Skip to main content

This job has expired

Dean of Libraries

Employer
Marquette University
Location
Wisconsin, United States
Salary
Salary Commensurate with experience
Date posted
Dec 21, 2021

View more

The Opportunity

Marquette University (MU), a coeducational, Catholic, Jesuit institution and the largest private university in Wisconsin, seeks an entrepreneurial, collaborative, and visionary leader to serve as the Dean of Libraries. This is a rare opportunity for a resourceful innovator – one who has the creativity and drive to ask “what if?” and imagine what’s next to advance the vision for the Raynor Memorial Libraries at a pivotal time.

Change and momentum are evident across the Marquette campus community as the university continues to implement its ambitious strategic plan, Beyond Boundaries. This plan requires extraordinary investment and innovative new partnerships to bolster how Marquette delivers transformational education and student experiences, advances research and scholarship, thrives in the new and dynamic environment of higher education, builds its endowment, and reimagines and reshapes its infrastructure. The Libraries are a critical player in accomplishing Marquette’s vision. The Dean is invited to take the baton as a nimble, adaptive, creative leader and to position the Libraries for a promising future.

The Role

The Dean reports directly to the Provost. They will be looked to as a changemaker and a visible connector. They will be instrumental in advancing Marquette as a highly ranked destination university, renowned for academic rigor, innovation, and the achievements of its community of scholars.

As a changemaker, the Dean will partner with talented and dedicated faculty, students, staff, alumni, and the broader Marquette and Milwaukee communities to execute an ambitious shared vision for the Libraries and continue to raise the Libraries’ visibility. The Dean must meet the campus needs of today and anticipate the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow.

As a connector, they will play an important external role cultivating strong relationships in Milwaukee, the broader Wisconsin community, and nationally across the profession. The Dean is responsible for fostering productive relationships with alumni, trustees, and donors to enhance visibility, raise money, and create opportunities for faculty and students. Through the Libraries, the Dean also nurtures a diverse and inclusive community. In alignment with Catholic social teaching that every person possesses an innate human dignity, the Dean will model inclusive behavior by recognizing the innate human dignity of every person, regardless of age, culture, faith, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, language, disability or social class.

Key Opportunities and Challenges

This is a role for a seasoned professional who is ready to take the next step as a:

  • Strategic Leader: Provide strategic leadership for all library functions in collaboration with other academic units, supporting the Marquette mission and its identity as an innovative Catholic, Jesuit university. Participate actively and energetically in the recently established Student Success Initiative to support student retention.
  • Advocate and Influencer: Serve as the primary advocate for the Libraries, skillfully communicating the necessity of continued strong and vital Raynor Memorial Libraries both internally with faculty, staff, and students and externally with the larger Milwaukee community and beyond.
  • Resourceful Steward and Fundraiser: Be resourceful with the Libraries’ budget, technology, and spaces, prioritizing goals. Generate new revenue, including ambitious and innovative fundraising.
  • Inclusive Collaborator: Support faculty and staff development in the Libraries to foster a culture of inclusion. Explore new avenues of collaboration with campus departments as well as new ways to foster a culture of transparency, achievement, and diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Libraries, congruent with the Beyond Boundaries Strategic Plan and in service to the diverse interests and experiences of our students, staff, and faculty.
  • Creative Innovator: Participate in Marquette’s efforts to increase research productivity by exploring new and emerging publishing options, data management, copyright, and alternative impact metrics for faculty. Consider student research as an essential part of the Student Success Initiative and think about how the Libraries could support this Initiative – both in terms of services and space.

About the Libraries

The Libraries are well regarded by Marquette and Milwaukee stakeholders. Marquette students, faculty and staff think of the Libraries as the “heart” or “front porch” of the campus -- a hub for intellectual inquiry and discovery, student success, research productivity, and campus community building.

