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Associate vice provost and university librarian Lisa Macklin to retire from Emory
Portrait of Lisa Macklin

Lisa Macklin, associate vice provost and university librarian, will retire in April 2026.

After more than 20 years of service, Lisa Macklin will retire in April 2026 from her role as associate vice provost and university librarian. 

Under Macklin’s leadership, the Libraries have improved library furniture and spaces for students, expanded services and support for students to flourish, collaborated with Research Administration on support for NIH compliance and ORCID adoption, co-created an infrastructure for supporting the data needs of researchers, continued to expand freely available unique digital collections, and reimagined internal organizational structures to better serve the campus community. She also recruited the associate university librarian for special collections and director of the Rose Library as well as the associate university librarian and director of the Woodruff Health Science Center Library as part of the Libraries leadership team.

“Throughout every role, Lisa has been known for her calm clarity, her collaborative spirit and her unwavering belief in the mission of libraries as engines of discovery, openness and inspiration,” says Valeda Dent, vice provost of libraries and museum. 

Macklin began her Emory journey as the first team leader for the Electronic Resources Team, where her thoughtful approach to problem solving helped guide the Libraries through an era of increasing numbers of e-journals, e-books and databases. After completing her law degree at Georgia State University, she stepped into copyright and scholarly communications. 

Her leadership path continued as she served as associate dean of research, engagement, and scholarly communications, then as interim dean of libraries, and since 2022 as associate vice provost and university librarian.

“I deeply appreciate the opportunity to have served in this leadership role,” says Macklin. “During my 20-year tenure at Emory, I have had the privilege of collaborating with exceptional professionals whose dedication, expertise and support have meant a great deal to me. Working alongside such committed colleagues has been one of the greatest rewards of my career.”

“Lisa’s professional contributions also extend far beyond Emory. She has been an invited speaker at numerous major professional organizations such as American Libraries Association and Coalition for Networked Information, and has held leadership and committee positions with national organizations,” adds Dent. “Her work as principal investigator for the Mellon-funded Model Publishing Contract for Digital Scholarship — a pioneering open access book contract still used by university presses — reflects her lasting impact on the field of scholarly communication. 

A transition plan and opportunities to celebrate Macklin and her extraordinary legacy will be shared in the coming weeks.


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