Announcement: Appointment of University Librarian

June 12, 2015

We are very pleased to announce the appointment of UC Berkeley’s next University Librarian (UL), Professor Jeffrey MacKie-Mason. Professor MacKie-Mason comes to us from the University of Michigan, where he currently serves as the Dean of the School of Information and holds joint faculty positions as Professor of Information and Computer Science, Professor of Economics, and Professor of Public Policy.

Jeffrey MacKie-Mason brings to the UL position substantial leadership experience and a broad and forward-looking conception of the future directions of libraries. During his tenure as Dean of the University of Michigan School of Information, he instituted new degree and research programs, advanced diversity across student, faculty, and staff populations, launched experiential and service-learning programs, significantly increased the size of the School and brought considerable success to the fundraising achievements of the School. In his scholarship, Professor MacKie-Mason has focused on questions concerning digital libraries and electronic access to materials and journals—essential issues facing university libraries in the internet age—and he is a world-leading expert on the topic of human interaction with online information. Professor MacKie-Mason earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in public policy from University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. degree in economics from MIT. 

Professor MacKie-Mason’s academic background sits at the nexus of scholarly research, access and technology, issues identified by the Commission on the Future of the Library in 2013 as critical areas of focus for the campus. We anticipate that Professor MacKie-Mason will be the guiding voice for the campus on these issues, and in light of that, in addition to University Librarianhe will also be the University's “Chief Digital Scholarship Officer.”

We are also pleased and grateful to announce that Associate UniversityLibrarians Beth Dupuis and Erik Mitchell have agreed to serve as co-directors of the University Library until Professor MacKie-Mason arrives on campus in October. Beth currently serves as Associate University Librarian for Educational Initiatives and User Services, and as Director of the Doe, Moffitt, and Subject Specialty Libraries; while Erik is the Associate University Librarian for Digital Initiatives and Collaborative Services. Both have a deep commitment to the campus and will take excellent care of our Library during this interim period.

Professor MacKie-Mason’s appointment comes after a careful, comprehensive national search, and we would like to thank search committee chair Dean Anthony Cascardi, as well as all of the members of the search committee, for the long hours of hard work that has culminated in the selection of an extraordinary individual with the exact complement of skills, experience, knowledge, and values that we sought. 

In addition, we want to thank the members of the Library community who have provided advice and insights along the way. Your participation has been greatly appreciated.

Finally, we want to thank our current University Librarian, Tom Leonard, for his fifteen years of service to the campus in this role. Tom has shepherded the Library through challenging times and it stands in a better place as a result of his steadfast leadership. 

Please join us in welcoming Jeffrey MacKie-Mason to our campus. We look forward to working together with Jeff to build on the excellent legacy of our Library and to create an extraordinary future for this crucial academic resource.

Nicholas B. Dirks, Chancellor

Claude M. Steele, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost