandemic and its accompanying economic stress and uncertainty.”
The Alumni Board chose to honor Gordon for her focus on literature appreciation and her commitment to providing the diverse student body at her school with literature in which they are all represented. In 2018, Jennifer won the prestigious Milken Educator Award because of her exemplary library program and leadership. In her words of encouragement for aspiring school librarians, Gordon said, “Find your people. Once you find them, you will find your place.”