Baylor Libraries Name Elizabeth Rivera as New University Archivist
The Baylor Libraries are proud to announce Dr. Elizabeth Rivera as Baylor’s new University Archivist.
Rivera currently serves as an associate librarian at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a Nashville native and graduated from Lipscomb in 2006. Following her graduation, she served in children’s ministry, taught fifth graders in Guatemala, worked with children as a behavioral therapist, and managed projects for HopeWorks. Through these experiences, Rivera discovered her passion for collecting, remembering, sharing and helping others to tell people’s stories.
“Stories belong to people,” said Rivera. “Archivists have the honor to stand in sacred spaces where we get to carefully listen as their stories are unveiled. Then, we do God’s work by sharing these stories with students and, in the case of a university archivist, the entire community past and present.”
In 2014 she earned a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Southern Mississippi and was hired by Lipscomb as their first professional archivist. Over the past eight years, Rivera has worked to develop the Beaman Archives and Special Collections. In 2020, she worked with the development team at Lipscomb to establish an endowment to support the archive, and a second endowment is forthcoming. She also fostered many collaborative initiatives that engaged academic departments and students with archival materials. In 2021, she completed her doctorate in Public History at Middle Tennessee State University.
Rivera looks forward to continuing her career with the Baylor Libraries, which she has always considered a leader among academic libraries at private institutions. In 2019, Rivera attended the Oral History Association national conference and participated in sessions directed by Baylor’s Stephen Sloan and Adrienne Cain. She came away from this conference with new skills and a sense of calling to Baylor that she sees coming to fruition in this appointment.
“I can’t wait for Elizabeth to join our dynamic team at The Texas Collection & University Archives,” said Jeff Pirtle, director of The Texas Collection and University Archives. “As the oldest University in Texas, Baylor’s University Archives document not only our 177 year history, but also the history of higher education in our great state. I look forward to Elizabeth amplifying this rich collection and working with her to explore new ways in how it is utilized and shared. With the knowledge and expertise she brings, the possibilities are limitless.”
Rivera will begin her tenure at Baylor University on January 6, 2023.