INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Public Library Board of Trustees appointed Gregory A. Hill Sr. as the library's new chief executive officer in a resolution passed during a board meeting Monday.
IndyPL said Hill brings more than a decade of experience in various roles to the position.
Hill is moving into the CEO role after serving as acting CEO since December 2022, according to a statement from IndyPL.
The appointment comes after months of protest, where community members called on the board to take action and give a permanent job to Nichelle Hayes, who had served as the Indianapolis Public Library's interim CEO for several months.
After a nine-month search process, the library's board named Dr. Gabriel Morley as the CEO last December. But, just 24 hours later, the library announced Morley had decided to decline the offer.
This came after 13News learned there were planned protests over his appointment. People were upset the board did not choose Hayes. An online petition urging the board to hire Hayes as CEO had received over 1,100 signatures.
"She was running it for ... months. What is the problem there? That is the number one question we will have and hope to get some answers to those questions as well," said Annette Johnson at the time, who helped organize the protest.
Hayes was no longer continuing as interim CEO as of December 2022, and Hill has served as acting CEO since then.
In July, a national group of Black librarians canceled gathering in Indianapolis after the local library declined to permanently hire Hayes, and called the city an "inhospitable location."
Mahasin Ameen, co-chair of the National Conference of African American Librarians, told 13News the decision to cancel the July convention came after more than half of its 750 members declined to attend in support of Hayes.
After the appointment, Hill called for "healing."
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve this institution and honored by the trust placed upon me,” Hill said. “As I’ve worked more closely with the board in recent months to implement the recommendations of the Climate Study and bring IndyPL through this period of transition, I have felt called to ‘step up’ my service to IndyPL. I believe I can help move the library forward.”
Hill holds a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies from Liberty University, a master’s degree in library science from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and a second master’s degree in strategic management from Indiana Wesleyan University.