Dean of Z. Smith Reynolds Library plans to retire

After ten years of outstanding leadership, Z. Smith Reynolds Library Dean Tim Pyatt has announced that he will not seek another term as dean after his second five-year term ends on June 30, 2025. He will step down as dean, and, after a sabbatical year, retire from the University in 2026.

Since joining Wake Forest in 2015, Dean Pyatt has led many accomplishments; including, establishing services supporting open-access publishing, expanding the library’s instructional curriculum, increasing funding and community outreach, renewing library spaces, and forging impactful campus partnerships.

“While Dean Pyatt’s leadership will be greatly missed, he remains fully committed to advancing key library priorities during the 2024-2025 academic year,” said President Susan R. Wente. “The ZSR Library is such a central hub of our education and research, scholarship and creative activity missions. I am excited about ZSR’s new strategic framework, Informing Our Future which supports the University’s overall strategy in Framing Our Future. Together with Provost Gillespie, Dean Pyatt and the new dean, we will be focused on increasing fundraising to support library scholarships and academic initiatives, continuing to improve study and collaboration spaces, and investing in employee development.”

“There is much to look forward to next year as we start implementation of our strategic framework,” noted Pyatt.  “I am proud of all my team and I have accomplished together over the last nine years, but my focus for the coming year will be on what we will accomplish next. It is an exciting time to be at Wake Forest, and I look forward to building on that excitement in my final year as dean.”

“Dean Pyatt and I began our deanships together, and we have taught together,“ said Provost Michele Gillespie. “I could not be more grateful for his unwavering commitment to student learning and academic excellence. His leadership was instrumental during Covid when he and his team ensured most library services remained available to the whole community despite the pandemic. In addition to leading the library, he has been instrumental in shaping University-wide commitments like Commencement Planning; the Slavery, Race, and Memory Project; and Wake Forest’s participation in the ACCelerate Festivals at the Smithsonian. We will continue to rely on his leadership and support during this time of transition.  The library’s strategic priorities developed this past year will ensure that ZSR is well-positioned for continued success for years to come.”

A search committee to identify the next dean of the library will be assembled over the summer, with a national search to begin this fall.