Well-Earned Retirement for Mary Whelan

Published Jan. 10, 2018
Updated Oct. 18, 2021

While it doesn't come as news for most, all are disappointed to learn of Dr. Mary Whelan's recent retirement from ASU Library this past December.

Since 2008, Mary had become an indispensable source of knowledge and expertise at ASU Library for those wishing to integrate GIS technology into their research projects or educational curricula.

Over her 9-year stint at ASU Library, Mary helped hundreds of students and faculty find and utilize appropriate geospatial datasets while advising them on appropriate applications. (One of many instances of Mary offering her time and expert knowledge was documented in this April 2017 Library Channel post about a recently graduated student's efforts to map water vulnerability in the greater Phoenix metro region. Dr. Whelan was critical in guiding the student on which datasets and visualization methodologies to employ.) 

As the de facto geospatial data manager at ASU Library, Mary helped process, organize, map, interpret, and document (i.e., create metadata for) the thousands of geospatial datasets currently held in the ASU Geospatial Data Directory. The critical work Mary did laid the foundation for current and future efforts to build a web-based geospatial data catalog.

The Map and Geospatial Hub congratulates Mary on a tremendous career and wishes her a most satisfying extended vacation during her well-earned retirement. She will be missed!