Kate Langan is Professor and the Engagement Librarian for Western Michigan University. Kate specializes in programming for the WMU community and focuses to build belonging, confidence, and connectedness in students. Kate received an Interdisciplinary Studies Ph.D. from WMU. Her dissertation is "A Framework for Flourishing: Belonging, Confidence, and Connectedness in Academic Libraries" addresses whole student pedagogies in academic libraries and proposes a framework for flourishing grounded on the concepts of belonging, confidence, and connectedness. She holds two master's degrees, an M.A. (1998 ) in French Literature from the University of Oklahoma and an M.A. (2004) in Information and Library Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she also did doctoral work for a PH.D. in French Literature. She also holds a her B.A. from Scripps College (1993) and specialized in French Literature.

Kate served as the president of Mi-ALA (Michigan Academic lIbraries Association), the Michigan chapter for ACRL, she currently serves as chair of the Project Outcomes for Academic Libraries editorial board for ACRL. Kate's past research has focused on ways to improve information literacy for both students and teachers such as incorporating background music into the classroom and embedded librarianship through asynchronous, web-based teaching. She has worked on redesigning information literacy curricula for first year writing programs by incorporating those threshold concepts that promote higher order thinking. She has presented and published on a wide variety of ways to improve teaching information literacy such as the use of concept mapping, background music visualizing data, teaching the teacher, teacher expectancy and stereotype threat, and embedded librarianship. Her current research is focused on critical race theory, critical information literacy, and transformative teaching and portable learning for students that reach beyond their classroom and university experiences.