Hilary Seo, associate professor and associate dean of curation services, has been appointed interim dean of the University Library, effective July 1.
Hilary Seo
Seo takes over for Beth McNeil, who recently announced her return to Purdue University, where she will serve as dean of university libraries and school of information studies, and Ellis Norton Professor of Library Science.
"Hilary is very well-respected within the university communities and has been a positive force for change in the University Library," said senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert. "I am confident she will maintain the positive momentum generated by dean Beth McNeil over the last four years as we transition to our next permanent dean."
Seo, who joined Iowa State in 2003, earned a bachelor's degree in physical anthropology from the University of California, Santa Barbara; a master's in library science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and a certificate of advanced study in preservation administration from the University of Texas, Austin. Her career has included positions at the Georgetown University Law Library, Washington, D.C., the University of Texas, Austin, and an internship at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities' book conservation laboratory, Los Angeles.
"I am humbled to be chosen to lead my colleagues as interim dean," Seo said. "I look forward to working together to build on our efforts to serve Iowa State's students, faculty and staff, and to communicate the value of the library to the state of Iowa."
A national search for the next permanent dean will launch in the coming weeks. Bill Graves, dean of the Graduate College, and Laura Jolly, dean of College of Human Sciences, will chair the search committee.
