Tamara Livingston

Executive Director of Museums, Archives and Rare Books

Kennesaw State University

Biographical Statement

Dr. Tamara Livingston received a doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 1999, a master’s in music in 1992 and a master’s in library and information science in 1989 from the same institution. She served as Assistant Archivist at the University of Denver in 1986-1987, Assistant Librarian in the Housing Research and Development Library at UIUC from 1987-1989, Archives Consultant at the UIUC Music Library from 1995-2000, and the Interim Head of the Design Library at North Carolina State University from 2000-2001. Since 2004 she has served in leadership roles at Kennesaw State University, most recently as Executive Director of the Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in music and library science at several institutions of higher education, including the University of Illinois, Washington University at St. Louis, Duke University, Kennesaw State University and Valdosta State University. Dr. Livingston has served on various professional committees, including the Society of American Archivists (Archives Management Roundtable), the Society of Georgia Archivists (Georgia Archives Month, Mentoring Committee, Administrative Assistant), and the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE) Archives Council (past Chair, Advocacy Committee). Since 2004, she has served Kennesaw State University as the Executive Director of the Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books.

Candidate Statement

Greetings! My name is Tamara Livingston. I am an archivist, librarian, educator, and ethnomusicologist, who believes in the transformative power of material culture to connect us with our past and to each other. I am deeply committed to preserving local history collections regardless of institutional context by bridging the gaps between historical societies, archives, museums, and libraries. I have more than 20 years’ experience as an archivist, and for the past decade I have developed skills in leading from the middle by collaboration, synergy, and mutual discovery. At KSU, I have led efforts to build collections and programs, and develop a strong team of archive, rare book and records management professionals to engage and serve the campus and community. As an educator, I delight in helping students discover themselves and the world around them and have developed and taught courses for graduates and undergraduates in archives and library science. I have been a member of the SGA for 15 years and can honestly say that it has been an invaluable resource to me in ways too numerous to count. Through the SGA, I established networks of friends and colleagues, came to know neighboring institutions and programs, and developed new professional skills. Should I be elected to serve in a leadership capacity, I would like to give back to the SGA by offering my leadership skills and passion for advocacy, education and communicating across professional and institutional lines.

Slate of Candidates

The Nominating Committee has slated the following SGA members as candidates for office in the 2024 election:

Vice President/President-Elect

• Tamara Livingston,                       Kennesaw State University

Assistant Program Committee Chair (Annual Meeting)

• LaToya Devezin,                       National Archives and Records Administration

• Stephanie McBride,                       University of North Georgia (student)

• Brittany Newberry,                       Georgia State University

Assistant Local Arrangements Committee Chair (Annual Meeting) 

• shady Radical,                      T.R.A.P./Spelman College

Archivist

• Virginia Blake,                       Wesleyan College

• Jasmaine Talley,                       Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library

• Kersten Toebben,                       Georgia Archives

Nominating Committee    Member 1

• Robin Klemm,                                  Georgia Archives

• Kelly Zacovic,                                  City of Savannah Municipal Archives

Nominating Committee    Member 2

• Monet Lewis-Timmons,                   University of Delaware (Graduate Student)

• Mike Santrock,                          Fulton County Schools Archives