Beth McNeil Appointed New Dean for Libraries and School of Information Studies at Purdue University

From Purdue Libraries:

A former associate dean and professor at Purdue University will be returning to campus after being selected the new dean of Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies.

Beth McNeil, dean of library services and professor at Iowa State University, will join Purdue on July 1.

“Beth’s knowledge of the Purdue Libraries organization and our entire campus will be an enormous benefit as we continue to develop an integrated, campus-wide data science education ecosystem,” said Jay Akridge, provost and vice president for academic affairs and diversity. “Beth brings an impressive record of leadership excellence in library and information science to this important position.”

Previously, McNeil was Purdue’s associate dean for academic affairs and a professor of Purdue Libraries. Before her initial appointment at Purdue, McNeil was assistant, and then associate, dean of libraries for the University of Nebraska. She also has held positions in the libraries at Bradley University and the University of Illinois.

McNeil graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in English and her master’s in library from information studies. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Nebraska.

McNeil’s research has been published in numerous academic journals and has focused on areas such as librarians and scholarly communication, changes in libraries in the 21st century and performance management and career development.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues at Purdue as we collaborate to create innovative ways to further the work of our faculty, staff and students,” McNeil said. “Purdue is well-positioned to address the rapid development of data science and to lead the way in integrating information literacy into the curriculum.”

McNeil was one of four finalists for this position. In her role at Purdue, McNeil will lead faculty and staff focused on expanding teaching and learning in data and information literacy, digital scholarship, and undergraduate and graduate research. These efforts will be in conjunction with a University-wide Integrated Data Science Initiative in collaboration with all academic colleges.

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