Connections - Spring/Summer 2019 by Syracuse University School of Information Studies

connectiONS SPRING/SUMMER 2019 l VOL. 18, NO. 1

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

10 Years of Information Technology, Design and Startups | 20 Samantha Ruddy ’13: Technically Funny | 18 After a Dozen Leading Years, Dean Liddy G’77 G’88 Retires | 24

Dear Alumni and Friends, A

t the start of the academic year, I announced at our annual opening convocation for faculty and staff that I would be retiring in May, 2019. It was, as you can imagine, not an easy decision to make. The iSchool has been a part of my life for four decades, from my time as a student in the Library Science program, through my doctoral degree, and then as a faculty member, researcher, and finally as dean. I have had the opportunity to watch the tremendous growth across all facets of the school. In my time here, we have added undergraduate offerings, expanded our master’s degree programs, and turned doctoral graduates out into the world who have made their mark in scholarship and research across the information field. In recent years, we have made strides to balance the gender makeup of our undergraduate program. I am proud to report that our Fall 2018 undergraduate class, the Class of 2022, was 47% female! This brings our total undergraduate population to 42% female — an impressive number for a technologyfocused program. Another area of my focus as dean, our week-long student immersion experiences, also grew recently as we added Startup Dublin to our roster of experiential learning programs. This past fall I had the pleasure of joining our students on this trip for a few days in November, as they explored the technology companies and startups of this busy Irish city. This is our 5th immersion site, joining our popular Spring Break in Silicon Valley, EntreTech NYC, Peak2Peak (Portland and Seattle) and TechTrek Chicago trips. In this issue of Connections (starting on page 20), you will read

about the origins of entrepreneurship programs at the iSchool. This spring, we celebrated ten years of innovation and the 2009 launch of the Syracuse Student Sandbox, and I am so proud of the fact that these initiatives have allowed students to ignite and sustain their passion for building new businesses and ventures. The Sandbox and the iSchool’s Information Technology, Design, and Startups minor have provided an academic path for entrepreneurial students. Nearly 200 start-up teams have won over $2 million in entrepreneurship competitions, and established student ventures have secured almost $34 million in venture capital backing over these past ten years. When I traveled to various cities over the past several months, meeting with alumni, parents, and friends one last time before I stepped down as dean, I enjoyed hearing about your successes, and how the iSchool has impacted you, your life, and your career. As I leave the iSchool, I believe it is aligned well with the needs of the information field. Our new graduate programs in data science and enterprise data systems and our undergraduate minor in data analytics will provide students with the knowledge and training they need to be successful in these fast-growing fields. It has been a pleasure to be at Syracuse University, and at the iSchool, for so long. I will look back at my time here, especially these past 12 years in a leadership role, with fondness and pride. Farewell, iSchool alumni and friends — it has been a pleasure serving as your dean!

connectiONS SPRING/SUMMER 2019 l VOL. 18, NO. 1

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

inside this issue F E AT U R E S

Marking 10 Years of Building: Information, Design and Startups

Student Profile: Tyus Battle

Technically Funny: Samantha Ruddy

Dean Liz Liddy Retires

SCHOOL NEWS

20 Connections is published by the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. http://ischool.syr.edu

Around the iSchool

New Board Members and Faculty

Supporting a Legacy: Celebrating Liz Liddy

Faculty Viewpoint: Helping Students Innovate

Dean: Elizabeth D. Liddy G’77, G’88 Editor: J.D. Ross rossjd@syr.edu

I N D U S T RY I N S I G H TS

IBM and the iSchool

Associate Editor: Diane Stirling

A LU M N I N E W S

Alumni News Editor: Julie Walas jlwalas@syr.edu Contributors: Alexandra Archambault Barbara Brooks J.D. Ross Diane Stirling Julie Walas Sarah Weber

