University of Pennsylvania Provost Wendell Pritchett today announced the appointment of Constantia Constantinou as the H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries, effective Aug. 1.
Constantinou will replace Rogers, who has held the position since 2004 and is retiring after a 43-year career at Penn.
“Constantia is a global leader in integrating the work of a large university library system with the wider academic mission of a university,” Pritchett says. “In particular, she has been a pioneer throughout her career in developing digital, multimedia, and technology initiatives in large university library systems and in advancing partnerships among libraries, museums, and universities.”
For the past five years, Constantinou has been Dean of University Libraries at Stony Brook University of The State University of New York (SUNY), as well as a SUNY Distinguished Librarian. She was the Director of the Stephen B. Luce Library at SUNY-Maritime College the previous 12 years.
She created an ambitious strategic plan for the Stony Brook Libraries, redefining the libraries as a hub of collaboration in scholarly and digital initiatives and working with students, faculty, researchers, and staff across the university, especially in developing the digital humanities, open access, and a Center for Scholarly Communication.
Constantinou began her career at New York University’s Elmer Holmes Bobst Library and has brought her focus on digital and multimedia technology to leadership positions at the City University of New York, at Rutgers University Libraries, and as Director of the Helen T. Arrigoni Technology Library at Iona College.
Twice named a Fulbright Scholar, she is an active member of the global university library community, publishing articles and reviews, delivering conference presentations around the world, and serving in leadership positions for the Association of Research Libraries, Online Computer Library Catalogue, and International Federation of Library Associations, among others.
In addition, she is an accomplished classical guitarist who studied at the Royal School of Music in London before earning a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in music theory from Queens College of the City University of New York, where she also earned her master’s of library science degree.
“I am confident that Constantia will bring tremendous energy and vision to her work at the Penn Libraries, building on Carton’s legacy and collaborating with the many wonderful partners that she will meet across our university,” Pritchett says. “I am grateful to the Board of Overseers, who has recognized Carton’s tenure with a generous gift that names the Directorship in his honor, and to the members of the ad hoc consultative committee who helped us arrive at this outstanding result.”
