A former Missouri State University Meyer Library employee will return to Springfield as dean of libraries for MSU.
David Richards started working at the university in 1997 and served as head of Meyer Library’s Special Collections and Archives until 2016. He left to become dean of library services at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Criss Library.
According to Missouri State, while in Nebraska, Richards implemented UNO Libraries’ Open Educational Resources initiative in collaboration with Open Nebraska, a move it said resulted in student savings of more than $2 million over a six-year period. And, during his leadership of the Criss Library, fundraising milestones include the library’s largest in-kind gift and one of its largest support gifts.
While he was at Missouri State, Richards helped launch the university’s “Rare Wine, Rare Books,” event, which continues each summer.
A press release states that Richards "brings great expertise to this role, along with enthusiasm for Missouri State’s mission and our libraries’ place in the cultural life of the Ozarks."
Richards holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a Master of Arts in European History from Western Illinois University. He also has a Master of Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University.
He said in a statement that it's "a rare and humbling privilege to return to an institution where one’s early career thrived. I’m honored by this opportunity to give back and serve an institution that enabled my career to flourish for almost 20 years. I’m thrilled to reunite with the Meyer Library team, Missouri State students, faculty and staff, and with Springfield!”
Richards will begin the job on July 14. He replaces Tom Peters who retired last December.
