On April 27, Mark Paris started as dean of West Virginia University Libraries and Press, and is already championing a future of innovation and strategy for WVU Libraries — which stewards 2.8 million unique titles, nearly 700 research databases, 245,000 journals and newspapers, and more.
“The future is bright for WVU, and bringing leaders like Mark Paris to our campus is an exciting step,” incoming Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Beverly Wendland said. “Mark’s commitment to our land-grant mission coupled with his proven capacity to collaborate and innovate is an ideal match for this important role. I am looking forward to working with him and watching the Libraries and all of its units continue to flourish.”
As dean, Paris is the chief administrator and strategic leader of WVU Libraries, the West Virginia & Regional History Center, the William A. Neal Museum of the Health Sciences, the WVU Humanities Center, and the WVU Press.
In addition to managing infrastructure to support the University's teaching, research, and land-grant missions, Paris will drive understanding and advocacy for the Libraries and its units, fostering engagement with communities of scholars and creative artists and advancing the library’s contribution to the broader culture through support for research, teaching, collections, and creative expression. He will advance innovation and collaboration in the delivery of resources and services across all campuses and lead philanthropic efforts to enhance the Libraries' role as an intellectual hub.
“Growing up in the rural Midwest and working in both a university library and for a corporate information provider that delivers research databases, journal content, and related resources has shaped how I think about access, partnership, and impact,” Paris said.
I’m excited to join such distinguished colleagues at WVU to advance the land-grant mission and build library and publishing services that serve faculty, students, and communities across West Virginia. Mark Paris, Dean, WVU Libraries
Throughout his career, Paris has focused on positioning libraries and their allied units as strategic partners in advancing research excellence, student success, and the public mission of higher education.
Most recently, he served as the associate university librarian for Scholarly Resources and Discovery at Brandeis University, where he provided strategic leadership for a multimillion-dollar portfolio encompassing collections, scholarly communication, interlibrary loan, metadata, and core library systems. Paris managed complex library operations, including budget and personnel oversight, resource allocation, and external partnerships.
He also led major initiatives to modernize research infrastructure, expand open-access publishing in partnership with faculty and students, and implement data‑driven approaches to collection stewardship and service design.
Prior to that, he spent more than a decade at EBSCO Information Services in product management, competitive analysis, and discovery services — giving him a rare dual perspective on the scholarly communication ecosystem.
Paris holds a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from Simmons University, a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a bachelor’s degree from Lincoln Christian University.
Paris follows Dean Karen Diaz who will retire May 1 after nearly 40 years in higher education and academic libraries. Diaz will work to support Paris’ move into his new role during the last week of April.