Biography
John H. Hagen is an independent scholarly communications consultant, based in Morgantown, West Virginia. Originally from Flint, Michigan, Hagen studied sociology at Michigan State University, where he launched his career at the MSU Libraries in 1987. Hagen’s extensive academic library background includes management the of Institutional Repository (IR) programs and coordination of the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) program at the West Virginia University (WVU) Libraries from 1989–2011. He was also Chair of the WVU ETD/IR Task Force, where he guided the development of program policies and procedures. In this capacity Hagen provided counsel on program implementation, scholarly communications and intellectual property issues at WVU and beyond. Hagen’s passion, dedication and leadership in national and international library networks provided the means for him to contribute his outreach and advocacy on open access in scholarly communications in the field.
Hagen served on the Board of Directors for the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), an international non-profit consortium of hundreds of universities (2004 - 2014). In 2002 he founded the Appalachian Regional ETD Consortium to promote ETD program implementation in the mountain states. In 2006 he served as Co-chair to organize the first U.S. Regional ETD Conference held in St. Louis, MO. In 2007 he received the Ohio ETD Leadership Award from the Ohio ETD Association (OETDA). In 2009 he served as Co-chair for the NDLTD’s ETD 2009 International Symposium on ETDs, held at the University of Pittsburgh and co-sponsored by WVU. In 2009 Hagen also received the NDLTD’s International ETD Leadership Award. Hagen has served as an American Library Association legislative advocate to assist with legislative reform in support of open access to publicly funded research since 2012. Hagen was appointed in 2013 to serve on the Advisory Board for the Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD) project. Hagen was appointed in 2017 to serve on the Center for Open Science's "Thesis Commons" Steering Committee.
Hagen presently serves as a founding Board member and the Executive Director for the United States Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Association (USETDA), a non-profit organization which promotes the adoption of state-wide ETD associations and supports networks for professionals who work in academic libraries and graduate schools nationwide. His roles include organizational administration as well as providing guidance in the planning of annual USETDA conferences held around the nation.
Hagen’s contributions to the area of ETDs and scholarly communications have been published and cited extensively in trade journal articles, interviews and conference proceedings. He has also presented papers at a variety of digital library and information technology conferences over the past 20 years. Hagen also regularly publishes articles on current topics in his Blog site Renaissance Man - Open Access & Social Justice Advocacy.
Hagen has also been significantly involved in political activism and human rights advocacy through his volunteer service efforts. He served as Co-Chair for the WVU Council on Sexual Orientation (COSO) from 1998–2011, as well as a standing member of the WVU Social Justice Council. Hagen is a founding member of the faculty/staff/allies LGBT networking group WVU Common Ground. He served on the Caritas House Board of Directors from 2003–2009 and served as Board President (2008–09). Caritas House is a nonprofit charitable organization serving the needs of individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS and homelessness in the North-Central West Virginia. Hagen has also served on the Fairness West Virginia Board of Directors, the leading non-profit LGBT civil rights advocacy organization in West Virginia (2009–2013) and as Vice Chair of the Morgantown Human Rights Commission (2012–2013).
Hagen’s professional interests are in digital library development; ETD/IR implementation; intellectual property issues; open access, preservation and multimedia concerns. His personal interests include music, audio and video production; graphic and Web design as well as cooking, hiking and spending time with friends, family and pets. He is a musician and enjoys listening to jazz, as well as playing saxophone, keyboards and vocals. Hagen is also co-owner of Hi-Fi Fidelite Productions. For more information on music projects visit www.hi-fi-fidelite-productions.com/.
Hagen’s vast experience demonstrates that he is a tremendous advocate, an evangelist, for the open access in scholarly communications movement as well as for social equality reform movements. His transformational work has broadened the scope of the field.
Contact Information:
John H. Hagen
545 W Herring Rd.
Masontown, WV 26542
Home Telephone: (304) 864-6971
Mobile Telephone: (304) 290-2516
Email: John.Hagen-at-Renaissance-Scholar.com / John.Henry.Hagen-at-gmail.com
Website: http://www.renaissance-scholar.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/john.henry.hagen
Last updated 17 April 2013
