Dean and Professor Emeritus

Peter Spyers-Duran was a professor and dean of the School of Information Sciences from 1983 until his 1995 retirement. In his career, he held library management roles at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB); Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton; Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo; University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee; University of Wichita in Kansas; and ALA. Spyers-Duran authored numerous articles and wrote or edited 10 books, including Austerity Management in Academic Libraries (1984) and Issues in Academic Librarianship (1985). He served on the editorial board of the Journal of Library Administration from 1989 to 1995 and was a founding member of the Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET).

Spyers-Duran received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the G. Flint Purdy Award for Outstanding Contributions that further the work of the university's Library System in 1999. He was also named to the Marquis Who's Who list in 2021.

Along with his wife, Jane Spyers-Duran, he created several endowments and scholarships for the benefit of students at WSU and CSULB.

Spyers-Duran passed away on July 2, 2023. Read his obituary here.

Dean Emerita

Dr. Sandra Yee served as dean of the Wayne State University Library System for 16 years, retiring on July 31, 2017. Upon her retirement, Yee was granted the title of Dean Emeritus. During her tenure, the Library and Information Science Program became the School of Information Sciences, the school launched the online master of library and information science program and achieved accreditation by the ALA Committee on Accreditation three times.  

Yee was responsible for five campus libraries including the Shiffman Medical Library, the Neef Law Library, the Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, the David Adamany Undergraduate Library and the Purdy/Kresge Library. The libraries made dramatic improvements in service as well as a major shift from print to electronic resources making discovery to delivery a hallmark of service. Classroom technology in more than 200 general purpose classrooms was enhanced, making major improvements in teaching and learning with technology. Prior to joining Wayne State University in 2001, Yee served in several administrative positions including associate dean for learning resources at the Eastern Michigan University Library where she had a major role in the planning and implementation of the Bruce T. Halle Library which opened in 1998 with North America’s second automated storage and retrieval system for books.  

Yee previously worked at libraries at the community college, high school and junior high levels. She has been a leader and active member of many professional associations including the Association for College and Research Libraries, the American Library Association and the Michigan Academic Library Association. She served as an elected member of the OCLC Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2018, chairing the Board from 2012 to 2017. In 1999, she was named the Michigan Library Association Librarian of the Year, and in 2011, the Wayne State University Student Government Leaders awarded her their first ever Administrator of the Year Award.