Will Sexton Appointed Senior Director of Information Technology

Will Sexton, Senior Director of Information Technology

The Duke University Libraries are pleased to announce the appointment of Will Sexton as Senior Director of Information Technology, effective August 1.

Reporting to the University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs, Sexton will provide strategic leadership for information technology across the Duke University Libraries, including infrastructure, networks, user-facing systems and applications, and IT project management. He will also oversee three teams of project managers and application and user experience developers within the Information Technology division, and he will represent the Libraries in regional consortia, partnerships, and collaborative technology initiatives across Duke.

Sexton has led the Libraries’ IT division in an interim capacity since last February, following the departure of Timothy McGeary, who was appointed Dean of University of Rochester Libraries. He has worked in the Duke University Libraries for over two decades in progressively responsible IT roles, starting out as Metadata Architect/Programmer in 2002, helping to develop the Libraries’ digital collections and archival finding aids. From there, he was eventually promoted to Head of Digital Projects and Production Services (2013-2018), and later Head of Software Strategies and Platforms (2018-2026), before assuming his current responsibilities.

Sexton brings to his new role substantial experience leading and managing library IT operations. He has organized, sponsored, and consulted on a wide variety of major technology projects at Duke, including the Duke Research Data Repository, Duke Digital Repository, DukeSpace, SNCC Digital Gateway, papyri.info, and numerous large-scale digital collections. Since 2025, he has served as a team lead for the Compute and Data Services Alliance for Research (CDSA), a university-wide investment in new and enhanced research data tools and services, coordinated by the Office of Information Technology, Office of Research and Innovation, the Libraries.

Sexton holds a bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in information science from UNC-Chapel Hill, as well as a master’s in creative writing from Hollins University.

“Will is a thoughtful and experienced IT leader at Duke who understands the complexity of library services and our essential role in the research enterprise,” said Joseph A. Salem, Jr., Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs. “I have greatly appreciated his willingness to lead the IT division during a transitional period this year and look forward to working with him in this important leadership role on an ongoing basis.”

“It’s an honor to take on the responsibility of leading our talented team in Information Technology and directing our contribution to the mission of the Libraries,” said Sexton. “The work that our analysts and managers do is essential, and I’m excited about the opportunity to shape the new division and advance our collaborations with partners in the Libraries and across the university.”