Dean of University Libraries

Temple University invites applications and nominations for the Dean of University Libraries. The University seeks a visionary dean to lead a major program of library development, including the construction of a new signature building replacing Paley Library and connecting the Temple University campus with the greater Philadelphia community. Reporting to the Provost, the dean will continue to strengthen every aspect of Temple University’s libraries, building on substantial recent gains in services, collections, curricular integration, and stature, and completing the creation of a library system that fully supports the university’s agenda of providing opportunities for faculty and students, research excellence, metropolitan engagement, and global reach. The dean will be a strategic partner in the leadership of Temple University and its development and implementation of new initiatives in the pursuit of academic excellence.

Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in an urban setting, the 28^th largest university in the U.S. and one of the nation’s leading centers of professional education. With 37,000 students presently on its domestic campuses (27,000 undergraduates), the university has experienced student enrollment growth of 31% over the last decade.

The Temple University Library system presently comprises nine libraries, including those at Temple University Japan and Temple University Rome, and the Temple University Press. It has an aggregate budget of $24 million, including $13 million for collections. The main university library system, which includes the Samuel L. Paley Library, employs approximately 50 professional staff, 70 support staff, and 40 FTE student assistants. The Simmy and Harry Ginsberg Health Sciences Library, housed in the new Medical Education and Research Building, reports to the Dean of University Libraries, while the Law Library has a separate budget and staff, it coordinates development of its services and budget with the Dean. From 2004 to 2011, the Temple University Libraries rose from 83 to 57 in the Association of Research Libraries rankings.

Temple’s Board of Trustees has approved and secured state funding for a new signature library building. The library will become a focal point for Temple University students and faculty and for the North Philadelphia community. It will be transformative for Temple University as a community of scholars and for North Philadelphia by providing community space and life-long learning opportunities for area residents.  Temple is currently in the process of reviewing RFPs in the selection of an architectural firm for the project. The new Dean will play a central role in the design and development of this building and its services.

Successful candidates will bring an understanding of and significant experience in addressing the major challenges facing academic research libraries today – rapid changes in scholarly communication and the storage and delivery of information in the electronic age; creative and efficient use of physical space; the changing role of academic libraries as places, providers of information, and supporters of research and instruction; the ability to support multiple constituencies (faculty, undergraduates, graduate, and professional students) with differing needs; and the need for effective cross-divisional/cross-functional team development. The new dean should be prepared to lead a major capital development program that will define the very nature of the library at Temple University for years to come.

All inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed with a cover letter in confidence to:

Alan Wichlei, Vice President and Director, or Beverly Brady, Senior Associate, Isaacson, Miller, 263 Summer Street, Boston, MA  02110.  E-mail:   Templedeanlib@imsearch.com

For more information about Temple, please visit its website: www.temple.edu

Temple University is strongly committed to Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity and encourages qualified women and members of minority groups to apply