June 12, 2025

Dear Members of Our Campus Community,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Todd Grappone as our next University Librarian, effective July 1, 2025.

Todd is currently an Associate University Librarian (AUL) at UCLA Library, where he has served since 2010. In this position, he is one of the senior administrators in the UCLA Library, and is responsible for leadership, management, and policy and planning for multiple enterprise- and system-wide departments and leadership groups. He has led planning efforts such as developing the Research Data Roadmap, and serving on a select committee to develop the new UCLA Strategic Plan. Todd has served in a number of leadership roles at UCLA, including AUL for Digital Initiatives and Information Technology, Research, and Development. In 2023, he became Interim AUL for Collections, the Data Science Center, and Resource Acquisitions & Metadata Services, which includes oversight of Scholarly Communications.

Todd’s background makes him an excellent fit to lead our library. He brings a dedicated commitment to advancing scholarship and research, expanding library access and services, and implementing new technologies. He has worked to develop and oversee many large-scale initiatives in digital preservation, global collections development, and post-custodial community archives. Throughout his career, Todd has demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing scholarship and research, developing connections with the university’s research faculty, expanding library access and services, and implementing long-term technology goals.

As a leader at the intersection of libraries and technology, Todd has developed global cultural heritage preservation programs such as the Modern Endangered Archives Program, the International Digital Ephemera Project, and the Sinai Palimpsest Project, which used cutting-edge imaging technologies to reveal texts not seen for centuries. Most recently, he built a project to preserve damaged medieval manuscripts in hidden collections in Europe.

Previously, Todd served in library and IT leadership roles at Stanford University School of Medicine, the University of Southern California, and Occidental College in Los Angeles. Todd holds a Master of Science degree in Library and Information Technology from the University of Pittsburgh.

I would like to sincerely thank the chair of our search advisory committee, Professor Beth Digeser, and all the members listed below, as well as Executive Vice Chancellor David Marshall, Academic Senate Chair Rita Raley, and our many other campus colleagues who participated in the search and recruitment process. We are also deeply grateful for the dedicated leadership that has been provided during the interim period by our Interim University Librarian Alan Grosenheider since the retirement of Kristin Antelman.

Todd’s clear vision and dynamic leadership will be an asset for our campus. Please join me in warmly welcoming him to our campus community.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor

Search Advisory Committee for University Librarian

Beth Digeser, Chair; Professor, History
Forrest Brewer, Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Josh Bright, Associate Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Inés Casillas, Professor, Chicana and Chicano Studies
Jim Donelan, Continuing Lecturer, College of Creative Studies, English, and Writing Program
Waverly Duck, Professor, Sociology
Jennifer King, Professor, Geography
Mary Michael, Graduate Student Association representative
Jeffrey Milem, Jules Zimmer Dean, Gevirtz School of Education
Andrew Plantinga, Professor, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management
Marisol Ramos, Librarian and Selector for Latin American & Iberian Studies and Ethnic & Gender Studies Collections
Maria Segall, Associated Students representative
Heather Silva, Staff representative; Senior Director of Development, University Library
Ambuj Singh, Distinguished Professor, Computer Science
Sven Spieker, Professor, Germanic & Slavic Studies; Chair, Academic Senate Council on Research and Instructional Resources
David Stuart, Chair and Professor, Physics
Lidia Uziel, Associate University Librarian for Research Resources & Scholarly Communication