Category Archives: Featured Story

June 15, 2022 By Hillary Tune

Hannah Gunderman Given 2022 SIS Innovator’s Alumni Award

Videogames and information sciences may not sound like a natural fit, but Hannah Gunderman (’21) has found her niche at the crossroads of the two. She came into the MSIS program with a PhD in geography and a desire to be a librarian. Before she graduated with her master’s degree, she was hired on at Carnegie Mellon University’s Library in Pittsburgh as a research data management librarian.

After some time, Gunderman realized many of the students taking the workshops she taught on research data management weren’t engaging with the material—while it highly interests her, she recognized that not everyone is … Read more “Hannah Gunderman Given 2022 SIS Innovator’s Alumni Award”

By Hillary Tune

2022 SIS Distinguished Alumni Susan Jennings

Susan Jennings (’07) didn’t start out with the dream to be a librarian, but in hindsight, she believes it was pre-ordained. After all, she and her family were voracious readers, she was a library page in junior high school, and she drove her mother to the public library every Saturday where they’d spend an hour or two picking out books. It wasn’t until she ended up working in Appalachian State University’s (ASU) library after moving back home to Boone, North Carolina, that it all coalesced.

“Eleven years later I was still there and loved libraries and loved that I was … Read more “2022 SIS Distinguished Alumni Susan Jennings”

April 21, 2022 By Hillary Tune

Chad Lanctot on What it is Like Being a Veteran and a Student

It took a decade for Chad Lanctot to finish his undergraduate degree, and for good reason: Lanctot was in the U.S. Coast Guard and was taking online classes while he actively served. It was tough going but once he was done and retiring from the Coast Guard, he knew that more higher education was his future.

“I was talking to some of my mentors and supervisors about graduate programs, and one of them, Commander Valerie Boyd, said, ‘You can definitely go, you have what it takes.’ That was the confidence boost I needed, to hear. When a senior officer of … Read more “Chad Lanctot on What it is Like Being a Veteran and a Student”

April 8, 2022 By Hillary Tune

Student Spotlight: Kristina Larsen Becomes Rare Map Librarian After One Semester in MSIS

Featured student: Kristina Larsen

Location: San Francisco, California

Education: Undergraduate degree in studio art and sculpture from Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass.

What is your professional background?

For my undergraduate degree I studied painting and sculpture at Hampshire College. After graduation, I didn’t have plans and went on a road trip with a friend to California. I thought I would be here temporarily but I have stayed in the Bay Area ever since.

For the first decade or so I made art and worked part time in offices for architects, artists, and writers, and I ended … Read more “Student Spotlight: Kristina Larsen Becomes Rare Map Librarian After One Semester in MSIS”

April 1, 2022 By Hillary Tune

Bonnie Carroll Honored for Long-Time Support of CCI and SIS

Bonnie Carroll may have recently retired from Information International Associates (IIA), the information and scientific data management company she founded decades ago in Oak Ridge, but the long-time supporter of the College of Communication and Information is not yet done with data or with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She was recently honored by CCI for her various contributions to the college over the years, with her latest achievement being the work she did to bring the World Data System (WDS) to the university and to Tennessee.

“Bonnie has had an incredible commitment to UT, an incredible commitment to the … Read more “Bonnie Carroll Honored for Long-Time Support of CCI and SIS”

By Hillary Tune

MSIS Student Kelsey Badger Named Volunteer of Distinction: Extraordinary Professional Promise

Kelsey Badger came into the School of Information Sciences master’s program with the honor of being accepted into the Collaborative Analysis Liaison Librarians (CALL) program, and she will continue that tradition of excellence with the honor of being named a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Volunteer of Distinction: Extraordinary Professional Promise. She’s also already accepted a position at the Ohio State University as a research data librarian, which she will start after she graduates from SIS this May.

SIS Clinical Associate Professor Carolyn Hank nominated Badger for the award, stating that she has exceptional work ethic and outstanding academic … Read more “MSIS Student Kelsey Badger Named Volunteer of Distinction: Extraordinary Professional Promise”

March 25, 2022 By Hillary Tune

Student Elisha Jewell and Assistant Professor of Practice Joy Marie Doan Research How NFTs Can Benefit Libraries

Libraries are often places of innovation, many times embodying the adage, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Sitting at the crossroads of technology and information access gives information sciences professionals a unique view of the world, and in the case of School of Information Sciences master’s student Elisha Jewell, a unique take on the blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

“What my research is really aiming to do is to provide fundamental knowledge to library and information professionals about blockchain technology and NFTs. We want to shed a light on how this technology can provide an opportunity for music collections in … Read more “Student Elisha Jewell and Assistant Professor of Practice Joy Marie Doan Research How NFTs Can Benefit Libraries”

March 11, 2022 By Hillary Tune

Student Spotlight: Amy Snyder Lands Fellowship with Library of Congress

Featured student: Amy Snyder

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

Education: Undergraduate degree in English and minor in art history from University of Virginia

Why information sciences?

I went to undergrad at the University of Virginia and was an English major over there and an art history minor. I started working in the small special collections library and I fell in love with it, I was a cataloging assistant. It was really cool to work with all the old books and I was like, I want to do that.

I worked at two other positions in the library, shelving books … Read more “Student Spotlight: Amy Snyder Lands Fellowship with Library of Congress”

March 4, 2022 By Hillary Tune

MSIS Student Sarah Calise Founds Nashville Queer History Digital Archive, Lands Deal to Write First Book on Nashville’s LGBTQ+ History

It’s easy to forget history, but even more so if no one preserves it. Sarah Calise, an archivist and a student in the School of Information Sciences master’s program, is someone who specializes in preservation. So when they saw the history of Nashville’s LGBTQ+ community slowly slipping away, they also saw an opportunity to make a lasting difference. Now they are at the helm of a significant digital archives project called Nashville Queer History, and they are writing the first book ever about that history.

This project came to fruition when Calise was given a big project assignment in … Read more “MSIS Student Sarah Calise Founds Nashville Queer History Digital Archive, Lands Deal to Write First Book on Nashville’s LGBTQ+ History”

Diversity & Inclusion

February 25, 2022 By Hillary Tune

Alum Savanna Sims Manages Data at an Org to Help People Who are Experiencing Homelessness

Every day, data is gathered in 12 East Tennessee counties about one of its most vulnerable populations: people experiencing homelessness. All of this data is entered into the Homeless Management Information System, which at the Tennessee Valley Coalition for the Homeless (TVCH), is handled by MSIS alum Savanna Sims (’20).

Sims started working at TVCH as a data specialist while she was finishing up the graduate program at SIS, and she’s since moved into the role of director of data management. The database she manages, the Homeless Information Management System (HIMS), houses data about people they work with throughout … Read more “Alum Savanna Sims Manages Data at an Org to Help People Who are Experiencing Homelessness”

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

School of Information Sciences
College of Communication and Information