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University of California Riverside Job Location: California Date Created: 02/24/2025

The University of California, Riverside (UCR) seeks a pragmatic, empathetic, and strategic leader to serve as the next University Librarian (UL). Nominations, inquiries, and applications are invited.

Situated on nearly 1,200 scenic acres in Inland Southern California, UC Riverside’s diverse, inclusive, and globally focused community creates a new model for what a great public research university can achieve. UCR is committed to access, social mobility, and public service – it is ranked first among all U.S. universities for social mobility by U.S. News & World Report, second in financial aid by Business Insider, and among the top-25 best value public universities by the Princeton Review. In 2024, UCR received the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement in recognition of its strong community-engaged research, as well as collaborations with area schools, non-profit organizations, businesses, and other organizations. UCR is unusually racially and economically diverse among public universities and is one of the most diverse campuses in the UC system. UCR is federally recognized as both an “Hispanic-Serving Institution” (HSI) and an “Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution” (AANAPISI). As a member of the Association of American Universities and part of the world’s most prestigious public university system, UCR stands among the top 1% of universities worldwide.

The UCR Library is the intellectual center for the campus and is the nexus for research and study at UCR. The Library serves over 26,000 students, 1,100 faculty, and 3,300 staff across campus. The Library is led by 100 librarians and staff and 130 student employees. The Library is dedicated to supporting the University’s mission to transform the lives of the diverse people of California, the nation, and the world through the discovery, communication, translation, application, and preservation of knowledge. The UCR Library ranks among the 120 largest research libraries in the U.S. and Canada and is a member of the Association of Research Libraries and the Center for Research Libraries.

As chief executive officer for the UCR Library, the UL provides strategic vision and operational leadership for the Library, with overall responsibility for collection development and management; library services; budget and planning; application of emerging information technologies; personnel; fundraising, public relations; and state and national cooperative efforts. Reporting to the executive vice chancellor and provost, the UL is a member of the Academic Senate and serves on the deans’ council, collaborating with campus leadership at UCR and across the University of California system. The UL also serves on the University of California Council of University Librarians. The UL plays a major role in coordinating policy for the largest university system in the world and UC policies are hugely influential for higher education on a global scale.

The University Librarian will be a visionary, people-centered leader who collaborates with faculty, staff, and students on campus, across the UC System, the state of California, and the nation. The ideal candidate will possess administrative, budgetary, communicative, and collaborative leadership skills, including successful experience in a shared governance environment, and demonstrate experience supporting and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. A record of distinguished professional accomplishment and demonstrated administrative experience in research librarianship is required. A Master of Library Science (MLS/MILS) degree from an American Library Association accredited program is preferred.

The annual salary the university reasonably expects to pay for this position is $290,000 – $310,000. Compensation will be commensurate with a final candidate’s qualifications and experience.

WittKieffer is assisting UC Riverside in this search. For full consideration, candidate materials should be received no later than March 28, 2025. All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the profile available at www.wittkieffer.com. Complete applications will include a CV, cover letter, and a Statement of Contributions to Diversity. In a Statement of Contributions to Diversity, we ask applicants to describe their past and/or potential future contributions to promoting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment, which is a key requirement of the role of every faculty member and administrator at UCR. There are numerous ways to contribute, and a commitment to this part of our mission can be reflected through research, teaching, supervision, mentoring, community engagement, service, and any of the other varied activities that are a part of an academic career.

Application materials, nominations and inquiries can be directed to: Jessica Herrington, Cathryn Davis, and Corin Edwards at UCRUniversityLibrarian@wittkieffer.com.

The University of California, Riverside is an equal employment opportunity employer and complies with all equal employment laws and regulations enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Civil Rights Department. Equal employment laws apply to all aspects of employment, including hiring, termination, promotions and terms and conditions of employment.