Valeda F. Dent Named as Vice Provost of Libraries and Museum

Dear Emory Community,

I am excited to announce the appointment of Valeda F. Dent PhD as Emory University’s inaugural vice provost of libraries and museum. Valeda comes to Emory from Hunter College of the City University of New York in New York City, where she serves as acting provost and vice president, academic affairs as well as vice president, student success and learning innovation. Expected to formally take on the role in July 2022, Valeda will begin to engage with libraries and museum staff in a consultative way in the new year.

The vice provost of libraries and museum is a new position at Emory. Valeda will unite Emory Libraries and the Michael C. Carlos Museum under a new leadership structure, working closely with the Office of the Provost and providing support in planning for the future of both areas, including advancing shared discovery and conservation of the university’s extraordinary collections while continuing to expand access, programming, and community engagement. 

As a librarian who has consistently held leadership positions of increasing responsibility, Valeda notes, “Leadership of today’s academic libraries and campus-based museums is anything but routine. These entities continue to evolve; thus, one’s ability to anticipate emerging trends and evaluate their potential is key.” Among those movements? “The socialization of library and museum resources (open access), growing collections that support social inclusion and justice, designing empirical models for demonstrating the value of the library and the museum, and emerging and entrepreneurial technology are all spaces where rich opportunities for dialogue and collaboration reside.”

In her role at Emory, Valeda will help shape the libraries’ and museum’s support of the student flourishing and AI.Humanity initiatives. “Aligning teaching, learning, and research opportunities with the mission of Emory University,” Valeda remarks, “can help build a community of caring, well-informed, and civically engaged students, and the museum and libraries can play a pivotal role.”

Dent is an active scholar who travels, conducts and publishes high-impact research, and presents globally. She has a robust and consistent record of scholarly achievement in the areas of chronic poverty and literacy, rural African libraries, and literacy culture development and is a Fulbright Scholar.   

Emory Libraries and the Carlos Museum are at the heart of Emory in both our research and teaching missions. We recognize that our libraries and museum are critical to our mission of discovering and teaching new knowledge in the service of humanity, so the next leader of our libraries and museum will play an important leadership role on our campus. Valeda is a proven, mindful leader who understands university systems and places a premium on libraries and museums as places of cultural understanding and responsibility. We’re fortunate to have her lead us into this new era for the libraries and museum. 

Prior to her appointments at Hunter College, Valeda served as dean and university librarian at St. John’s University in Queens, New York, and dean and chief operating officer for the libraries at Long Island University. She holds a PhD in information science from Long Island University, an MSW and an MILS from the University of Michigan, and a BA in film studies from Hunter College.

Warmly,

Ravi V. Bellamkonda
Provost and Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs