Aaron D. Purcell is professor and director of special collections at Virginia Tech. He frequently works with donors, potential donors, alumni, development officers, and fundraisers to acquire new collections and funding for his archival program. Purcell earned his PhD in history from the University of Tennessee, his master's of library science from the University of Maryland, College Park, and his master's degree in history from the University of Louisville. He previously served as university archivist at the University of Tennessee, and he also worked at the National Archives and the National Library of Medicine.

Purcell is an active scholar, writing in the fields of history and archives. In early 2012, he published Academic Archives: Managing the Next Generation of College and University Archives, Records, and Special Collections. He has written articles on archival topics for journals such as the American Archivist, Archival Outlook, IMJ, and the Journal of Archival Organization.