Office of the Dean

K. Matthew Dames, a nationally recognized scholar in copyright law and an experienced innovator in research libraries, joined the University of Notre Dame as the Edward H. Arnold Dean for the Hesburgh Libraries in August 2021. Soon after, Dames added the University of Notre Dame Press to his leadership portfolio.

As chief executive of the Hesburgh Libraries, Dr. Dames leads more than 175 library faculty and staff who advance teaching, learning, and research at Notre Dame. The library system features the flagship Hesburgh Library (which houses the Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship, the Medieval Institute Library, the University Archives, Rare Books and Special Collections, and the Visual Resources Center) and three branch libraries (Architecture Library, Business Library, and Music Library).

Established in 1949, the University of Notre Dame Press is the largest Catholic university press in the world and primarily publishes in areas that align with the academic strengths of the University, including religion, theology, history, philosophy, political science and theory, medieval studies, Irish studies, Latin American studies, and international relations.

Throughout his career, Dames has cultivated strong collaborations inside and outside of university environments, implementing innovative programs to enhance staff development and successfully securing resources to advance transformative library initiatives.

Previously, Dames served as the university librarian for Boston University Libraries where he was integral to BU’s strategic planning process, chairing a committee charged with developing the library system’s 2030 priorities. While at BU, Dames developed and sponsored the In House Leadership Development Program which was the first award for executive talent development in academic libraries from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Before joining Boston University, Dames was an associate librarian for scholarly resources and services at Georgetown University where he led a division that included special collections, principal collections, branch libraries, and the copyright and scholarly communications office, and played an integral role in advancing Georgetown’s slavery, memory, and reconciliation efforts. He also served as interim dean of libraries and university librarian for Syracuse University. Dames began his academic library career as founding director of Syracuse University’s Copyright and Information Policy Office, one of the nation’s first full-time university copyright offices. Syracuse’s copyright policy, which he authored, has been copied in full or in part by more than 20 other U.S. universities.

Dames is a member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and became its 61st president in October 2021. He chairs the ARL Task Force on Structural Equity and Inclusion, hosted and helped produce the 2021 ARL Fall Forum, and has served on the ARL Board’s Governance Committee. He has served as a career coach for the ARL Leadership and Career Development Program and was an ARL Leadership Fellow in 2018. He also served on the Board of Directors’ Executive Committee for NorthEast Research Libraries (2018-2021) and as a past board member of Reveal Digital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Dames earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Baruch College of the City University of New York, as well as a master’s degree in information studies and a doctoral degree in information science and technology from Syracuse University. He earned his Juris Doctor from Northeastern University. Dr. Dames continues to conduct research on copyright law, policy, and history, emphasizing culture and norms of the media industries, and is an attorney and member in good standing of the Bar of Maryland.

Alicia Bates, Ed.D., joined the Hesburgh Libraries as the Advisor to the Edward H. Arnold Dean, Hesburgh Libraries and University of Notre Dame Press in September 2022. As de facto chief of staff, Dr. Bates advises and supports the Dean in all aspects of the administrative and executive operations of the Hesburgh Libraries and University of Notre Dame Press. Her responsibilities include advising the Dean about and managing relationships and activities within the Hesburgh Libraries and for myriad stakeholders; serving as a conduit between the Office of the Dean and external University stakeholders; managing special organizational- and University-level projects on the Dean’s behalf; and collaborating to lead, manage, and assess the Hesburgh Libraries’ strategic framework process.

Bates has more than a decade’s worth of experience in higher education through expanding roles that have developed her expertise in several areas including strategic planning, assessment, leadership training, University partnerships, and stakeholder engagement. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association for Campus Activities where she helps to lead association strategy, establish educational priorities, and promote student learning and staff development.

Michelle Budak, MBA candidate, joined the Hesburgh Libraries as the Senior Administrative Assistant to the Edward H. Arnold Dean after serving in an interim capacity for nearly three months. Ms. Budak’s primary responsibilities include managing the dean’s appointment calendar and travel arrangements, working with the Advisor to the Dean to help manage executive projects and priorities, and working with the communications director to help develop and distribute executive communications.

With her appointment in February 2022, Budak became a member of the Hesburgh Libraries Executive Team, the first time that the Senior Administrative Assistant has been a member of the Libraries’ senior management team. Prior to joining the Hesburgh Libraries she worked in Notre Dame’s Office of Institutional Equity.

Mark Dehmlow has spent more than 25 years working in higher education technology across several functions; he became the associate university librarian for the Digital Strategies and Technology division at the Hesburgh Libraries in August 2023.

As chief of the Digital Strategies and Technology division, Dehmlow serves as the Hesburgh Libraries' chief technology officer, managing a division that specializes in library applications, web and software engineering, support and solutions analysis, enterprise systems, and digital scholarship. He leads diverse and talented teams to develop and sustain effective technological and pedagogical solutions that advance teaching, learning, and research.

In his role, Dehmlow partners with both library and campus stakeholders to make key service and resource decisions and solve multi-faceted, enterprise-wide problems. Strategic threads throughout Dehmlow’s experience have been his commitment to a cohesive, intuitive user experience, robust cross-organizational collaboration, and technology advancement in alignment with library and institutional goals.

Since joining Notre Dame and the Hesburgh Libraries in 2001, Dehmlow has held several management and leadership roles in the web, software, information technology, and digital services arenas of the research library.

Prior to joining the Hesburgh Libraries, Dehmlow worked at the University of Maine in the University IT services and in the Fogler Library.

