Kevin Garewal ’04 joined the Cleveland State University College of Law faculty this fall as an Assistant Professor and Director of the Law Library. He is a two-time alum of CSU, having graduated from CSU|LAW in 2004 and completing a Master’s degree in accounting in 2013.
“I couldn’t have had the career in higher education without this law school,” said Professor Garewal. “This is my opportunity to come home and give back to CSU and Cleveland.”
In addition to his CSU education, Professor Garewal earned a Master of Arts in Library and Information Science from Kent State University.
Professor Garewal has held a number of library positions, most recently as Vice Provost and Dean of Libraries at the University of Rochester. During his time at Rochester, Garewal led the development of the River Campus Libraries strategic plan and oversaw a library modernization project.
Prior to that he served as the Associate Director of Collections at Harvard Law School Library. At Harvard, he was heavily involved in diversifying the library’s collection, leading a diversity, inclusion, belonging and anti-racism plan to assess, diversify, and collect materials and increase traditional digital access to those items. From 2007-2012, Professor Garewal worked at the CSU Law Library as the Collection Development Librarian.
“It is the ability to connect with students on their academic journey and helping them find their path that I’ve enjoyed most about working in the academic setting,” said Professor Garewal.
Professor Garewal attended CSU|LAW as an evening student, while working as an Adult Services Librarian at the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library. He always had an interest in the law and decided to enroll at CSU|LAW at the urging of a mentor.
Professor Garewal has unique perspective having used the CSU|LAW Library as a student two decades ago. He recalls his use of the law library was three-fold: as a workspace, to meet with librarians for assistance with research topics, and as a meeting and community space where he connected with fellow evening students.
Having worked in numerous libraries positions, Professor Garewal has extensive experience in collection development, budget management, and creating new library services. His research interests include library budget models, library collection use analysis, open access initiatives, and workforce morale issues. Through the years, he has seen firsthand the ways law libraries have adapted to changes in technology and research throughout the years.
“In many ways, law libraries are on the edge of technology by almost completely moving off of print materials to research current topics” explained Professor Garewal. “On the other hand, we have been slow to adopt new technologies to push the edge of legal education largely due to limited resources. We are getting there, but it is taking time.”
A Cleveland native, Professor Garewal is excited to return to the city he called home for more than 30 years. With plenty of family and friends still in the region, he recognizes the city has changed for the positive since he has been gone.
Professor Garewal is a member of the Ohio Bar and previously served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Cuyahoga County.