The Board of Directors of the New Jersey Center for the Book (NJCFB) has named SC&I Director of Business and Administration Narda Acevedo the recipient of  The Literary Lion Award, which “is presented to an individual who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to literacy, reading, and the print culture in the State of New Jersey,” according to the NJCFB.

The NJCFB is honoring Acevedo in recognition of her many years of service to the center, helping to manage their business and finance functions and grants. SC&I has hosted the center’s operations since the center’s founding in 2002, and NJCFB is funded in whole and in part by SC&I, the New Jersey State Library, and other donors.

As “the innovative spirit that launched NJCFB as the first located in a university, Rutgers School of Communication and Information permeates its legacy,” NJCFB wrote.

Acevedo, who will retire from SC&I in December 2024, said, “I just want to thank you all for the well wishes and for the honor of being chosen to receive the Literary Lion Award. I can’t tell you how touched I am and how much I will miss this group.  Thank you all so much!!!”

Wil Mara, co-director of the NJCFB, wrote to Acevedo, “You have been as much a part of our success story as anyone, and we owe you a debt of gratitude that can never be measured much less repaid. You will remain a part of the Center in spirit, and we will endeavor to honor your good work by continuing to grow and develop in a manner befitting your legacy. With quality people, an organization can accomplish anything. In this regard, we were fortunate indeed to have you.”

SC&I Interim Dean Dafna Lemish, congratulating Acevedo, said the award is “so well deserved! Narda has put in untold hours to help this group advance its mission and keeping them on track.” 

Acevedo has been at Rutgers for more than 30 years and has worked for the Rutgers Business School, the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, the School of Criminal Justice, and now the School of Communication and Information.  She has held positions in the areas of student services (admissions, advising), program support (recruitment, scheduling), faculty affairs (promotion and tenure processes), and as a business manager and a grant support specialist.

The NJCFB “has advanced a dynamic literacy agenda, championing its definition as the ability to read and write while extending it to include literacies emerging in the 21st century. NJCFB initiatives reach out to the richly diverse communities of our state, from those residing in our challenged inner cities to those in our outlying suburbs.”

Learn more about the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.