Dehmlow’s 25 years of publishing and professional service have earned him a national and international network of research library and technology colleagues. He formerly sat on the International Group of Ex Libris Users steering committee, is a member of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) Information Discovery and Interchange Leadership Committee, and serves as the president of the Academic Libraries of Indiana.

His University service work includes University Council for Academic Technologies Subcommittee on Academic Software, Smart Storage Program, Campus Wireless Planning Committee, Campus IT Governance, and Academic IT Directors. Most recently, Dehmlow was a member of the Hesburgh Libraries Strategic Planning Liaison Team which developed the libraries’ new strategic framework.

Dehmlow earned bachelor of the arts degrees in mathematics and English with concentrations in comparative literature and creative writing from the University of Maine, as well as a master of science degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois. His current research interests are trends in information technology, technology standards, technology management, mentorship, and digital scholarship.

Erika Hosselkus has spent more than a decade working in the academic core of higher education; she became the associate university librarian for the Scholarly Resources and Services division in August 2023.

As chief of the Scholarly Resources and Services division, Hosselkus leads Hesburgh Libraries’ largest division of faculty and staff. Her portfolio includes research collections, special collections and archives, public and user services, metadata, and preservation. She oversees partnerships and services that support Notre Dame’s commitment to providing an elite undergraduate education, its growing emphasis on rigorous graduate education, and research on and beyond campus.

Prior to her associate university librarian appointment, Hosselkus served as strategic planning implementation project manager and special collections curator for Latin American, Iberian, and Latino/a collections. She is also a fellow of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies.

Hosselkus joined Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries in 2016 as a Rare Books and Special Collections curator, developing a world-class Latin American collection for this fast-growing area of study. Since then, she has taken on expanded roles in the Libraries and created partnerships in teaching and learning across campus.

She has collaborated with Notre Dame faculty to connect students with rare books and manuscripts and teaches courses on Spanish paleography and the history of collecting. She has also curated several major physical and digital exhibitions of Latin American and early modern European materials, making Hesburgh Libraries’ distinctive collections accessible to campus and a global research community. She served on the University Committee on Women Faculty and Students and, most recently, was a member of the Hesburgh Libraries Strategic Planning Liaison Team, which developed the Libraries’ new strategic framework.

Before joining Notre Dame, Hosselkus served as an associate professor of history with tenure and coordinator of Graduate Studies and Latin American Studies at Southeast Missouri State University.

Hosselkus holds a Ph.D. in history and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from Tulane University. Her current research interests include strategic planning in academic research libraries, the development of print culture in colonial Latin America, and nineteenth- and twentieth-century histories of collecting and exhibiting. Her most recent publication explores the origins and movements of components of the Hesburgh Libraries’ impressive José Durand Peruvian History Collection.

As Unit Head for User Education and Engagement in the Teaching, Research & User (TRU) Services program, Elizabeth collaborates with library faculty and campus faculty to develop creative and innovative ways of fostering information literacy skills for undergraduate students. She also serves as the library liaison to the Writing & Rhetoric program. Elizabeth holds a Master's of Library and Information Science from the University of Missouri, an M.A. in French & Francophone Studies from The University of Iowa, and a B.A. in French and International Studies from Illinois Wesleyan University.

As a member of the executive leadership team, Tara helps to shape and implement the overall vision, strategic plan, and related strategic initiatives for the Hesburgh Libraries.

She also develops and executes integrated marketing communications strategies to highlight the vital contributions the Libraries make to teaching and research and connect stakeholders to library expertise, services, resources, and special programs that accelerate learning and advance scholarship.

To this end, Tara works across several areas, including strategic planning, brand development, digital marketing, event marketing, social media, public relations, content development, web design and graphic design. Within the Libraries, she leads and consults with multidisciplinary teams in support of core programs and priority initiatives. She also works in collaboration with campus partners, including the schools and colleges, centers and institutes, University Development, Alumni Association and University Communications to advance the mission of the libraries and shared institutional goals.

Tara is a graduate of University of Notre Dame and holds a bachelor of fine arts degree with majors in graphic design/advertising, art history, and Arts and Letters Program for Administrators (ALPA). She also earned a master of science degree from Northwestern University studying integrated marketing communications.

Katy Orenchuk has joined the Hesburgh Libraries team as our Academic Advancement Officer. She currently serves as the Senior Director, Academic Advancement for University Relations.

Ms. Orenchuk works closely with the Edward H. Arnold Dean, the Hesburgh Libraries Executive Team, and other Hesburgh Libraries’ stakeholders to help define and achieve our fundraising goals in the University’s forthcoming new capital campaign, in alignment with our strategic priorities and values.

Marcy Simons, MLS, is responsible for optimizing the Hesburgh Libraries’ approach to recruiting, retaining, and guiding individuals to work effectively individually and collectively. She serves as the Dean’s lead liaison for talent and organizational development work including analysis and measurement, scouting, recruiting, searches and hiring, compensation analysis, onboarding, professional development, retention, separation and offboarding, and alumni engagement. Simons works holistically across the many facets of talent and culture to help ensure that the Hesburgh Libraries is an appropriate candidate’s preferred employer of choice, both on the University of Notre Dame campus and across the higher education sector.

Simons is a trained facilitator and consultant in the areas of organizational development, cultue and change management. The author of two books about academic librarianship, Academic Librarianship: Anchoring the Profession in Contribution, Scholarship, and Service (2021) and Academic Library Metamorphosis and Regeneration (2017), both published by Rowman Littlefield.