Meriam Library has undergone a leadership change, as Provost Leslie Cornick will assume the role of Interim Dean Patrick Newell and have administrative and operational control of the library. 

The news was announced on Tuesday via an email sent out to deans, department chairs and librarian staff. 

“… effective today, the Office of the Provost will assume responsibility for the administration and operations of Meriam Library.” 

The Orion attempted to reach Cornick – who is away from the office traveling – through both email and phone. The Orion also attempted to call the Office of the Provost and Executive Assistant to the Provost Holly Ferguson. Both were unreachable. 

Former Interim Dean Patrick Newell was only in his position for about three months. The Orion also made an effort to contact him via email and Instagram. Over email, The Orion received an automated reply that Newell was out of the office. 

When asked about Newell, Librarian Marc Langston shared, “As far as I know, he hasn’t been at work this week.” Langston also expressed that “the library has gone too long without stable leadership at the top.” 

However, Newell is still a Chico State employee, according to Director of Public Relations Andrew Staples. 

When asked to provide a timeline of the decision to change the leadership of Meriam Library, Staples provided no insight. It remains unclear as to why the leadership change was not announced to library staff or the campus community prior to the shift. 

The Orion attempted to contact multiple individuals within the library; however, most never responded.

The Orion did receive a response from Head of Library Research, Instruction, and Outreach Irene Korber, who declined to comment.

“I’m not at liberty to comment on any ongoing personnel matters at the university,” Korber said.

 Langston was the only person from the library that The Orion was able to get answers from. 

When asked about the timeline, he said, “All I know is we’ve been told that the Provost will fill the role of Library Dean, and will go forward with the process of hiring a new dean.”

The Orion asked Staples to confirm if the University will continue the search for a new dean, “The University will announce its plans for long-term leadership at the library at a later date,” he said. “Nothing about the library’s services to the campus community will change, and we remain grateful to the library’s faculty and staff for their continued dedication in making it an academic hub on campus.”

Staples was asked to clarify if the library will have a new dean, but a response had not been provided at the time of publication.

On May 8, the Academic Senate passed a resolution in support of the Meriam Library. The resolution stated its concerns about the lack of recognition and support the library has received from the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost. 

“The library has been notable in its absence from the 2024-2025 campus reimagining efforts, and the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost have avoided including the library as a central academic resource in long-range planning and budgeting effort.” 

The same resolution also called on the Academic Senate to support “… the academic freedom of library faculty in making collection development and policy decisions, along with the creation of delivery of curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular programming … free from political pressures, censorship, and administrative control and overreach.” 

The Orion will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.

Chris Hutton can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].