Design and Production: Colleen Kiefer, Kiefer Creative

From the Director

Class Notes

Alumni Profiles: Vanessa St. Oegger-Menn, ’14 and Sanda Erdelez, G’95

34 38

O N T H E COV E R

Address correspondence to: Connections Syracuse University iSchool 343M Hinds Hall Syracuse, NY 13244 rossjd@syr.edu (315) 443-3094 Connect with the iSchool on Social Media: facebook.com/su.ischool

This year’s Blackstone Launchpad RVD iPrize Competition had another celebratory component: the 10th anniversary of the iSchool’s Information Technology, Design, and Startups Program. Entrepreneurship faculty and coaches gathered with now-Dean Emerita Liz Liddy and a group of student innovators to mark the occasion. Photo by J.D. Ross.

twitter.com/ischoolsu ischool.syr.edu/linkedin instagram.com/ischoolsu youtube.com/syracuseischool

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

FACULTY NOTE

CCDS Researchers Receive Awards from Twitter, WhatsApp

pair of researchers from the iSchool’s Center for Computational and Data Science (CCDS) have received awards from two prominent social media platforms to closely examine the nature of discussions on each network. DISCUSSION QUALITY ON TWITTER Professor Jennifer Stromer-Galley and Postdoctoral Researcher Patricia Rossini are part of an interdisciplinary team selected by Twitter to conduct research and develop metrics to help identify behaviors that are threatening to the quality of the discussions on the platform. In addition to Syracuse University, other institutions participating include Leiden University, Delft University of Technology, and Bocconi University. Over 230 proposals were reviewed in the selection process, and the team was one of two chosen to receive a Twitter research grant. The team brings together scholars with different backgrounds and expertise, bridging political science, communication, and computer science to develop metrics and conduct experiments aimed at identifying potentially problematic behaviors on Twitter. Led by Rebekah Tromble, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Leiden University in the Netherlands, the team will conduct research comparing discussions around polarized and non-polarized topics in the United States and United Kingdom to develop and implement four metrics that will provide a better understanding of how communities form around discussions on Twitter and will investigate the extent of certain problems that may develop in those discussions. Tromble was a visiting scholar at CCDS from January through August 2017.

connectiONS 2

Postdoctoral Researcher Patricia Rossini (left) and Professor Jennifer Stromer-Galley at WhatsApp headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., where they met with company researchers on a new project to study how the messaging application is used in discussions about politics and elections.

The project focuses on two challenges faced by Twitter. The first is the presence of echo chambers — that is, the extent to which discussions are enclaved in homogeneous, and often polarized, groups. The second area of research will explore uncivil and intolerant discourse. These metrics will examine the extent to which those who participate in Twitter discussions engage in toxic behaviors. “Political discussion online is often dismissed due to uncivil discourse, and because of that we are sometimes unable to understand its true value. Rather than lumping all problematic discourse into a single category, we distinguish between uncivil and

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

intolerant statements. Incivility online might serve an important and valid purpose in discourse, while intolerance is, by its nature, threatening to democracy,” explains Rossini, whose research focuses on understanding such discourse online. As part of the research grant, the team will work closely with Twitter. While scholars will have the autonomy to develop and publish research under this grant, the outcomes of this project will help inform Twitter’s future policies and practices to promote a healthy conversational environment.

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

“We would like to find out how users understand what they receive, how they determine whether to trust the sender of the information, and what motivates them to forward information to other individuals or groups.” —PATRICIA ROSSINI, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

ELECTION-RELATED MISINFORMATION ON WHATSAPP Rossini and Stromer-Galley have also received a WhatsApp Misinformation and Social Science Research Award to examine election-related misinformation, specifically focusing on information sharing, political engagement, and discussion in the 2018 Brazilian elections. Rossini serves as principal investigator on the award. WhatsApp can be a powerful medium for political discourse and engagement. But at the same time, it can also be misused to share political information that is inaccurate or inflammatory. The company is interested in understanding this space both from the perspective of political actors and voters as well as understanding how they might take steps to prevent the misuse of the platform in electoral processes. WhatsApp received nearly 600 proposals, and selected 20 research teams to examine issues that include problematic content; digital literacy and misinformation; electionrelated misinformation; and network effects and virality. Joining the CCDS researchers on this project are two academics from Brazil’s Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Erica Anita Baptista and Vanessa Veiga de Oliveira.

