President's Award for Outstanding Service Ceremony: June 26, 2007
Bill DeJohn, University President Robert Bruininks, and Dr. Pete Magee, Chair
of the Nominations Committee.
Bill DeJohn is one of 12 recipients of the 2007 University of Minnesota's President's
Award for Outstanding Service. The Award is presented annually by University of Minnesota
President Robert Bruininks to 10-15 active or retired faculty or staff members who have
demonstrated an unusual commitment to the University community.
Bill and his fellow award-winners were honored during a reception at Eastcliff, the
University President's residence, on June 26, 2007, and he was recognized at the meeting
of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents on June 8, 2007.
Bill has been Director of Minitex since June 1984. As director,
Bill has significantly expanded Minitex's mission from that of the original pilot project,
which began in 1969.
"I was surprised and delighted with the news that I was one of the recipients of the 2007
President's Award for Outstanding Service," DeJohn said. "It is satisfying to be a part of
an outward-looking institution like the University of Minnesota, one that shares its library
collections with all the residents of Minnesota. I couldn't provide the level of service
recognized by this Award without a great staff and the ongoing support of the University
Libraries."
In nominating DeJohn for the President's Award, Wendy Pradt Lougee, University Librarian at
the University of Minnesota, said:
In his more than 20 years here, Bill has built a tremendous network of services for library
users in the region. The outcome of that selfless effort is experienced every day, whether it
is a high school student in outstate Minnesota having an article for a term paper delivered to
her computer, or a faculty member at a Minnesota private college getting a monograph not
available in his library, or a librarian in Minneapolis who needs training about copyright law.
Minitex is there for them, and Bill has ensured that the service is timely, cost-effective, and
responsive to user needs. He is a true citizen of the state.
Bill has also received the President's Award and been named Academic Librarian of the Year by
the Minnesota Library Association and its Academic and Research Libraries Division.