Dear Members of the Brown University Community,

We write to share news that Associate Professor of History Neil Safier has decided to conclude his term as the Beatrice and Julio Mario Santo Domingo Director and Librarian of the John Carter Brown Library, effective January 4, 2021. After seven years leading the JCB, and accomplishing many of the goals he established in this role, Neil plans to devote his full time and attention to several research projects that he paused when assuming the directorship, as well as to teaching. With an appointment in the Department of History and affiliations with the Department of Hispanic Studies, the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative, we are delighted that he will continue to offer important contributions as a member of Brown’s faculty. We will launch a national search immediately to identify his successor. In the interim, University Librarian Joseph Meisel and Deputy University Librarian Nora Dimmock will work closely with the JCB staff to continue the Library’s excellent work.

A 1991 graduate of the College, and a former fellow of the JCB, Neil returned to Brown in 2013 to assume the role of JCB Director and Librarian.  Since that time, Neil and his JCB colleagues have made significant progress growing the Library’s renowned collection and enhancing its reputation as a leading international center for advanced research in history and the humanities.

Under Neil’s leadership, the Library increased student engagement and inter-institutional collaboration, becoming a campus hub for interdisciplinary exploration and dynamic programming with campus partners ranging from the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice to the Joukowsky Institute. In 2014, the JCB launched the first of several significant academic initiatives: The Indigenous Studies Initiative, highlighting new approaches to the JCB’s world-class Indigenous Languages collection. Following this was a four-part exhibition series, “The Four Elements,” which explored early environmental history through the cultural significance of earth, air, fire, and water to the diverse populations of the Americas, and included artistic and scholarly collaborations with IBES. The most recent was the African Americas Initiative, launched in 2019, which highlights the many ways that African cultures and African peoples contributed to the history and culture of the early Americas.

Strengthening the Library’s access, reach and impact has been a JCB priority. During Neil’s tenure, the JCB’s renowned fellowship program welcomed more than 350 research fellows from 25 countries to Providence and to Brown, and expanded to include new collaborative opportunities that encouraged use of the collection by non-traditional scholars and artists-in-residence. Digitizing the collection and launching a state-of-the-art website with a new visual identity have expanded global access, while collaborations with partners such as the Biblioteca Francisco de Burgoa (Oaxaca), the Biblioteca Brasiliana Mindlin (São Paulo), and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France have raised the Library’s standing internationally.

Philanthropic support for the Library has also expanded, and Neil was instrumental in securing major grants from the Mellon Foundation for digital outreach programs, the Champlin Foundation for infrastructural improvements, and the National Endowment for the Humanities for public-facing digital projects and long-term fellowships.  

Finally, with the JCB Board of Governors, Neil has helped to reconceptualize the governance model for the Library and strengthened its relationship with the University. This included the establishment of the John Carter Brown Library Research Foundation, which serves to support fellowships and other programs of the JCB. According to one Governor, Olivier Berggruen ’86, “The JCB significantly expanded its reputation as an institution of global significance under Neil’s leadership, making great strides in ushering in new standards of scholarship and accessibility.”

We are grateful to Neil and to the entire JCB community for these achievements.  Please join us in thanking Neil for his work, and for the continued contributions he will make as a member of the Brown faculty.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson, President
Richard M. Locke, Provost