Santi Thompson

Santi Thompson, interim associate dean for Organizational Development, Learning, and Talent and Eva endowed professor at University of Houston Libraries, was selected to the competitive 2025 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Intensive Learning Program (ILP) cohort. As one of 20 awardees, Thompson will participate in an eight-month experience that “explores operational aspects of senior-leader portfolios in research libraries and archives as well as responsibilities related to managing those portfolios.” Fellows will participate in a variety of opportunities to enhance skills for impactful leadership.

“Santi Thompson is a talented senior-leader and poised to be one of the most influential research library leaders in the country,” said Christina H. Gola, interim dean of UH Libraries. “Today’s most adept leaders need to be prepared to lead through challenges and opportunities influenced by a variety of internal and external forces. This program will sharpen his political acumen and decision-making confidence to thrive in today’s environment and advance the impact of UH Libraries.”

At UH Libraries, Thompson holds the rank of librarian. In 2022 he was appointed as the associate dean for Research and Student Engagement (RASE). In 2020, Thompson was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Eva Digital Research Endowed Library Professorship, an appointment which enables the Libraries to expand its services in the emerging areas of digital research, data preservation and accessibility, and scholarly communication. In his prior role as head of Research Services, Thompson was integral in positioning the Libraries to support expansion of research productivity at the University, and continues to provide significant contributions in the development of research support services. Thompson developed policies and workflows for the digital components of scholarly communications, including digital research support and digital repositories. Under his direction and with support from the UH Division of Research and Office of the Provost, UH Libraries launched the Digital Research Commons (DRC) in 2018, a facility dedicated to the production of digital research projects and instruction on digital research methodologies.

Thompson has authored and produced numerous peer-reviewed publications and presentations and has been invited to present his work at international venues. He has represented the profession and the University through leadership roles with the Digital Library Federation (DLF), the Association of Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), and the Texas Digital Library (TDL). In 2018-2019 he served as an inaugural DLF Futures Fellow. He previously served as the principal investigator for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded “Digital Content Reuse Assessment Framework Toolkit” (D-CRAFT) grant project, the principal investigator for the IMLS-funded “Developing a Framework for Measuring Reuse of Digital Objects,” and the co-principal investigator for the IMLS-funded “Bridge2Hyku Toolkit: Developing Migration Strategies for Hyku.”

Thompson earned a Master of Arts in Public History and Master of Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina.