C&UA Elections 2026

Open Positions 

Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, vote for one

Steering Committee member, vote for two

Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect Nominees (1 candidate) 

Alphabetical Order 

Becky Briggs Becker

University Archivist, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Bio

Becky Briggs Becker (she/her) is the University Archivist at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). She joined the UMKC University Libraries in February 2022 as the first full-time faculty archivist solely devoted to the UMKC University Archives since the University of Missouri System Campus Archives program’s inception in 1977. In this role, she oversees the preservation and access to administrative records and historical materials documenting UMKC’s operations and history. She continually works toward improved access to thousands of linear feet of archival material alongside a small team of one FTE staff member and part-time student assistants. She and her team’s efforts have enhanced the collections’ online visibility and doubled the number of reference questions received each year since 2023. Becker previously worked in the university archives at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she earned her master’s degree in information sciences and her bachelor's degree in communications. She joined SAA as a graduate student when she served as treasurer of her graduate program’s student chapter. Since then, she has been active in SAA and regional library and archives organizations, including serving on the Reference, Access, and Outreach Section’s Events and Exhibits Resource Bank Team and as an editor-at-large for The American Archivist Reviews Portal (2019-2021).

Statement of Interest

I am pleased to submit my nomination for the College and University Archives Section Vice-Chair / Chair-Elect of the Steering Committee. I served on the Steering Committee as a member from 2023 to 2026, during a time of significant growth and change at my archives. I find that the section’s resources, such as the will-be-updated Guidelines for College & University Archives, the section’s Coffee Chat programming, and the Research Partnership Pairing spreadsheet, are just as invaluable to the section’s membership as they had been for me in my first four years as a non-tenure faculty archivist. I see my continued participation on the Steering Committee in a leadership role as a great opportunity to highlight current programming and improve on resources that require much needed updates. I also see an opportunity to encourage the section community to give back and help early career archivists, as well as seasoned archivists who face hardship, as they navigate new and ongoing challenges unique to archives documenting higher education institutions’ histories and legacies. If elected, I hope to lead the steering committee in efforts to keep participants connected and informed of current issues in the profession as they affect academic libraries and archives. 

Steering Committee (3 candidates)

Alphabetical Order

Chris Miehl

Archivist for Special Collections, Pepperdine University

Bio

With my background in music studies and music production, I became interested in working in music libraries and archives. I pursued my Master in Library and Information Science at UCLA (class of 2024), where I was able to engage with these goals by doing preservation services for UCLA's music library and processing music scores for a composer's collection at Colburn School. Most importantly, during this time, I was able to do an internship at Pepperdine University providing an audiovisual survey and digitization protocol for their collections, which opened up the door to my current career path.

I began working as the special collections and university archivist for Pepperdine University in April 2024, where I manage the processing, donations, research, and use requests for almost all collections in the archive. I work closely with two other archivists, one who handles digitization requests/projects and the other whose subject is specific to our heritage collections. I've worked with our special collection librarian to assist with instruction, environmental monitoring of our cold storage, displays across the library, and collection management. We've completed two large moves from our offsite storage to a new location on campus under my direction. I oversee student employees and interns and graduate interns, who have helped me to process around 6 collections (with two totaling more than 150 linear feet) and complete oral history projects for community-centered collections. 

Statement of Interest

I am nominating myself for the steering committee because, as a young academic archivist, I value this SAA section as a vital resource for navigating professional standards and finding answers and motivation for archivists in all career stages. I offer the organizational, research, and editing skills necessary to fulfill key responsibilities —from managing the section blog to helping to coordinate regular programming —and I would welcome the opportunity to serve this community while growing within the profession.

Dr. J.A. Pryse

Lead Archivist and Curator, Heritage and Research Center at St. Mary’s (HARC), Notre Dame, Indiana; Instructor of Information Science, University of Oklahoma

Bio

I am the founding Lead Archivist at the Heritage and Research Center (HARC) at Saint Mary's, a new collaborative archive housed at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana, that serves ten congregations of Catholic women religious and their sponsored ministries.

Prior to joining HARC, I spent over a decade at the Oklahoma Historical Society and 7 years at the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center at the University of Oklahoma, where I directed stewardship of 175+ TB of digital congressional assets, led a $1M digital collections migration and served as an Instructor of Information Science. I hold a Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of North Texas, with research focused on adaptive, AI-powered archival workflows, and have secured over $4 million in grant funding from agencies including NSF, NEH, and NHPRC for multiple projects.

Statement of Interest

I am seeking a Steering Committee Member position because the C&UA Section's

collaborative, hands-on work aligns with how I approach the profession. At HARC, I am building an archival infrastructure within a college setting that serves external partners, addressing shared governance, access, and resource issues relevant to many C&UA members. As a Steering Committee Member, I would offer follow-through and a practical view on initiatives, from assisting with Coffee Chats to supporting the Research Matching program that connects emerging researchers with archival collections. I am also excited to contribute ideas around collaborative archival models, digital preservation strategies, and AI-assisted processing that reflect the evolving landscape of college and university archives. Having mentored students and early-career professionals and served on governance roles with NAGARA and the Oklahoma Museums Association, I understand the behind-the-scenes committee work that keeps a section running and am ready to contribute!

Mackenzie Ryan

Assistant University Records Officer, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Bio

Mackenzie Ryan has been the Assistant University Records Officer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2021. Before working at UW-Madison, she worked at the Minnesota Historical Society, the Texas State Libraries and Archives Commission, and the Travis County (Texas) Clerk's Office. In addition to records management, she is experienced in many aspects of archival work, including reference, processing, and outreach and instruction.

She holds master's degrees in both Library and Information Studies and Archival Studies from the University of British Columbia. She also has an MA in Popular Cultural Studies from Bowling Green State University. She also has earned her Digital Archives Specialist and Arrangement and Description certificates from the Society of American Archivists.

Statement of Interest

Contributing to conversations about the issues and concerns facing college and university archives is essential to the success of our profession. Archivists face unique challenges, both direct and indirect, when working in academic environments. I've enjoyed C&UA Coffee Chats and other resources throughout my time working in Archives. I want to be more involved in C&UA and learn from others who work in academic archives. In addition to my unique work experience across a variety of roles, I bring leadership experience from other professional associations and from my campus to continue the great work this section does.