Pedro Raposo Named Permanent Head of University Libraries

This message was shared with faculty and professional staff members on April 3, 2026.

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce Pedro Raposo, PhD, has been appointed University Librarian and Associate Vice Provost for Libraries, Archives, and Collections, effective April 1, 2026.

Dr. Raposo has served in this role in an interim capacity since February 1, 2025. Since then, the Drexel Libraries has streamlined several of its operations and services, completed the integration of the former Learning Resources Center at Salus University, and expanded libraries' support for Open Access publishing.

In response to student demand, new group study rooms were added at the W. W. Hagerty Library. Dr. Raposo also launched the Library Exhibit Initiative, which features students' interactions with Drexel's unique archives and collections, and a feasibility study with Drexel Real Estate and Facilities exploring the consolidation of Drexel archival collections at Hagerty Library.

Prior to accepting this permanent role, Dr. Raposo served as Martha Hamilton and I. Wistar Morris III Executive Director of the Library & Archives of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University and as an invited professor in the Department of History. In his new role, Dr. Raposo will continue to collaborate closely with the Academy's Library & Archives to share services and resources, promote the use of Academy collections in Drexel teaching, and expand access to the collections for the general public and a global research community engaged with the natural and environmental sciences and humanities.

Before joining Drexel, Dr. Raposo was curator and director of collections at Chicago's Adler Planetarium, where his exhibition work was awarded the 2016 Great Exhibitions Prize of the British Society for the History of Science; a researcher and lecturer at the University of Lisbon, Portugal; an education officer at the Astronomical Observatory of Lisbon; and a visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Germany. He received a PhD in the history of science from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, where he was awarded the Magellan Prize for his doctoral project.

Dr. Raposo will continue to work closely with Senior Vice Provost Ros Remer, PhD, to align and coordinate Drexel's libraries, collections, and archives, enriching the University's teaching, learning and research mission.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Raposo on this appointment.

Sincerely,

Paul E. Jensen, PhD
Executive Vice President
Nina Henderson Provost