Dean of Thurgood Marshall Library

Job Posting:

JR101321 Dean, Thurgood Marshall Library (Open)

Department:

Academic Affairs, PM

Position Type:

Regular

Open Date:

09-11-2025

Close Date:

$125,000 - $135,000

Job Description:

Senior administrator responsible for the instructional division which may include but is not limited to: Librarianship.

Preamble
As the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Maryland, Bowie State University (BSU) is committed to excellence in teaching, research, and service. As the primary library on the University’s intellectual hub, the Thurgood Marshall Library plays a central role in fulfilling this mission and enriching the lives of its community members and beyond. Our faculty and staff are key collaborators across the campus to prepare students for leadership in the knowledge economy and a global society. The Library also serves as the steward of Special Collections and Archives, preserving the rich cultural and historical legacy of the University and surrounding communities. The Thurgood Marshall Library has combined holdings totaling more than 677,084 volumes, operates with an annual budget of approximately $X million and provides key support for teaching and research awards, resulting in more than $2.61 million for Fiscal Year 2023.

Bowie State University is seeking a transformative leader to serve as Dean of the Thurgood Marshall Library. The Thurgood Marshall Library plays a vital role in ensuring academic excellence and student success, as well as enhancing the intellectual and economic capital, both on campus and beyond. The Dean will lead with passion, creativity, and excellence to cultivate an interactive environment for interdisciplinary discovery and research. They are expected to transform the University Library into a hub of lifelong learning by articulating and establishing a clear, forward-thinking strategic vision in terms of re-defining and re-invigorating a university library’s role in the 21st century.

Responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively with library and academic leadership to support the goals of the University’s strategic plan and the vision of our President, Boldly Forward.
• The Dean of the University Library is responsible for the management of the library, including oversight of the library budget, personnel, and the physical, informational, and technical resources necessary to provide high-quality library services.
• Provide vision, strategic direction, and operational leadership for the library; infuse new and innovative information formats and access technologies and services to meet the University’s educational and research missions and ambitious goals for growth.
• Lead and Support faculty librarians and staff to provide outstanding library services and transform facilities into centers of academic excellence and student success.
• Champion digital scholarship, open access publishing, and integration of digital platforms and tools in teaching, learning, and research.
• Promote the integration of information literacy and research skills into the curriculum by collaborating with faculty across disciplines.
• Ensure continued development, preservation, access, and promotion of the Library’s Special Collections and Archives, supporting the historical, cultural, and research needs of the University and surrounding communities.
• Foster a highly collaborative and inclusive environment, one that values diverse perspectives and promotes a culture of equity, access, and belonging.
• Ensure library services, spaces, and digital environments are fully accessible and responsive to the diverse needs of students, faculty, staff, and community users.
• Advocate for intellectual freedom, academic privacy, and equitable access to resources in alignment with national library standards and university policies.
• Identify and pursue grants and external funding sources, including philanthropic gifts, to support the Library’s strategic priorities and service enhancements.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and lead ongoing library assessment efforts to support institutional accreditation and continuous improvement.
• Direct content management and promotion of materials to meet the needs of students, faculty, staff, and clinicians.
• Build and cultivate relationships with alumni and other strategic partners to support the library’s scholarly, educational, service, and fundraising goals.
• Form a collaborative partnership with the University System of Maryland and the Affiliated Institutions Library Consortium.
• Coordinate library activities with other universities across the state, region, and nation, and support continual professional development for library staff and faculty.
• Serve, along with five other deans, as an equal member of the Academic Deans Council.
• Oversee the Library’s technology infrastructure and ensure implementation of emerging technologies that enhance library operations and user experience.
• Advocate for the Library in institutional planning and policy development, ensuring the Library’s alignment with campus-wide goals and initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Library Science.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible leadership and management experience in an academic library setting required.
• Exhibits a distinguished career with sustained scholarly accomplishments and a record of excellence in teaching, research, and service appropriate to appointment at the rank of Full Librarian.
• Demonstrated initiative, flexibility, and the ability to adapt library services in a rapidly changing environment.
• Experience in visionary leadership with a participatory style that promotes innovation, collaboration, and transformational change.
• Strong communication, supervisory, and management skills with transparency in decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to cultivate an enriching environment and foster collaboration across academic and administrative units.
• Passion for promoting and retaining world-class faculty and staff and commitment to student success.
• Knowledge of trends and best practices in academic librarianship, including digital repositories, scholarly communication, accessibility standards, and assessment methodologies.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in librarianship, services, and recruitment.
• Experience overseeing or supporting Special Collections and Archives, including preservation strategies, community engagement, and digital access initiatives.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Not Currently Available

Conditions of Employment:

• Not Currently Available

Additional Job Information:

Benefits include medical, dental, prescription, long-term disability, accidental death and dismemberment insurance and life insurance; paid time for paid sick leave, annual leave, and personal leave; 12 paid holidays per year, tuition remission; employer-funded pension and supplemental retirement accounts

Bowie State University shall not discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, age, ancestry or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, marital status or veteran status. All policies, programs, and activities of Bowie State University are and shall be in conformity with all pertinent Federal and state laws of nondiscrimination including, but not limited to: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Age Discrimination Act, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,  the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Federal Executive Order No. 11375, and Article 49B of the Annotated Code of Maryland. This commitment applies in all areas and embraces faculty, staff, and students.