Rhea Ballard-Thrower

Rhea Ballard-Thrower is a Professor and serves as Dean & University Librarian at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), leading the strategic direction of Chicago’s only public Carnegie Research 1 library. She previously held roles as Executive Director of Howard University Libraries and Associate Professor, Director of Howard University School of Law Library, and taught courses like Advanced Legal Research using the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Educated at the University of Cincinnati (B.A.), University of Kentucky (J.D.), and University of Michigan (M.I.L.S.), her expertise spans law librarianship and social justice-oriented legal education.

• Educations: B.A., University of Cincinnati; J.D., University of Kentucky; M.I.L.S., University of Michigan

Her research focuses on teaching legal research to incarcerated students as a social justice tool. She actively serves on executive boards of the American Research Libraries and Chicago Collections Consortium. Notable awards include the Provost’s Distinguished Service Award (Howard University) and the University of Illinois System’s PELP.

Teaching includes courses like Students in Jail at UIC Law and Advanced Legal Research using prison exchange pedagogy. She has held leadership roles in library administration, committees (e.g., Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), and professional organizations. Her career includes roles at Georgia State University Law Library and the University of Texas Tarlton Law Library.

Leadership extends to roles like Co-chair of Howard’s Program Prioritization Task Force and membership in academic bodies such as the Howard Law Review and CETLA.