School of Information Sciences

Graduating Senior Makayla Crawford Found a Home at UT and CCI

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Makayla Crawford had no connection to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville when she began her college search. She had offers to play lacrosse at the Division I level from some schools but knew there wouldn’t be a future for her in the sport after college.

The Raleigh, N.C. native decided to make a visit to Knoxville to find out more about all UT had to offer.

“I came here and instantly loved it. I know everyone says it’s cliché, but it felt like home. It really did,” Crawford said. “I wanted to go to a college where I didn’t know

… Read more “Graduating Senior Makayla Crawford Found a Home at UT and CCI”

Graduating Senior Makayla Crawford Found a Home at UT and CCI written by CCI and originally published on the College of Communication & Information site.

Professor Vandana Singh Selected for Prestigious 3C Fellowship Program

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Dr. Vandana Singh, professor in the School of Information Sciences and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the College of Communication and Information, was recently selected for the Cultural Competence in Computing (3C) Fellowship program.

The cohort-based program is for faculty, staff, graduate students, and others in the computing field who want to engage in professional development on the topics of DEI and how systemic racism and bias impact students and faculty alike. Singh has been accepted into the program’s third cohort.

“The program is two years long, and the commitment is to produce a deliverable, which is … Read more “Professor Vandana Singh Selected for Prestigious 3C Fellowship Program”

SIS Alums Justin Blair and Kay P Maye Complete LEADING Fellows Program for Data Science

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Just Blair (left) and Kay P Maye (right)

In 2022, two School of Information Sciences alumni took part in the LEADING Fellowship Program through Drexel University’s Metadata Research Center. Justin Blair and Kay P Maye were among the 26 fellows to complete a data science project under the mentorship of information science centers across the United States. Maye (’21) is currently the scholarly engagement librarian for social sciences and data at Tulane University, and Blair (’21) continues to focus on publication of his research. We caught up with both to discuss their time in the program and its impacts on … Read more “SIS Alums Justin Blair and Kay P Maye Complete LEADING Fellows Program for Data Science”

Event Recap: MSIS Celebrates its 50th Anniversary of Accreditation

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SIS faculty, students, alumni, staff, and friends joined together Friday, October 21, 2022, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the MSIS Program’s ALA Accreditation. Accreditation for an information sciences school means that the program adheres to the highest standards in the field and continues to keep apace of the advancements and innovation of the day. It’s a difficult process to maintain accreditation, yet SIS remains a top-tier institution year after year.

The day consisted of two events — an afternoon panel and an evening celebratory reception. At the afternoon panel discussion, CCI Dean Joe Mazer spoke to the significance … Read more “Event Recap: MSIS Celebrates its 50th Anniversary of Accreditation”

Alumni Highlight: MSIS Alum Roger Justus Offered Dream Job on Graduation Day

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Featured alumni: Roger Justus

Current position and location: Data Services Librarian at Miami University

Location: Oxford, Ohio

In May of 2022, Roger Justus was playing the job search waiting game. He’d left behind his 25-year career in IT to find a vocation that would “feed his soul,” and friends and family had encouraged him to explore librarianship. Ultimately, he chose to return, to some extent, to his roots: His first passion and his undergraduate degree were in geography, which led him to the pathway in geographic information sciences through the MSIS program. Fortunately, the same day Roger walked across the … Read more “Alumni Highlight: MSIS Alum Roger Justus Offered Dream Job on Graduation Day”

Hannah Gunderman Given 2022 SIS Innovator’s Alumni Award

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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”

2022 SIS Distinguished Alumni Susan Jennings

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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”

PhD Alum Scott Sikes’ Earns 2022 CCI Outstanding Dissertation Award

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At the core of Scott Sikes’ work, both research and professional, is observing and analyzing what people can do when they work together to make their communities and the world a better place. His dissertation, In Our Very Blood: The Use of Social media in the 2018 West Virginia Teachers Strike, follows that same thread. It was awarded the 2022 College of Communication and Information Outstanding Dissertation Award.

“My dissertation was ostensibly about the labor movement, the use of information, and an event of collective action around a labor strike. It’s about the larger questions of how we live in … Read more “PhD Alum Scott Sikes’ Earns 2022 CCI Outstanding Dissertation Award”

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

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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”

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

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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”