Gwendolyn S. Cruzat

Gwendolyn Stiggins Cruzat (born 1930) is professor emerita of the University of Michigan School of Information and Library Studies. Her teaching and scholarship made significant contributions to medical librarianship. Cruzat was named one of the 100 most notable medical librarians by the Medical Library Association in 1998.

Early life and education

Gwendolyn Stiggins was born in Chicago, Illinois. She grew up in Midland, Pennsylvania. In 1976, she went on to receive a PhD in higher education/information science from Wayne State University, writing her thesis on collective bargaining in academic librarianship. In that role, she directed the school's internship program in medical librarianship. She became a full professor in 1979.

Cruzat was active in the Medical Library Association, with leadership roles including chairing the Medical Library Education Section as well as the Library Research Section. Cruzat served on the ALA Committee on Accreditation from 1984 to 1986, pushing for cultural diversity in institutions teaching library science.

She served as a member of the National Library of Medicine's Board of Regents from 1981 to 1984. she was the first person in the university's library school to receive the honor.

She was selected for the Medical Library Association's Janet Doe Lectureship in 1979, giving a talk titled "Medical Librarianship: A Systems Perspective". She was recognized as a lifelong Fellow of the association in 1993. The Medical Library Association also recognized her as one of their 100 most notable medical librarians in 1998.

In 1989, she received the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Atlanta University School of Information and Library Studies.

At her retirement in 1993, the University of Michigan named Cruzat Professor Emeritus of Information and Library Studies.

Her alma mater Fisk University awarded her with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2006.