Associate University Librarian

We are pleased to announce that from a pool of excellent candidates, Rutgers University-Newark has selected Amanda Clay Powers as the next Associate University Librarian of the John Cotton Dana Library, effective January 13, 2025.

Powers is coming to Rutgers-Newark after having served as the dean of library services at the John C. Fant Memorial Library at Mississippi University for Women since 2016. Powers brings significant experience in fundraising, change management, and strategic direction in libraries, with a focus on collections, technology, and services. Her achievements include the creation of the Martha Jo Mims Digitization & Conservation Lab, the development of an interdisciplinary digital studies minor, and the establishment of an Office of Undergraduate Research. She also oversaw the library's Automated Storage and Retrieval System and a 43,000-square-foot renovation. Additionally, Powers co-founded the university's Student Emergency Fund and has held roles at Mississippi State University Libraries and MIT Libraries. She has a background in global finance and publishing.

She has served on various advisory boards and received several awards, including recognition in the Leadership Mississippi Class of 2023. Under her leadership, Fant Memorial Library won the University Impact Initiative Award for promoting diversity and inclusion. Powers also co-authored A Starter's Guide for Academic Library Leaders and holds a bachelor of arts in English literature from Wellesley College and a master of library and information science Simmons University.

Read the full press release here.

Sean Farrell led this search with Melissa DePretto Behan and Drew Chang.