Steve Bahnaman has been named dean of Wiggins Memorial Library, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Dr. Michael Adams announced today.
Bahnaman joined Campbell University in 2012 as the electronic resources librarian, a position he held for 10 years before becoming the head of medical research and instruction services for the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine’s medical library in 2022. He also led the cross-divisional health science reference and instruction team, supporting students and faculty across the University’s several health science programs.
A 2002 graduate of Emory University, Bahnaman earned his Master of Library Science degree from UNC Chapel Hill in 2007. He began his career as a graduate library assistant at NC State University in 2005 and worked as a reference and instruction librarian at North Carolina Wesleyan College for five years before coming to Campbell University.
“I’ve been working within Campbell libraries for 13 years, and in that time I’ve come to see that there are always a lot of great ideas inside our library for how to meet our users’ needs as they evolve,” Bahnaman said. “This role, in which I get to help bring those ideas forward and shine a brighter light on all that we can do with our research expertise and sense of care, is a dream come true.”
A “trivia buff” in his free time, Bahnaman made headlines in 2015 when he appeared on the ABC game show “500 Questions,” a seven-night televised event where the “smartest people in the country” tried to answer as many questions as they could through multiple rounds of 50 questions. Bahnaman was one of the more successful contestants, taking home $110,000 during his appearance.
He takes over the role of dean for Sarah Steele, who ran Wiggins Memorial Library for the last four years. Bahnaman said over the years, he’s developed a lot of faith in the team at the library and said being able to lead that group is a “massive honor.”
“We are a great library because of a dedicated and capable group of staff and librarians who go to great lengths to help all of our students and faculty however they can,” he said. “I want everyone at Campbell to feel that sense of care whenever they use our services online, have us teach them or ask us for help.”