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Over the course of his seven-year tenure, David Seaman has always served as dean of libraries at Syracuse University, with an occasional stint as the interim dean for the School of Information Studies.

Seaman, who has served as dean of libraries since 2015, first assumed the role of interim dean in 2019 after former dean Liz Liddy left the position. Seaman is now fulfilling the role once again after Raj Dewan, who took over in 2020, stepped down this past May.

As he reenters the position, Seaman said he’s relied heavily on his relationships within the iSchool to prepare for success in the job.

“In order to be successful, the iSchool faculty and staff have had to be willing to take me back into their community and partner with me, it’s a very tight-knit group,” Seaman said. “It’s not a huge school. Everybody knows everybody, and I felt very welcome.”

Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a professor in the iSchool and senior associate dean for academic and faculty affairs, worked with Seaman during both of his terms as interim dean. This time around, she said she’s been working closely with Seaman to rehire staff and prepare the Academic Strategic Plan.

“Especially in this transitional state of leadership, (we are) having an opportunity for the faculty to really think about, ‘what are our strengths? And what makes us kind of a unique organization compared to other schools of information studies?’” Stromer-Galley said.

At first, Seaman questioned whether splitting his time between being the iSchool and SU Libraries would have any detrimental effects. But he ultimately decided he’d be able to balance the two, and strengthen programs and opportunities for students through both roles.

Seaman has expanded the SU library collections and open access data services. He also helped introduce undergraduate services such as CLASS, the undergraduate research center and the Blackstone LaunchPad, which are all based in Bird Library. He also wants to further use SU’s Special Collections in undergraduate teaching.

“We’ve done a lot, we’ve been very well supported by the university,” Seaman said. “It’s great to work in a place where the university, at the highest level, understands the value of the library, both as a physical space and as a virtual space.”

Gretchen Ritter, SU’s Vice Chancellor and Provost, said Seaman is uniquely qualified to serve as the iSchool’s interim dean. Before coming to SU, Seaman held leadership positions at libraries for the University of Virginia and Dartmouth College as well as at the Digital Library Federation, which maintains digital materials from different universities and libraries, including SU.

“He has an unmatched breadth of experience in working in a collaborative academic environment and knows the qualities of leadership expected by the iSchool and its partners,” Ritter said in an SU news release.

Last year, the iSchool overhauled two of its master’s programs in library and information science and information systems. It also re-launched a doctorate program in professional studies. Seaman and the rest of the iSchool faculty have been working to hire staff and recruit students for these now-state-approved programs, Stromer-Galley said. The new interim dean is also working to prepare a new dean for the school to fill his own role.

Now that the semester is underway, Seaman says he divides his time between Hinds Hall and Bird Library. While he’s constantly moving, Seaman said he’s able to interact with students as much as possible.

“My job for the iSchool and the library is to advocate for their needs,” Seaman said. “The hope is to leave a fully functional iSchool for the next dean of the school with a renewed sense of mission and strategic direction so the new dean can take it to new heights.”

Published on September 13, 2022 at 11:40 pm

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu