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An accomplished associate dean for research and innovation at Carnegie Mellon University has been named �������޹�����Ʒ’s next dean and university librarian.

Brian Mathews begins his leadership of the Carol Grotnes Belk Library on August 1, 2025, where he will manage a team of 22 full-time employees who have greeted more than a quarter million visitors over the past year in the heart of �������޹�����Ʒ’s main campus.

With a record of achievement that spans two decades and five prominent national universities, Mathews brings to �������޹�����Ʒ professional interests in the way people engage with information: in his words, their “personal knowledge management.”

Mathews’s most recent role at Carnegie Mellon included facilitation of the university’s digital archives system, and he co-lead the library’s AI Sandbox as well as efforts to help the library explore and experiment with AI tools and development. Mathews also was the co-founder of the , and he served as the principal investigator on a grant from Sloan Foundation related to the formation of the .

“Mr. Mathews’s distinguished record of leadership in academic libraries, with a focus on innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and community engagement, stood out in a deep field of impressive candidates for this important role,” said �������޹�����Ʒ Provost Rebecca Kohn. “I’m excited to see him develop his forward-thinking ideas for advancing the library’s strategic vision, fostering its culture of engaged intellectual inquiry, and enhancing its role as a hub for innovation and academic excellence.

Mathews will oversee a library that features 86,000 square feet of shared academic commons and includes the �������޹�����Ʒ Archives and Special Collections. The library shares space with the Koenigsberger Learning Center, the Center for Writing Excellence, the Writing Center, and Teaching and Learning Technologies.

Among Belk Library’s distinctive programs:

• The Library Instruction and Liaison Program pairs faculty librarians with schools, departments, and programs on campus to act as a point of contact for research, recommendations for library purchases, and other departmental needs.
• The Personal Librarian Program matches all new Elon students with a faculty librarian who is available to help them build the skills to successfully navigate their academic path during their years at Elon.
• The library embraces a Cross-functional Model of Librarianship where staff from different departments, including archives, collections services, and instruction and outreach, work together to address user needs, leveraging diverse skill sets across the library.

Mathews said he was drawn to �������޹�����Ʒ by its deep and authentic commitment to engaged learning, student success, and experiential education.

“I look forward to helping shape a library that’s grounded, strategic, and future-facing – one that supports human-centered innovation, sparks imagination, and invites students, faculty, and staff to work together in exploring the complex social, political, technological, and informational challenges of our time,” Mathews said. “I’m especially looking forward to working with the librarians and staff at Belk Library. They’re filled with ideas, generosity, and a joyful energy that’s contagious.

“You can tell they care deeply about the Elon community and are genuinely committed to making a difference.”

Prior to his tenure at Carnegie Mellon University, Mathews served in administrative roles for libraries at Virginia Tech and UC Santa Barbara. At Virginia Tech, Mathews supervised a series of library renovations including the development of a library commons, new classrooms, new staff offices, a series of studios, a maker space, and a multipurpose room for campus events.

His role at UC Santa Barbara included co-leadership of a common book program that stretched across the university, local community college, public library, and high school honors programs. Prior to UC Santa Barbara, Mathews worked for libraries at Georgia Tech and the George Washington University.

Mathews succeeds longtime University Librarian and Dean Joan Ruelle and intends to build on her legacy. A library, he said, should be considered a thinking space and a collaboration zone with creative infrastructure “where knowledge meets possibility.”

“I see Belk Library as an essential partner in the university’s Boldly Elon strategic plan, positioned at the crossroads of research, teaching and learning, creativity, and student development,” Mathews said. “This is a relationship-rich academic community, and I’m excited to build partnerships across campus.”

Dean of the Carol Grotnes Belk Library Search Committee

• Jen Platania, search co-chair, associate provost for academic affairs and associate professor of economics
• Kelly Policelli, search co-chair, coordinator of university archives and special collections and assistant librarian
• Jesse Akman, health and life sciences librarian and assistant librarian
• Kyle Anderson, associate director of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life
• Sarah Bunnell, director – Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and associate professor
• Rod Clare, associate professor of history and chair of the Department of History & Geography
• Kareena Ferguson, student, applied mathematics major
• Heidi Garcia, assistant to the dean of the Carol Grotnes Belk Library
• Jameka Pinnix, assistant director of inclusive excellence education and development
• Kelly Reimer, senior director of Teaching and Learning Technologies
• Norma Rodriguez, assistant director of learning assistance
• Evan Smith, student, history major
• Shannon Tennant, coordinator of library collections and senior librarian
• Hal Vincent, senior lecturer in strategic communications and faculty director of Live Oak Communications