The Libraries' collections encompass:

  • 1.7+ million volumes
  • 1.2+ million e-books
  • 34,000+ journal titles
  • 500+ online article, data, text and image databases
  • 300,000+ square feet of usable space
  • Special Collections, University Archives, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Norman H. Ott Memorial Writing Center

The Libraries’ Special Collections unit regularly draws a national audience through showings of its J. R. R. Tolkien collection and talks with Tolkien clubs, student groups, and local conference attendees. In 2019 and 2020, the Libraries contributed to major exhibitions of Tolkien’s work at the French National Library and Oxford University’s Bodleian Library. Special Collections has also contributed materials to the canonization causes for Dorothy Day, Nicholas Black Elk, and Kateri Tekakwitha. As the repository for the Siggenauk Interfaith Spiritual Center, Special Collections has supported numerous initiatives related to the Native American community of Milwaukee.

Beyond place, people are the heartbeat of the Libraries. The team is made up of 49 full-time staff and 24 FTE student employees. Librarians and staff provide an atmosphere of service and stewardship that supports student success and retention. They also spearhead collaborative initiatives with faculty to create an environment conducive to research, teaching and learning.

 

Qualifications and Characteristics

The successful candidate will be a strong and consultative leader with the ability to lead a conversation around vision, identity, and the path forward for the Libraries. The University seeks a proven leader with a distinctive record of achievement who will have most, if not all, of the following professional qualifications, skills, experiences, and personal qualities:

  • A commitment to promoting the values and goals of Catholic, Jesuit higher education
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with internal and external constituents, characterized by a commitment to transparency
  • Demonstrated passion for student success
  • Commitment to diversity and inclusion and experience supporting, promoting, and implementing the learning opportunities offered by a diverse community
  • An MLS or MLIS from an ALA-accredited school
  • Experience across the various departments of an academic library
  • Understanding of the changing roles and environments of an academic research library
  • Leadership experience in relevant professional organizations
  • A track record demonstrating administrative leadership, vision, innovation, and increasing experience and responsibilities in an environment characterized by collegial management, mentorship, and inclusive decision making
  • Financial acumen and the ability to understand and act upon complex financial models and budgets
  • Experience securing external funding through grants, fellowships, and/or philanthropy
  • An innovative, creative spirit and willingness to take strategic risks

Why Marquette University

Marquette University, in Milwaukee, Wis., is renowned for academic rigor, innovation, and the achievements of its community of scholars. Founded in 1881 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), a group of priests and lay brothers in the Catholic Church, Marquette has grown to be a major private research university grounded in its Guiding Values: Excellence, Faith, Leadership, and Service.

 

Marquette has been consistently ranked in the top 100 of national universities by U.S. News & World Report and, in 2021, was rated #83 among national universities and #53 for undergraduate teaching.

At a Glance:

  • 11,200+ students (7,600+ undergraduate; 3,600+ graduate)
  • Over 2,000 full-time employees
  • 11 nationally and internationally recognized academic divisions
  • 167 majors and minors and more than 68 doctoral and master’s programs
  • 64% of undergraduate students come from outside of Wisconsin and hail from every state in the U.S. and represent 80+ countries
  •  

The campus community rallies behind 16 NCAA-Division 1 athletic teams that compete in the Big East conference. The university offers state-of-the-art facilities for competition on campus and off, including Fiserv Forum, home of the 2020-21 NBA World Champion Milwaukee Bucks.

Marquette is located on a 98-acre campus alongside downtown Milwaukee, the largest city in Wisconsin and the 23rd largest city in the U.S. Set on the shores of Lake Michigan, Milwaukee combines a dynamic urban community with a rich cultural heritage.

The population is approximately 600,000, and approximately 1.4 million people live in the metropolitan area. Milwaukee is highly diverse, with about 39% African American, and 19% Hispanic/Latinx residents.

Milwaukee is prized for its vibrant array of attractions – including professional sports teams, world-renowned arts and performing arts, global cuisines, cultural and music festivals, parks, rivers, and outdoor recreation. Neighboring cities of Chicago and Madison are within 90 miles.

To learn more about Milwaukee, see: https://www.visitmilwaukee.org/

To learn more about the Dean of Libraries: Visit the Dean of Libraries search website at: Search for the Dean of Libraries // Office of the Provost // Marquette University 

To apply: Resumes with cover letters should be attached via the Employment at Marquette website for this position at https://employment.marquette.edu/postings/15937 

It is the policy of Marquette University to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other applicable federal or state-protected classification.

Get job alerts

Create a job alert and receive personalized job recommendations straight to your inbox.

Create alert