Archives & Special Collections' Elizabeth Joffrion to retire Dec. 15

WWU News

On This Page

• WWU Stories
• News Releases and Announcements
• WWU in the News
• Campus News and Information

Archives & Special Collections' Elizabeth Joffrion to retire Dec. 15

December 9, 2025

Elizabeth Joffrion, Director of Western Libraries' division of Archives & Special Collections, will be retiring from the Western Libraries at the end of Fall Quarter. Her last day will be Dec. 15.

Beth began her time at Western in 1998, as Head Archivist for the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies. Later, after spending several years at the National Endowment for the Humanities, Beth returned to Western in 2012 as Director of (what is now called) Archives & Special Collections. In her time here, Beth has led the transformation of her division, bringing three distinct units into a single, strategic whole. The division's services and collections now support a vast array of quality teaching and research opportunities, typically offering specialized instruction to over 2000 students each academic year.

Over the past decade, the division has built a world class rare book collection and developed its archival collections in support of research topics relevant to today's faculty and students. A&SC has developed strong outreach programs, including the Scott Fellowship and Distinguished Speaker series, and offers critical support for Western's growing digital collections platform, MABEL. Under Beth's leadership, A&SC has collaborated with other university partners to address challenges associated with Native American collections, including repatriation efforts that continue to inform policies and procedures today. Beth has also maintained a consistent fundraising record in support of these activities.

Outside of Western, Beth held professional positions at the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery, North Carolina State Archives and the Historic New Orleans Collection, and has also taught courses on archives and special collections at Catholic University. She received an MA in history from the University of New Orleans and an MLIS from the University of Maryland. She is the co-author of "Advancing Preservation" published by the Society of American Archivists in 2020. She served on the Society of American Archivists Foundation Board of Directors, leading its grant programs.

In the Northwest, Beth served on the board of Humanities Washington, as president of the Northwest Archivist Association, and as president of the Whatcom Museum of History and Art Foundation board of trustees. In addition to her monograph, Beth has also authored book chapters, encyclopedia entries, op-eds, articles, and presentations on a range of historical and archival topics. These include "Broken Promises: A Case Study in Reconciliation," which received an honorable mention from the Margaret Cross Norton award committee. In 2024, Beth was inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists, the highest award offered by the Society of American Archivists.

Even nearing retirement, Beth remains committed to the mission of WWU, the Western Libraries, and the archives profession, recently making a significant planned estate gift to the Libraries to support the next generation of archivists.

Please join us in thanking Beth for all her work for Western Libraries, the university, the archival profession, and the Bellingham community through the years. Beth will retain her WWU email address so friends and colleagues may reach out to her directly to express their best wishes.