Press Release

Catherine Carver Dunn Named Senior Vice President for Development and Government Affairs at The New York Public Library

Catherine Carver Dunn has been promoted to the newly created position of Senior Vice President for Development and Government Affairs at The New York Public Library, announced Library President Paul LeClerc. Ms. Dunn will have overall responsibility for directing development of public and private sector support for the Library. "In eight years at the Library as Vice President for Government Affairs and Programs, Ms. Dunn has distinguished herself as a passionate and effective advocate for this institution," President LeClerc said. "I am delighted that she now brings her exceptional skills and experience to this important new post."

Among Ms. Dunn's immediate tasks is directing the Second Century Campaign, a five-year drive to raise $430 million for the Library. "Over the long term," Ms. Dunn said, "my mission is to build on the extraordinary work of the Branch and Research Libraries in increasing the reach and scope of service to the city, state, and nation." During her tenure as Vice President for Government Affairs, Ms. Dunn worked closely with government officials to build an understanding of the critical role played by the Library in local communities and nationwide, which contributed to the flourishing of city, state, and federal government support in a period of government cutbacks.

Under Ms. Dunn's stewardship, government funding was secured for major renovations of Branch and Research Libraries, including the installation of an integrated online system providing public Internet access in every branch library, and an upgrade of infrastructures to accommodate new technology-based systems; for the phase-in of the Library's Connecting Libraries and Schools Project (CLASP) in New York City schools; and toward the building of the new Science, Industry and Business Library, raising $25 million in public funds for SIBL.

A Sioux Falls, South Dakota native, Ms. Dunn received her B.A. in English from the University of South Dakota in 1975, then spent a year at the Sorbonne in Paris. Her previous employment includes positions with the State of South Dakota, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the County of Los Angeles, and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. "The challenge of my work has always been to present a complex institutional message to a diverse constituency," Ms. Dunn said. "Now I am looking forward to taking the Library's message to private as well as public supporters and am thrilled to have this opportunity to expand my portfolio for an institution I know intimately and believe in unequivocally!"

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