The Duke University Libraries are pleased to announce the appointment of L. Blue Dean as Associate University Librarian for Development, effective March 28, 2022.
Reporting to the University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs, Dean will serve as a member of the Libraries’ Executive Group and lead organizational efforts to sustain and expand philanthropic support for one of the nation’s top research library systems.
A seasoned fundraiser with more than twenty years of experience in higher education and the nonprofit sector, including prior appointments at Duke, Dean comes to us from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she has served as Executive Director for Library Development since 2019. Previously, she was the Executive Director of Development for Duke University’s Department of Medicine and the Duke Heart Center, earning a strong record of progressively successful fundraising leadership over eight years.
Dean has also led development efforts at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville—her alma mater, where she earned a B.A. in English—as the Director of Development for the University Libraries and, later, the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. She has also held fundraising positions at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and oversaw the volunteer and visitor experience at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
During her time at UNC-Chapel Hill, Dean served as a member of the University Libraries Leadership Team and successfully raised over $20 million for the Libraries. At the start of the pandemic, she co-chaired a steering committee that determined how to reopen the libraries and provide services for students, faculty, and the community while prioritizing the safety of library staff. She also served on the University Development Office’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and on the taskforce that launched the OneCarolina Pilot Mentorship Program.
“I look forward to welcoming Blue to the Duke University Libraries, and I am excited about the energy and experience she will bring to this position,” said Deborah Jakubs, the Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs. “This is a time of transition for the Libraries,” said Jakubs, who will retire from Duke in May 2022, “and Blue’s track record as a successful fundraiser with strong connections at Duke and a passion for libraries will go far to ensure that a world-class university like Duke will continue to have a world-class library at its center.”
“I am excited to return to Duke and am especially excited and honored to work with the Duke University Libraries,” said Dean. “You cannot have a top research university without a top research library, and I look forward to partnering with alumni, families, and friends to continue the strong tradition of supporting Duke’s libraries. A philanthropic investment in the Duke University Libraries is an investment in every student, faculty member, and researcher in all of Duke’s schools, departments, and programs.”
In her new role, Dean succeeds Tom Hadzor, who will retire on May 17, 2022. Hadzor began his career at Duke in 1996 as Associate Director and Executive Director of Development and Communications for the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. In 2003, he became Associate Dean for Alumni and Development at the Duke Law School, where he led its building campaign. In 2006, he joined the Duke University Libraries and has served as the Associate University Librarian for Development ever since. During that time, he has raised over $120 million for the Duke University Libraries. Until his official retirement from Duke in May, Hadzor will continue to work for the Libraries in a special capacity, raising major gifts for the Lilly Library renovation and expansion project.