Unsworth nominated by President Obama to serve on National Council on Humanities

John Unsworth, vice provost for Library and Technology Services and chief information officer at Brandeis, has been nominated by President Obama to serve as a member on the National Council on the Humanities.

The Council consists of 26 “distinguished private citizens” who are handpicked by the president and must be approved by the Senate, according to the National Endowment for the Humanities’ website. The Council serves to advise the chairman of the Endowment. Members are appointed for a term of six years each.

Unsworth declined to comment on his nomination, due to the fact that he is not yet an official member of the Council.

“I am grateful these accomplished men and women have agreed to join this Administration, and I’m confident they will serve ably in these important roles,” said Obama in a Sept. 12 White House press release. “I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

Unsworth joined Brandeis this past February, succeeding Perry Hanson in his position. His appointment as vice provost and chief information officer was the summation of an eight-month, nationwide search conducted by an 18-member committee of students, staff, and faculty, where he beat out dozens of other applicants. Before joining the Brandeis community, Unsworth served as dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 2003 to 2012.

Unsworth was also previously a tenured member of the University of Virginia English department and Director of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia.

—Joe Crook