MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Just over a week after announcing the nomination of Jean Darnell to be the newest director of the Milwaukee Public Library, Mayor Cavalier Johnson is rescinding the nomination after discovering that her degree does not meet accreditation requirements listed in the job description.
Darnell, who operates the webpage Awaken Librarian and recently led library services for the School District of Philadelphia, received her graduate degree in information science and school librarianship from the University of Houston–Clear Lake. While the degree is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges, the Schools Commission on Colleges, and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), it is not accredited by the American Libraries Association (ALA). That, the mayor’s spokesperson Jeff Fleming tells WTMJ, is what disqualifies Darnell from the job.
“That said, we should have caught this at an early stage, and we regret that this is the circumstance that we are in,” said Fleming. “She’s a very talented person, but she doesn’t meet the legal requirements, and we own that. It was our oversight not to have caught that in the initial application process.”
The law requires library administrators employed by a public, county, or municipal public library in a city of 6,000 people or more to hold an ALA-accredited degree except for “a library in a city of the first class” such as Milwaukee. But Fleming says after consulting with City Attorney Evan Goyke, leaders determined that exception didn’t apply, coupled with the ALA requirement being a specific ask in the job description.
While a waiver process does exist, Fleming noted it would be a lengthy process that could take “an indeterminate amount of time”.
When reached by WTMJ over the phone, Darnell expressed frustration at the decision, saying she learned of the move one day before she had planned to move to Milwaukee.
“I have 13 years of library experience, I have achieved accomplishments within the library field that others dream of. They made their decision…it is surprising that the mayor and the council does not want to support their own law,” said Darnell.
While acknowledging she doesn’t hold an ALA-accredited graduate degree, Darnell pointed to her decade-plus of experience in the field combined with her degree’s certification by the CHEA she says is applicable to the Milwaukee director job. The law governing administrator Grade I certification allows an applicant to hold a master’s decree from an unaccredited library school program “if the division is satisfied that the program leading to that degree is substantially equivalent and the applicant’s professional experience is demonstrative of the ability to provide professional library services.”
Darnell said she would not challenge the mayor’s decision to rescind his nomination. Her nomination never made it to the full Common Council for approval.
Johnson originally announced Darnell as his director nominee September 21, specifically citing his enthusiasm for her background in technology.
“Her expertise includes bringing technology into library programming and literacy efforts. She is also an advocate for connecting people with libraries in equitable and inclusive ways,” said Johnson at the time.
Much of Darnell’s recent experience lies in the world of artificial intelligence. According to a resume on the Awaken Librarian website, she holds an AI Educator Level 4 certification from MagicSchool, an AI platform whose website says it “helps with the work that fills a teacher’s day”, as well as a certificate from a Google training course on generative AI for Educators. In a 2024 presentation for the Texas Library Association, “AI in Our Community“, Darnell discussed the importance of critically analyzing AI’s shortcomings.
Whoever the new nominee is will replace Joan Johnson, who led the Milwaukee Public Library for more than five years before retiring last summer.
Fleming says the City hopeful to name a new director by the end of the year. The current salary range for the library director job is $149,117-$215,018 annually, with a City of Milwaukee resident incentive salary range of $155,082-$223,619.
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