Rate My Professor Michele Villagran

Dr. Michele A. L. Villagran serves as Associate Professor in the School of Information at San José State University. She earned her BSBA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; MSLS and MBA from the University of North Texas; and MDR and EdD from Pepperdine University. Her academic career emphasizes advancing cultural competence and equity in library and information science. As CEO of CulturalCo, LLC, she consults on cultural intelligence strategies. Villagran is affiliated with the Center on Healthy Aging in Multicultural Populations (CHAMP) and participates in the Cross-Campus Interdisciplinary Responsible Computing Learning Experiences (CIRCLE) project, fostering discussions on digital technologies' social impacts across disciplines.

Her research specializations include cultural intelligence, diversity, inclusion, equity, social justice, law libraries, special libraries, multicultural populations, and information ethics. Key publications feature 'Library Services to the Spanish-Speaking' in Public Library Quarterly (2025), 'Emotional intelligence and happiness: Varied perspectives of supervisors and employees' in The Journal of Academic Librarianship (2024), and '“It’s hard to know what we should be doing”: LGBTQ+ students’ library privacy in the COVID-19 pandemic' in Sexualities (2024). She has delivered workshops and keynotes, such as at the American Association of Law Schools on DEI, and contributed to conference proceedings on anti-oppressive education and decolonizing student voices. Awards include the 2021 Dr. Arnulfo D. Trejo Librarian of the Year from REFORMA, the 2023 SRRT Herb Biblo Outstanding Leadership Award for Social Justice and Equality from ALA, the 2020 iSchool Distinguished Service Award, and grants like the Mozilla Responsible Computing Challenge. Her scholarship, cited over 240 times on Google Scholar, influences practices in inclusive information services and professional development.