The research team’s mixed-methods study aims to understand two interconnected issues. First is the potential impact of the use of WhatsApp by political campaigns and the ways users experience the platform and receive political information. Second is the extent to which WhatsApp users actively engage and share content related to the elections within their peer groups and how they evaluate the credibility and the reliability of political information circulating through the platform. “We want to figure out the different and creative ways that people are using WhatsApp for political activities, both for sharing of news and information around political issues as well as discussion of these topics,” said Rossini. “We’ve conducted quite a bit of social media research, but up to this point that research has only looked at public sites like Facebook and Twitter, where a user’s audience is mostly public.” With WhatsApp, users have a better understanding of their audience and with whom they are messaging and sharing information. “It’s a private channel, a different kind of social media where most users know exactly who their audience is,” Rossini explained. “And we think that people will behave differently in these private spaces. We can expect that people might feel more comfortable talking with an audience that they are

familiar with, or with whom they share the same views.” Rossini and her team are also interested in how WhatsApp users put the information they receive via the platform into context. “Users on WhatsApp don’t tend to share a lot of links, so there’s very little context that comes when you receive a message,” she said. “We would like to find out how users understand what they receive, how they determine whether to trust the sender of the information, and what motivates them to forward information to other individuals or groups.” “Our end goal is to be able to better understand how people use WhatsApp for political purposes, and then to help WhatsApp better understand the affordances these users need to better use the platform, as well as to understand the extent to which users engage with misinformation,” said Rossini. n

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

FACULTY NOTE

NSF Grant Will Allow Acuna to Study Optimization of Scientific Peer Review Process

D Daniel Acuna

connectiONS 4

eficiencies in the scientific community’s centralized peer review process can impact more than a researcher’s career. Faults in the process can ultimately affect the kinds of scientific discoveries that are made, the distribution of information about findings, the technology innovations that do — or don’t — result, and even the economic impact of scientific research work. With that premise and a goal and plan to improve the process, Assistant Professor Daniel Acuna has attracted a $531,339 grant from the National Science Foundation. For the next three years, he and two co-researchers will determine ways to optimize scientific peer review by creating a better understanding of the factors that affect the process and developing insights and plans to improve it. Acuna is the principal investigator for the project. He is working with coprincipal investigators Konrad P. Kording, Penn Integrated Knowledge Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and James A. Evans, Director of Knowledge Lab, Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Computational Social Science program at the University of Chicago. Acuna explains that some researchers have found that the scientific community’s centralized

peer review process can be slow and low-quality, while other studies have quantified biases in the process, such as prejudices against certain ideas and inconsistencies in opinions from different groups of peers. Those deficiencies can delay or shorten the dissemination of important research, he says. Such issues also can have larger effects, and not simply on the careers of scientific researchers. More broadly, those issues can affect the types of research that gets done, thus the direction science takes, plus the emergence of technology innovations and even the impact of scientific research on the economy. “This grant can help illuminate one of the oldest and perhaps least understood aspects of how modern scientific knowledge is disseminated,” Acuna says. “Several research groups have shown that scientists can be against novel ideas or ideas produced by distant scientific relatives. Moreover, scientists can be inconsistent, judging essentially similar pieces of work wildly differently. These problems percolate into the peer review system and can be exacerbated by its anonymity. We hope to address some of these issues.” In its scope, the research analyzes factors that affect peer review

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

outcomes and uses those to improve reviewer selection. Ultimately, plans call for the development of software that will help optimize reviewer assignments and evaluate the resulting models. The analysis is being done in the real-world context of a scientific journal, major scientific conferences, and massive open, online courses (MOOCs). In its first phase, the project will quantify problems in bias, variance, timing, and quality of reviews, then identify bias as attributed to author and reviewer (such as age, gender, minority status, and visibility and centrality within the field). The second phase of research consists of assessing techniques to estimate the characteristics of potential reviewers. Then, the study will use that information to propose a review panel that is balanced in terms of reviewer choice, timing, and quality of the process. In the last segment, the study will test the techniques that automatically assign reviewers and analyze the output of the process. n

