Brad Warren named ACRL VP/president-elect

Augusta University Dean of Libraries Brad Warren has been elected to serve as the vice president/president-elect of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the largest division of the American Library Association.

Warren, who is also an executive committee member for the University of Georgia Regents Academic Committee on Libraries, said his new role will elevate AU’s libraries at the national level. He has set his goal to translate a library’s institutional impact into a personal impact for library workers and patrons alike.

“This new role represents a culmination of my years of service to the ACRL, which has been so instrumental in my personal and professional growth over my career,” Warren said. “I think it is both a tremendous learning and leadership opportunity, and I am looking forward to interacting with academic librarians across the country as well as bolstering initiatives that offer concrete tools and resources to academic library workers.”

Through his role as AU’s inaugural dean of libraries, Warren oversaw the recent combined $4.9 million renovation of the Robert B. Greenblatt, M.D. Library on the Health Sciences Campus and the furniture and study room refresh at the Reese Library on the Summerville Campus.

Students work at a desk in a small study space — From left, Andrew Todd, Gustavo and MaKaelyn Martin work in a recently renovated study room at Reese Library. The group study rooms all have new technology features. [Michael Holahan/Augusta University]

Two students work at desk facing each other — From left, Andrew Todd, Gustavo and MaKaelyn Martin work in a recently renovated study room at Reese Library. The group study rooms all have new technology features. [Michael Holahan/Augusta University]

Prior to joining Augusta University in 2022, he led the University of Cincinnati Libraries’ services and facilities across a 15-library system and multiple large-scale service and facilities projects at Yale University including the $20M Sterling Memorial Library Restoration project. Warren has served as a member and leader for the ACRL for 15 years.

The ACRL represents nearly 9,000 people and libraries, developing programs and services to aid academic and research library teams. Libraries including Augusta University’s collaborate with the association to define and measure instructional effectiveness, develop special collections and share research with other institutions across the country.

“I have been very lucky to have worked in a variety of institutions with opportunities that have allowed for being creative and thinking differently about what a library is and can be,” Warren said. “In those positions, I have always placed the importance of individual employee growth and learning equal to that of the benefit to the university. If I can expand this kind of thinking and impact beyond AU in my new role, that is an amazing opportunity that will be well worth the effort.”