About Us
About The
Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music
The Bruce Springsteen Archives is comprised of nearly 48,000 items from 47 countries ranging from articles and oral histories to concert memorabilia, and promotional materials.
The collection serves the research and informational needs of music fans, scholars, authors, and others with a serious interest in the life and career of Bruce Springsteen.
The Bruce Springsteen Archives serves as the archival repository for Bruce Springsteen’s written works, photographs, periodicals, and artifacts. The Center also preserves and promotes the legacy of Bruce Springsteen and his role in American music, while creating exhibits, public programs, and education initiatives that explore the works of American music giants like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Billie Holiday, Patti Smith, Frank Sinatra, Gaslight Anthem, and others.
In addition to its archival mission The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music creates traveling exhibits, educational conferences, public programs, teacher workshops, and scholastic field trips, all aimed at exploring the American music tradition and providing for academic discourse in various fields of American music.
Leadership
Executive Director, Bob Santelli
Bob Santelli is the Founding Executive Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ. He is a noted blues and rock historian, curator, music journalist, and a GRAMMY Award winner. He has authored more than a dozen books on American music and is the winner of the 2022 Deems Taylor/ Virgil Thomson Award for Woody Guthrie: Song and Art * Words and Wisdom, which he co-authored with Nora Guthrie. Santelli was one of the original curators of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, becoming the museum’s first Director of Education and Vice President of Public Programs in 1995. In 2000, he became the CEO of the Experience Music Project in Seattle, the first-ever interactive music museum. Santelli became the Founding Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum in 2006, where he curated more than 65 exhibitions and produced centennial celebrations for Frank Sinatra, John Lee Hooker, Ella Fitzgerald, Leonard Bernstein, Woody Guthrie, and others over his sixteen years at the museum. He was one of the executive producers of In Performance at the White House and worked with First Lady Michelle Obama to conduct the White House’s music education programs. Santelli serves as the Director of Popular Music and Performing Arts at Oregon State University and teaches courses on popular culture.
Director, Eileen Chapman
Eileen Chapman is the Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University and was responsible for bringing the collection to the University. In addition to her position at the BSACAM, she is also a councilwoman in Asbury Park, a city she has resided in and raised her family for 42 years. Prior to her directorship, she was the Associate Director of the Center for the Arts also at Monmouth University. Chapman was a founding member of the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation, Riverfest Jazz & Blues Festival, Clearwater Festival’s Entertainment Director, the Asbury Park Jazz Festival, director of the award-winning New Jersey Seafood Festival in Belmar, consultant and entertainment coordinator of the Guinness Oyster Festival, a consultant to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum and is the liaison to Monmouth University’s Grammy Museum affiliation. Chapman opened and operated the state’s first CD music store, Almost Live CD Center, in Belmar from 1986 to 2000. She was the General Manager of several well-known Jersey Shore entertainment venues which include the iconic Stone Pony, Fast Lane and McLoone’s Rum Runner in Sea Bright. She serves on the boards of the Asbury Park Historical Society, Asbury Park Arts Council, Asbury Park Music Foundation, Asbury Angels, and is currently a member of MOCO arts marketing and Mid-Atlantic Region Archives and Music Library Association. She also spearheaded a trip with a group of Asbury Park High School students to Michelle Obama’s music program at the White House.
Curator, Professor
Programs Manager
Administrative Assistant
Board of Directors
- Patrick F. Leahy, Chair
President, Monmouth University - Jon Landau, Vice-Chair
Jon Landau Management, Inc. - Barry Rosenstein, Treasurer
JANA Partners LLC
Douglas Brinkley
Professor of American History, Rice University
Anthony DeCurtis
Distinguished Lecturer, University of Pennsylvania
Grey J. Dimenna
President Emeritus, Monmouth University
Charlene Diana
Secretary to the Board
General Counsel, Monmouth University
Don Friedman
Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sacks, PC
Elliot Groffman
Carroll, Guido, Groffman, Cohen, Bar & Karalian, LLP
Leslie N. Hitchner
Vice Chair, Board of Trustees, Monmouth University
Marilyn Laverty
Shore Fire Media
Lisa McKean
Trustee, Monmouth University
Henry D. Mercer III, Assistant Treasurer
Trustee Emeritus, Monmouth University
Michael A. Plodwick
Trustee Emeritus, Monmouth University
Jeana M. Piscatelli
Board of Trustees, Monmouth University
Brian Samelson
Entrepreneur and Early-Stage Investor
Ann Unterberg
Former Trustee, Monmouth University
Sean Wilentz
Professor of American History, Princeton University -
Why Monmouth?
Monmouth University, located in West Long Branch, NJ, has played an important role in Bruce Springsteen and Jersey Shore music history. The university was the site of many early Springsteen concerts from 1969 to 1974. The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music is located a few blocks away from where, in 1974, Springsteen wrote his most famous song, Born to Run.
Monmouth University has hosted numerous Springsteen academic conferences over the years. In addition, Springsteen chose Monmouth to rehearse his Springsteen on Broadway show, and he has participated in numerous music-related public programs on campus.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that Springsteen selected Monmouth University to be the steward of his legacy, ensuring that his influence and importance in American music history endures for generations to come.