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

iSCHOOL NEWS

44 Projects Showcased at iSchool’s First Research Day

what they were looking for. I can see people interacting and talking about their research, and I can just hear their enthusiasm as they talk about their projects,” she observed at the session. First-year doctoral student Subhasree Sengupta said the event provided some practical personal benefits, too. It was chance for her to articulate her research question to varied audiences, examine how her interests may overlap with what other researchers are doing and obtain feedback on her communication techniques, she noted. “It’s a good way to break you in, in [regard to] my presentation and to see what parts people will ask you about, what parts people are questioning, and to see what works and doesn’t work.” Among the attendees was Syracuse University Vice President of Research Zhanjiang (John) Liu. His presence and the university-level attention it represented was greatly appreciated, according to doctoral student Bratt. “It strengthens the priority of research

not only within the school, but across the campus, because we got to talk to him about infrastructure important to research. His being here was a symbol that we’re more unified as a campus moving forward,” she said. Of the 44 projects presented, topics included: reviews of “lost” links in scientific articles, the evolution of information systems, Bluetooth beacons, viral diffusion of political topics on social media, designing privacy mechanisms and tailoring recruiting language for citizen science participation. Other topics included: methods of studying distributed work, the study of data rights, crowdsourced reasoning, “IT Culture” theory, argument mining on Reddit, data science team conclusion and development, organizing peer review, open deep learning models and a study of technology use. n

J.D. ROSS

total of 44 research projects under study by iSchool faculty and doctoral and master’s-level students were showcased for fellow researchers and associates at the first iSchool Research Day held in October. Organized by doctoral students Mahboobeh Harandi and Sarah Bratt, in conjunction with iSchool Associate Dean for Research Kevin Crowston, the half-day function was designed to set aside space and time to generate greater awareness of the topics iSchool faculty and students are investigating. It also offered them a chance to share their research ideas, obtain feedback about their approaches and find potential new collaborators. Participants presented 27 posters and conducted 17 table discussions, and 63 people attended the event, according to Harandi. Based on the good turnout and high degree of interest and engagement by participants, Crowston said he’d certainly like to see Research Day conducted again next year. It was a good way to engage students in research activity as well as have others learn more about iSchool research initiatives overall, he noted. Crowston was particularly gratified by the high level of participation and attendance by master’s-degree students, he said, since attracting graduate students to conduct research work is an ongoing goal. Having posters and discussions on display in three separate, hour-long sessions illustrated both the breadth of topics under study as well as detailed focal points of researchers’ efforts, the organizers reported. Doctoral student Harandi regards the first-time event as successful. “I think having the space and the time for informal intellectual discussions about our research has helped people achieve

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Ph.D. student Sarah Bratt (right) talks about her research project with fellow doctoral student Jennifer Sonne at the iSchool’s first Research Day event.

connectiONS

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

STUDENT NOTE

iSchool Team Takes First Place in IBM Call for Code Hackathon team of graduate students from the iSchool took the top prize at the IBM Call for Code Hackathon held at the Blackstone LaunchPad on the Syracuse University campus in September. The event was part of IBM’s global Call for Code initiative, a charge to developers to create solutions that significantly improve preparedness for natural disasters and relief in their aftermath to safeguard the health and well-being of communities. The five students from the iSchool’s Information Management and Applied Data Science programs formed a team and pitched the idea of Disaster Recovery as a Service (DR-a-a-S) to help execute a disaster relief plan in a transparent and fast way. Team members included Shubham Bhatia G’19, Aditya Chauhan G’19, Shama Kamat G’19, Anmol Handa G’19, and Alan Nguyen G’20.

