Vanderbilt University Librarian Jon Shaw, who has led the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries since 2022, has been reappointed for a five-year term and named dean of libraries and letters, effective July 1. Shaw is the inaugural Connie Vinita Dowell University Librarian, thanks to generous support from Dowell, M.L.S.’79, Vanderbilt’s first dean of libraries, and her husband, Stephen P. Miller. Their gift, made during Vanderbilt’s Dare to Grow campaign, reflects the couple’s ongoing commitment to the Heard Libraries and strengthens philanthropic momentum for the library dean’s role and strategic priorities.
As the dean of libraries and letters, Shaw will keep positioning Vanderbilt’s libraries as central to the university’s intellectual life by working broadly to align research, pedagogy, experiential learning and technology initiatives. His expanded role recognizes the libraries as a core academic enterprise. The system brings together scholarly communication, publishing, archives, digital preservation, public programming and emerging technologies to strengthen how knowledge is created, preserved, interpreted and shared. Shaw will guide programs and systems that shape how scholarship is presented, including the Vanderbilt University Press and work emerging from the university’s special collections, oral histories and media preservation. He will elevate the institution’s international profile through collaborations focused on cultural memory, and he will nurture partnerships that expand Vanderbilt’s national programming footprint.
“Jon Shaw has brought extraordinary vision and energy to Vanderbilt’s libraries, expanding their role as catalysts for research, learning, innovation and public engagement,” Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver said. “His appointment as dean of libraries and letters reflects the profound impact of his leadership, while Connie Dowell and Stephen Miller’s generous gift honors Connie’s remarkable legacy and ensures that Vanderbilt’s libraries will continue to thrive as a cornerstone of the university’s academic mission.”
Under Shaw’s leadership, Vanderbilt has emerged as a national leader in scholarly communication through an expansive open access strategy, which has enabled the publication of thousands of peer-reviewed articles by Vanderbilt researchers while driving a nearly 30 percent projected increase in citation impact. The libraries have expanded research intelligence capabilities through bibliometric services, research analytics, essential datasets and research management platforms that strengthen scholarship and intellectual output.
“Jon Shaw has reimagined the very infrastructure on which Vanderbilt’s collective intellectual capacity thrives,” Deputy Provost Tracey George said. “Whether it is expanding digital archive access, driving AI implementation across disciplines or forging strategic partnerships with other libraries, authors and arts organizations, Jon is building on Connie Dowell’s legacy by leading the libraries into their next era as a world-class catalyst of innovation and impact.”
The Heard Libraries are helping to harness the power of artificial intelligence through classroom instruction and the automation of core research platforms like the Vanderbilt Television News Archive and Slave Societies Digital Archive. The Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab for Libraries and Applied Digital Preservation, a partnership with Amazon Web Services, was launched last fall to give undergraduates hands-on learning experiences using AI and cloud technologies. Student research opportunities featuring distinctive library resources, such as the W.T. Bandy Center for Baudelaire and Modern French Studies, the McGee Applied Research Center for Narrative Studies, the Buchanan Library Fellows program and Studio 608, have flourished during Shaw’s tenure. These initiatives have repositioned the libraries as a strategic partner in Vanderbilt’s research enterprise, expanding the university’s capacity to preserve knowledge, accelerate discovery and extend the impact of scholarship well beyond campus.
Shaw’s efforts have initiated global partnerships that leverage Vanderbilt’s expertise in digital preservation and large-scale knowledge stewardship. He helped secure the future of the Biodiversity Heritage Library in collaboration with the Council on Library and Information Resources, launched a mobile history lab to safeguard Indigenous cultures in cooperation with the University of Ottawa and First Nations communities, and entered an agreement with Google Books that will digitize more than half a million unique volumes from the university’s collections. He has elevated Vanderbilt programming through a strengthened partnership with independent bookseller Parnassus Books, bringing prominent authors and thought leaders to campus year-round, and spearheaded efforts to shape the annual Southern Festival of Books into a nationally significant program with the goal of engaging audiences from Nashville to New York City to San Francisco.
Shaw’s leadership builds on the esteemed legacy of Dowell, who served as Vanderbilt’s dean of libraries from 2009 to 2014. Dowell pursued her master’s degree in library science at Peabody College, graduating the same year that Peabody merged with Vanderbilt University. While a student, she worked as a reference assistant in the Central and Science libraries, participated in campus programming, and took additional classes at nearby Fisk University as part of a fellowship supporting her studies. These experiences solidified her appreciation of Vanderbilt and the role the libraries play in university life.
After nearly three decades working in academic libraries across the U.S., Dowell was serving as the library dean at San Diego State University when she returned to Vanderbilt in 2009. Under her guidance, the Heard Libraries undertook a comprehensive study of its spaces and services, with the aim of addressing student needs and engaging the broader community. Dowell oversaw a significant renovation of Central Library that created a more welcoming environment and established the Community Room as a primary venue for gatherings. She expanded and enhanced public programming, launched an active exhibits program and worked to raise librarian and staff salaries. Dowell also forged relationships with national figures like John L. Seigenthaler, the Rev. James Lawson, Lamar Alexander and James Sasser, eventually adding their papers to Vanderbilt’s collections. These materials represent the libraries’ strengths in journalism, civil rights, and Tennessee and national political history and are now among Vanderbilt’s most-accessed collections.
Dowell and Miller’s gift, which will designate the deanship as the Connie Vinita Dowell Dean of Libraries and Letters when fully realized, will support this vital work for years to come.
“Steve and I consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to make this gift, and the fact that it coincides with Jon Shaw’s appointment as dean of libraries and letters is an added honor,” Dowell said. “Jon is one of the finest academic library leaders in the country, and I’ve enjoyed collaborating with him tremendously. Our hope is that this gift will encourage others to support his work, as well as the Vanderbilt libraries.”
Shaw, who served as associate vice provost and deputy university librarian at the University of Pennsylvania, is on numerous national and international advisory boards and committees. His work has helped shape national conversations around scholarly communication, research analytics, digital preservation and the evolving role of research libraries in higher education. His service includes the Association of Research Libraries Board of Directors; the advisory board of Clarivate, a global leader in analytics services; the WashU Libraries’ National Council; the Research Library at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and the scientific board of Revue Baudelaire, among other national and international organizations. He is a frequent invited speaker at universities, research institutes and industry forums across the United States and internationally, advancing Vanderbilt’s leadership in research, scholarly communication and knowledge systems. Shaw was named an Amazon Web Services Education Champion in 2024.
“I am immensely proud to serve as Vanderbilt’s dean of libraries and letters and grateful for the support of Provost Raver, university leadership, and Connie Dowell and Stephen Miller with their transformative gift,” Shaw said. “Libraries are enduring institutions that preserve knowledge, expand access to discovery and connect research with society. Our ambition is to position Vanderbilt as the nation’s leading university for transforming knowledge into lasting public impact. It’s my honor to do this important work.”
