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Philip Walker, director of Vanderbilt’s Annette and Irwin Eskind Family Biomedical Library and Learning Center, has been elected chair of the National Library of Medicine’s Board of Regents. Walker will serve a one-year term beginning Aug. 4.
Operated by the U.S. federal government, the National Library of Medicine is an institute of the National Institutes of Health and the world’s largest medical library. The NLM Board of Regents serves as the advisory body to the secretary of Health and Human Services, the assistant secretary of health, the director of the National Institutes of Health, and the director of the National Library of Medicine for all major policy aspects regarding the library. It is also the final review body for the National Library of Medicine’s extramural grant program.
As chair of the Board of Regents, Walker is charged with guiding strategic oversight for the group, supporting administrative processes such as presiding over meetings and facilitating formal voting procedures, and fostering productive engagement among members, including building consensus on key decisions. He also will serve as the primary liaison between the board and the NLM’s executive secretary.
Walker was first appointed as a member to the NLM Board of Regents in 2023. He previously served as an ad hoc consultant to the National Library of Medicine in 2022.
“I am ecstatic that Philip Walker has been elevated to this national leadership role, which reflects his deep understanding of the medical library landscape and his unwavering professionalism,” Vanderbilt University Librarian Jon Shaw said. “Philip’s stewardship of the Board of Regents will help strengthen the NLM’s vital mission of meeting today’s challenges in advancing biomedical access, discovery and dissemination.”
“I am deeply honored to have been nominated for this role and take great pride in accepting it,” Walker said. “In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, the data, information and knowledge spectrum faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities. This calls for diligence, innovation and agility as we work to uphold and advance the mission of long-standing, trusted institutions like the National Library of Medicine.”
