Robert Santelli ’73, ’14HN was appointed executive director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth in October. In this new role, Santelli oversees the Springsteen Archives and works to create programs, exhibits, and collaborations with music museums and universities around the country.

A Grammy Award–winning music historian, producer, and educator, Santelli was the founding executive director of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. He is the author of more than a dozen books on American music, including the New York Times bestseller Greetings from E Street: The Story of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. His recent book, Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art, Words and Wisdom, co-authored with his good friend Nora Guthrie, received the 2022 Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Award.

A longtime music journalist, Santelli was one of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s original curators and served as vice president of education and public programs before moving on to head Paul Allen’s Experience Music Project in Seattle. While at the Grammy Museum, Santelli created the popular public program series “An Evening with …” and developed more than 50 exhibitions, including Woody Guthrie’s, Frank Sinatra’s, and Leonard Bernstein’s centennial celebrations.

“I’m honored to serve my alma mater and join Archives Director Eileen Chapman as one of the caretakers of Bruce Springsteen’s incredible legacy,” Santelli said. “The opportunity to bring the Archives and Center for American Music onto the nation’s cultural and educational landscapes is a rare opportunity that I deeply appreciate.”

Jon Landau, Springsteen’s longtime manager and vice chair of the Archives, added, “Bob Santelli, with his Jersey Shore roots and music history background, is the best person to oversee the Springsteen collection and to create a vibrant center for American music education and experiences.”