Irene McGarrity is Head of Research Services at Mount Holyoke College, where she leads a team of four research and instruction librarians. She holds an MSIS in Information Studies, an MFA in Creative Writing, and an MA in English Literature. Irene has presented regionally and nationally on librarianship and pedagogy at NE/ACRL, NELIG, NERCOMP, LOEX, Open Education, and the Teaching Professor Conference. Her chapter “Developing Agency in Metaliterate Learners” was included in Metaliteracy in Practice (2016), and her chapter in Teaching Information Literacy for Everyday Life is forthcoming in 2026.
The Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) Center Staff Fellows program supports staff efforts to infuse IGD into their professional work and contribute meaningfully to IGD Center activities during the 2025–2026 academic year.
This year, Irene will contribute to the IGD Center in a number of ways, including shadowing lead facilitators and assisting with the facilitation of faculty/staff IGD workshops in January and May 2026. She will also co-lead faculty/staff cohort gatherings and support the pilot seven-week faculty/staff dialogue in Spring 2026. As part of developing a plan for infusing IGD principles across campus, she will research and compile information about campus dialogues that focus on disability and neurodivergence.