Dean of the Mary Couts Burnett Library

Dean of the Mary Couts Burnett Library Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University (TCU) invites nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the Mary Couts Burnett Library (the Library). TCU seeks a collaborative, strategic, and visionary champion of the Library’s service-centered and adaptive legacy, dedicated to the academic and scholarship needs of the University. The next Dean will have the opportunity to lead and build upon the Library’s innovative, collaborative, and service-oriented focus that enhances the faculty, students, and community experience across the University. A private university located in Fort Worth, Texas, TCU is classified as a top 100 National University by U.S. News and World Report and has a Carnegie Classification of R2: Doctoral Universities – High Research Activity. TCU has a $2.4 billion endowment, enrolls over 12,200 students, employs over 700 full-time faculty and has a student to faculty ratio of 14:1. The Mary Couts Burnett Library employs 52 full-time staff and enables TCU in support of a robust teacher-scholar model that integrates teaching and research to benefit undergraduate and graduate students. The 2023 Princeton Review Best 388 Colleges ranked TCU Library No. 7 on its list of Best College Libraries. The Mary Couts Burnett Library (the Library) offers more than 1.9 million books, nearly 200,000 journals and periodicals, a wealth of online works through the Library’s website, including over 400 databases, in addition to an expansive collection of digital and special literary items housed in the main building and at the Library Annex off-site. The Library has been a depository for federal documents since 1916 and participated in the Texas depository library program for more than 60 years. The Library also houses the newly established Burnett School of Medicine Library which specializes in services for the faculty and students of the Burnett School of Medicine. The TCU Press is an affiliate library operation and is an independent university press responsible for all areas of publications for the University. In 2015, the Library underwent strategic and technology-infused renovations across 44,500 square feet, including 16,000 square feet of new space, to modernize, redesign, and update furnishing across the facility. Today, the Library houses an array of academic and technological offerings for use by the campus community, including the GIGA Lab, Fab Lab, Music/Media Library, and Special Collections. The inviting and inspiring physical study areas provide ample space and comfortable locations for concentrated focus or small group study. In the collaboration spaces, the Library offers media editing suites, a theatre screening room, and robust technology-filled group presentation and study rooms. The Dean of the Mary Couts Burnett Library is the chief administrative, operational, and fiscal leader for the Library and the TCU Press. Reporting to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Dean represents the Library and provides support to the Provost in all library-related major planning and policy strategy. The Dean provides leadership for planning, budgeting, personnel recruitment and development, fundraising engagements, and represents the Library within the University and at the local, state, regional, and national levels. The Dean directly supervises, recruits, selects, and monitors a team of management library staff members and collaborates across the team to solicit, consider, and genuinely value the views and contributions of all library staff. The next Dean will have the opportunity to steward, strengthen, and advocate for the library operations, bringing a focused approach to the library resources across finances, personnel, and physical infrastructure. Drawing upon best practices across academic and national library innovations, the new Dean will foster and implement a vision through shared purpose and transparent communication, bringing genuine and tangible value to the University. The new Dean of the Library will be a thoughtful and passionate champion across campus and the community, developing genuine and respected relationships between the staff, various stakeholders, and constituents of the Library. Engagement with the community beyond the campus will bring the next Dean an opportunity to attract and retain new patrons, resources, collections, and gifts, and continue to enhance the reputation of the Library on behalf of the University. The ideal candidate will have an innovative approach to library services and online resources that embrace new, modernized, and adaptive learning and research technologies that can be implemented by the library to better serve the ever-changing pedagogical and scholarly needs across the campus. The next Dean of the Library will hold an earned master’s degree in Library Studies, or its equivalent, from an ALA-accredited institution. A minimum of 10 years’ experience in library administration and/or professional library leadership experience, preferably in an independent academic institution, and experience representing the library to a variety of constituencies is required. The Dean serves as the lead budget manager for the library and must have demonstrated experience with budgetary oversight and financial management. An earned doctorate degree is preferred. For more information on the role, please see the full position specification here: https://diversifiedsearchgroup.com/search/tcu-library-dean/ The search committee for the TCU Dean of the Mary Couts Burnett Library will begin accepting nominations and reviewing applications immediately. Requested application materials include a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, a diversity statement, and list of five professional references. References will not be contacted without explicit permission. Although applications will be welcomed until a new dean is selected, for best consideration candidates should submit materials by January 6, 2023, to the following address: TCULibraryDean@storbecksearch.com Texas Christian University is being assisted in the search by Storbeck Search. Please submit inquiries, nominations, and application materials to: Thomas Fitch, Managing Director Kate Phillips, Senior Associate Storbeck Search TCULibraryDean@storbecksearch.com For more information on Texas Christian University, please visit TCU’s homepage at https://www.tcu.edu/ Texas Christian University is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer with a strong commitment to hiring for our mission and diversifying our workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ethnic origin, disability, genetic information, covered veteran status and any other basis protected by law.

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