“. . . Natural disasters are one important area which desperately needs the attention of the larger community to reduce the impact on lives and the money involved in it.” — ANMOL HANDA, STUDENT, M.S. IN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

The team initially found their inspiration from an article published by the American Red Cross that reported on scams associated with relief funds after natural disasters. “The article on the issues with disaster recovery and relief funds motivated us to design a Blockchain platform using Hyperledger to have all parties or donors on a single platform to contribute towards the cause,” explained Anmol Handa, a student in the M.S. in Information Management program.

connectiONS 6

BRADEN CROY

The winning team at IBM’s Call for Code Hackathon event. From left to right in the black shirts are graduate students Shama Kamat G’19, Shubham Bhatia G’19, Aditya Chauhan G’19, Alan Nguyen G’20, and Anmol Handa G’19.

“We think this kind of platform would help speed the execution of a disaster relief campaign by bringing all for-profit and non-profit organizations together on one platform to reduce the mismatching of supplies like food, first aid, and clothing using programmable smart contracts.” The future scope of the project includes plans to incorporate machine learning algorithms to predict the occurrence of any natural disaster with a ‘Disaster Score’ beyond a threshold limit that triggers notifications requesting all the organizations on the Blockchain platform to assist. “Our iSchool courses on Blockchain Management, Cloud Management, and Big Data Analytics helped us a lot in implementing the idea,” said Handa. “And the experiential learning opportunities offered by the iSchool also

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

prepared us to execute and build a platform in a much more efficient way.” As they worked on the project, the team members began to think about how emerging technology has the power to change how society can respond in disaster and crisis situations. “It helped us to think beyond the horizon and understand the importance of technology and the ways it can be beneficial for society,” said Handa. “Technology can be the spark that transforms limiting systems and extends economic opportunity to those marginalized populations desperately in need of it. Natural disasters are one important area which desperately needs the attention of the larger community to reduce the impact on lives and the money involved in it. Through this competition, we got exposure to tools like IBM Watson, Chat Bot Engine, IBM Blockchain, and many others which are bridging the gap between a problem and a solution.” n

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

iSCHOOL NEWS

New Minor in Data Analytics Offered

new space has been created in Hinds Hall to serve as a front door for prospective students visiting the iSchool. The iSchool Visitors’ Center is located on the first floor, directly across from the Student Services Office, in an ideal location to capture the attention of tours passing through the lobby on a daily basis. Staffed by iSchool Assistant Director of Undergrad uate Recruitment Stephanie Worden and her team of undergraduate peer advisors, the center includes a meeting space for prospective students and their families, and a reception area stocked with drinks and snacks. “We’ve outfitted the room with some comfy couches and seating, and decorated it in a way that allows it to serve as a warm, welcoming space for visitors and a reception area for any guests seeking to learn more about the iSchool,” said Worden. “With peer advisors at the ready to take students on a tour, or offer their firsthand accounts of student life, it really allows us to showcase the school and our curriculum in a very positive light, and make a good first impression on visitors.” J.D. ROSS

s the demand for data analytics professionals grows, organizations across all industries are investing in analytics positions, and it is predicted that demand for data science and analytics expertise across many different job roles will increase rapidly in the coming years. A recent report co-published by IBM and analytics software company Burning Glass Technologies estimates that data science and analytics job openings will grow 15 percent by 2020. In order to prepare students for a future career that will require a high degree of data literacy and skills, the iSchool introduced a new undergraduate minor in Data Analytics in Fall 2018. This 18-credit program provides students with an analytical and technical background as well as a foundational understanding of the role of data in today’s society. “A minor in data analytics adds a new dimension to a student’s skills and can open up opportunities in their major’s professional field,” explains Deb Nosky, Professor of Practice and Undergraduate Program Director at the iSchool. “For example, a biology major could begin a career in bioinformatics, or a political science major could become a leading pollster and political strategist. This minor allows students to expand their potential in their field of study.” As businesses hire to fill a demand for data analytics knowledge, they will turn to their own ranks for the skills to meet their data needs. “Holding a minor in Data Analytics indicates an interest in this growing field,” notes Nosky, “and this offers potential for growth beyond just getting your first job out of college.” “Every industry is in need of graduates with big data and analytics skills,” says Nosky. “The versatility of Data Analytics makes it a great minor option for students in any major at Syracuse University.” There are nine credits of required courses for the minor, with the remaining courses coming from a choice of six elective offerings, including coursework in data mining, information visualization, and human-computer interaction. Students with any non-iSchool major from any school or college within Syracuse University can pursue this minor. n

