William W. Sannwald

William W. Sannwald is a full-time faculty member in the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University and works as a library building and administrative consultant. He was an assistant to San Diego’s city manager and was the city’s manager of library design and development from 1997 to 2004. Prior to that, he was city librarian of the San Diego Public Library. He has worked in public libraries in Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, and California. Sannwald received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Beloit College in Wisconsin, an MBA degree from Loyola University in Chicago, and an MALS degree from Dominican University in Illinois. He has presented papers at national and international conferences and is the author of a number of books and articles on library architecture and management. The San Diego chapter of the American Institute of Architects presented him with their highest award, the Irving Gill Award, for his contributions to library architecture, and he received the San Diego design community’s Ruocco Award for his contributions to urban architecture. During his career, Sannwald has been involved in the construction of more than fifty library buildings as either a consultant or owner’s representative in the United States, Great Britain, Angola, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates. He was elected to the International Federation of Library Systems’ Standing Committee for Library Buildings and Equipment for 2007–2011. 

Sannwald teaches a variety of upper division undergraduate and MBA courses in the management department at San Diego State University’s Fowler School of Business. He was selected as the most influential management professor and received the Outstanding Faculty Award in the Business School. In 2017 he received the Teaching Excellence Award from his peers. In 2022, he was selected as the first Glazer Outstanding Lecturer Fellow, which includes a generous stipend funded through private gifts.