Rate My Professor Kindra Orr

Kindra Orr is the Assistant Dean for Administration and Organizational Development at the University Library of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, a position she has held since 2014. In this senior leadership role, she coordinates business affairs including finance, facilities, human resources, and policy compliance for an academic library with 74 full-time equivalent staff and a $10 million annual budget. Orr facilitates organizational development through training, professional development programming, strategic planning, and cultural competency initiatives. She leads the library's Diversity Council, co-leads the Student Employment Program, and oversees search and screen processes to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. Previously, from 2007 to 2014, she served as Director of Development and External Relations Team Leader at the same library, designing fundraising programs that raised $1.9 million, exceeding goals by 43 percent, and increasing donors by 52 percent. Her earlier career spans media and nonprofit sectors, including Producer at PBS New Jersey Network (1990-1999), where she produced Emmy-winning arts stories and a national documentary, and Development Coordinator for Buselli Wallarab Jazz Orchestra (2001-2006), growing its budget by 60 percent through grants.

Orr earned a Master of Public Affairs in Nonprofit Management from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 2016, a Master of Fine Arts in Film Production from New York University in 1998, and a Bachelor of Science in Radio, Television, and Film from Northwestern University in 1987. She holds certificates in Human Resource Development from Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI (2021) and Fundraising Management from Indiana University's Fundraising School (2010). Her publications include 'Age Demographics of Librarians and the Organizational Challenge Facing Academic Libraries' (2018, co-authored with D.W. Lewis, Library Leadership & Management), '21 Years. 21 Stories: Creating a community of giving at the IUPUI University Library' (2016, co-authored with T. Bennett, Indiana Libraries), and a chapter 'Funding the Way: Seeking Grants to Study the High School to College Transition and the Role of Libraries' (2013, co-authored with R. Huisman). She has presented at the American Library Association Annual Conference (2017) and Public Academic Libraries of Indiana (2015). Awards include the 2020 IUPUI Office for Women Outstanding Woman Leader in the Veteran Staff category, 2014 ALA Library Leadership and Management Association PR Xchange Best Annual Report, and 2013 Council for Advancement and Support of Education Pride of CASE Prize. Orr serves on the IUPUI Faculty Affairs Council of Associate Deans (2020-2021), Office of Equal Opportunity Council (2014-present), and Office for Women Advisory Committee (2014-present).