Visitors’ Center Opens in Hinds Hall

Comfortable seating and available snacks make the new first-floor Visitors’ Center a welcoming place, as IM&T Program Director/Professor of Practice Deborah Nosky, left, and Assistant Director of Undergraduate Recruitment Stephanie Worden, show.

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

New Members Join Board of Advisors

he iSchool is pleased to welcome these four new members to the Board of Advisors. The iSchool’s Board is a collective resource of alumni, senior business people, professionals, industry leaders, and other supporters, organized to assist in the development of the School and to help shape and realize its vision. For more information about board membership, contact Abigail McNeal-Harris at asmcneal@ syr.edu.

Sharon Dhall Managing Director, Modernization & Execution at TIAA

Jack Ryder CFO of Americas Finance at Microsoft

Doug Sweeny Chief Marketing Officer at One Medical

Graham Warner Chief Operating Officer, Americas Global Transaction Banking at Deutsche Bank

The iSchool Welcomes Two New Faculty Members BETH J. PATIN

B Beth J. Patin

Stephen Wallace

connectiONS 8

eth J. Patin joined the faculty in August after receiving her a Ph.D. from the Information School at the University of Washington in Seattle. She earned her B.S. in Education from Loyola University in New Orleans and taught in the New Orleans Public Schools prior to pursuing her master’s degree in Library and Information Science at Louisiana State University. She has an additional master’s degree in Information Science from the University of Washington. In 2007, Patin was named an American Library Association Emerging Leader. Recently, she was nominated for the Excellence in Teaching Award at the University of Washington. Patin currently serves a member of the advisory board for the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries. Her research focuses on the equity of information in two areas: crisis informatics and building cultural competence. She is currently researching how public libraries make their communities more resilient in times of crisis. “I am thrilled to join the amazing faculty at the Syracuse iSchool and excited to be a part of this community,” said Patin. “I look forward to collaborating with faculty, staff, and students on many projects especially in the areas of school librarianship, multicultural literature, cultural competence, and crisis informatics. I am always thinking about how libraries help their communities and I was drawn to the iSchool because of its commitment to ‘change how communities and organizations use library and information resources for the better.’”

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

STEPHEN WALLACE

tephen Wallace joined the faculty in August 2018 as a professor of practice, teaching courses in support of the iSchool’s programs in data science and data analytics. Wallace received his Doctorate of Professional Studies in Computing from Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. He holds an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management, and a B.S. in Operations Management from Syracuse’s Whitman School of Management. His career has spanned more than 30 years across the information technology spectrum in roles of increasing responsibility, ranging from IT director to vice president and CIO. For the past five years, Wallace has worked as founder and managing partner for BizLitics, LLC, a small consulting firm that specializes in business analytics-based solutions and services. BizLitics develops and delivers end-to-end solutions for clients that include data analysis and assessment; data integration and blending; data warehouse design and build; and advanced data visualizations. Wallace has also taught a course on data mining and analytics at the Rochester Institute of Technology as an adjunct professor since 2014. “I am excited to be joining the iSchool as a Professor of Practice, and I look forward to both teaching and collaborating with faculty, staff, and students on a variety of data sciencerelated research projects,” said Wallace. “I believe my industry experience as an entrepreneur, consultant and CIO will provide students with a unique perspective on how data science professionals can help organizations improve their performance. I also look forward to pursuing my research interests in both healthcare analytics and cognitive systems development.”

