West Virginia University has named Mark Paris as the next dean of WVU Libraries and Press, with an official start date of April 27.
Paris most recently served as associate university librarian for Scholarly Resources and Discovery at Brandeis University, where he led strategic initiatives to modernize research infrastructure, expand open-access publishing and implement data-driven approaches to collection stewardship and service design.
“The future is bright for WVU, and bringing leaders like Mark Paris to our campus is an exciting step,” said incoming Provost Beverly Wendland. “Mark’s commitment to our land-grant mission coupled with his proven capacity to collaborate and innovate is an ideal match for this important role.”
Paris holds a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from Simmons University, a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from Lincoln Christian University. He also spent more than a decade at EBSCO Information Services in product management and discovery services before moving to academic library leadership.
“Growing up in the rural Midwest and working on both the library and vendor sides of scholarly communication have shaped how I think about access, partnership and impact,” Paris said. “I’m excited to join such distinguished colleagues at WVU to advance the land-grant mission and build library and publishing services that serve faculty, students and communities across West Virginia.”
Paris will follow Dean Karen Diaz, who will retire May 1 after nearly 40 years in higher education and academic libraries, including the last eight as dean.
