| Position Summary: Western Carolina University invites applications from qualified, visionary, exemplary leaders to serve as the next Dean of Library Services. The University
Established in 1889, WCU is a constituent member of the University of North Carolina and enrolls more than 12,000 students through its bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs in residential, distance, online, and international programs. The University strives to be a national model for student learning and engagement that embraces its responsibilities as a Carnegie Community Engaged institution. Core values of excellence in teaching, learning, scholarship, and service; reciprocity with our communities; the free and open interchange of ideas; equity, inclusive excellence, and diversity; responsible stewardship and organizational effectiveness; and environmental sustainability, guide our university mission and operations. WCU offers more than 150 academic programs with a faculty to student ratio of 1:17. The primary campus is located on over 650 acres in Cullowhee in the Nantahala National Forest within 20 minutes' drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. WCU also maintains an instructional site at Biltmore Park near Asheville, NC, that serves approximately 700 primarily graduate students, and a vibrant online enrollment of more than 2,200 students. Hunter Library
The mission of Hunter Library is to serve the curricular and research needs of students, faculty, and staff while encouraging academic success, fostering critical thinking, and enriching the community. It fulfills this mission by providing access to information; offering research and instruction services; and preserving the intellectual, environmental, and cultural heritage of the university and the region. The Library is a model for student engagement and support.
Hunter Library is organized into three departments: Research and Instruction Services, Content Organization and Management, and Discovery and Technology Services, each with its own department head. Additionally, Access Services operates collaboratively with all departments and library administration. Hunter Library employs 18 faculty librarians and 28 staff members. The Library is a member of the University Library Advisory Council (ULAC) for the University of North Carolina, as well as the Western North Carolina Library Network (WNCLN), sharing an integrated library system and lending services with Appalachian State University and the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Hunter Library maintains a robust collection of physical and electronic resources that serves the curricular and research needs of the university's students, faculty, and staff. The collection includes over a million print and electronic books; access to more than 100,000 journals; and digital and physical collections that document the university, the surrounding natural environment, and regional history and culture. Through a liaison model, librarians at Hunter Library work in close collaboration with teaching faculty and offer information literacy instruction that prepares students to succeed in the research required for both their academic and professional careers. Hunter Library offers many additional services and spaces, including the Curriculum Materials Center, which serves the College of Education and Allied Professions as well as students enrolled in WCU's lab school, and the Scholar Studio, a space housing equipment, technology, and support services for students creating analog and digital research products. Hunter Library embraces WCU's strategic direction of inclusive excellence, and, in accordance with the American Library Association, seeks to |
