Interim Provost Jan Love has announced plans to include Emory Libraries and the Michael C. Carlos Museum under a new leadership structure designed to facilitate closer coordination in the fulfilment of their mutual educational, research and discovery missions, and ultimately enhance support for both.
A new vice provost for libraries and museums will provide a direct link to the Office of the Provost and engage the Emory community in planning for the future of both areas, including advancing the digitization, cataloging and conservation of the university’s extraordinary collections, while continuing to enhance access for the Emory community and beyond.
“Uniting these two areas will strengthen our academic programs and is perfectly aligned with our aspirations for research eminence,” says Love. “This restructuring is about preparing for future investments and alignment with our strategic priorities.”
Love noted that the mission of the Carlos Museum to collect and preserve art and artifacts in order to promote interdisciplinary teaching and research has led to beneficial collaborations between the museum and the university’s extensive library system, and this organizational shift is intended to capitalize on those efforts.
The Robert W. Woodruff Library is home to the Goizueta Business Library, the Heilbrun Music and Media Library, and the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.
Other libraries include: The Science Commons at Atwood; the Library Service Center operated in collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology; the Woodruff Health Sciences CenterLibrary; and the Oxford College Library located on the Oxford campus. Leaders of the Pitts Theology Library and the Hugh F. MacMillan Law Library will continue to report directly to the deans of the schools in which they are located.
Reviews conducted last year identified opportunities for both the libraries and the museum to be better positioned to serve as centers of excellence within the university. Leadership transitions at the Carlos and the libraries, and the recent separation of Emory Libraries from Information Technology, presented ideal timing for restructuring.
The search for the vice provost position will be chaired by Emory College of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael Elliott. The search advisory committee will begin to meet this spring with the goal of having a new leader in place this year. An interim director for the Michael C. Carlos Museum will be named later this spring, and the new vice provost will lead the search for the permanent director. No further personnel changes are expected at this time.
As part of the restructuring, Dean and University Librarian Yolanda Cooper has been recruited to fulfill a new position to advance priorities in support of the university as a whole.
“As we welcome a new provost and continue our recovery from the pandemic, Dean Cooper’s expertise, which so greatly benefited the libraries and the university, will be essential in her new role,” says Love.
“I admire and am appreciative of Dean Cooper’s tremendous accomplishments during her seven years of leadership and service in support of the university, including her expansion of our digital library repository and oral history programs, and the renovation of learning spaces to adapt and reflect current learning trends, as well as her leadership in the construction and operation of the Library Services Center in collaboration with Georgia Institute of Technology to create a shared collection for both institutions. Dean Cooper has provided us with an excellent foundation as we plan for the future to advance our academic and research mission.”