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

iSCHOOL NEWS

iSchool to Lead Partnership Expanding Internet Connectivity in Liberia

n September, the iSchool, Imcon International, and the Republic of Liberia announced an intent to collaborate on the 40 in 2021 Project, a far-reaching initiative designed to digitally transform the country of Liberia by increasing the nation’s current Internet penetration of about 7% to 40% by 2021. Imcon is the developer of the Internet Backpack, a remote connectivity solution that allows users to communicate from almost any location on the planet. The device can be used to create internal wireless networks with large coverage areas utilizing various radio frequencies. A delegation from Imcon traveled to Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, in the fall to meet with high-ranking government officials, including the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel McGill; the Minister of Education, Professor Ansu D. Sonii; and the Minister of Health, Dr. Wilhemina Jallah. Minister McGill expressed his support for the 40 in 2021 Project, acknowledging “the potential significant value to the country, especially the benefits to be gained by Liberia’s ailing education and health sectors.” Dr. Jallah and Professor Sonii also demonstrated their support for the project by executing a Memorandum of Understanding, for their respective agencies, to formally launch the partnership. The iSchool plans to lead research, education, cyberphysical network design, and implementation for the Liberia project. Associate Professor Lee McKnight is designated as the faculty project manager.

J.D. ROSS

Associate Professor Lee McKnight sets up components from the Internet Backpack, a device with hardware that allows users to create a communications network at nearly any location on the planet, and connect it to existing WiFi, cellular, or satellite connections.

As part of an estimated $150 million project, Imcon International plans to provide 6,000 Internet Backpacks, as well as edgeware, through its partner VMware, to the Republic of Liberia for education, healthcare, rural community and government use, connecting the Internet to all schools and hospitals throughout the country. “We are pleased to take part in this project with Imcon and lend our technical and research expertise to this important endeavor to increase Internet connectivity across Liberia and other locations around the globe,” iSchool Dean Emerita Liz Liddy said at the time. “The iSchool is deeply committed to leveraging our academic and scholarly resources to improve the world around us.” The initiative includes a project-based learning curriculum through Imcon’s education partner One Planet Education Network. In addition, through its partnerships with Hu-manity. co and OrbHealth, Imcon plans to implement a nationwide broadband network dedicated to Liberia’s education and healthcare systems and deploy and maintain the country’s first electronic medical record system. “The Internet Backpack is a revolutionary technology and a groundbreaking solution with multiple applications for use across the planet,” said Rob Loud, Imcon’s CEO. “This alliance will dramatically jumpstart our ability to extend our proprietary technology and effectuate positive change for underserved people as well as for those in remote areas without access to standard connectivity. The Liberia project is the first of many projects we envision rolling out on a global scale over the coming months and years.” n

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

FACULTY NOTE

Crowston Awarded Lifetime Achievement Honor from the Academy of Management OCIS Division STEVE SARTORI

T Kevin Crowston

connectiONS 10

he career work and organizationalservice contributions of a faculty member of the School of Information Studies has been recognized with a lifetime service award at the annual meeting of the Organizational Communication and Information Systems (OCIS) division of the Academy of Management. Kevin Crowston, associate dean for research and distinguished professor of information science, was presented with the recognition at the division’s 78th annual meeting in Chicago. The honor recognizes an individual’s sustained contribution to the OCIS community through significant leadership roles as well as scholarly impact and influence in the OCIS community. According to Dr. Likoebe M. Maruping, OCIS division chair, and Dr. Marco Marabelli, OCIS chief information officer and secretary, the award considers the commitment an individual has shown through service on division committees and as an officer, as well as a person’s scholarly contributions.

Another factor influencing the selection is a member’s role in encouraging growth and development of the OCIS community through involvement with junior and senior scholars and doctoral students, according to Maruping and Marabelli. Crowston has contributed to the scholarly vitality of the organization though presentations of research papers at Academy of Management/ OCIS annual conferences for most of the last 24 years. He also has served the organization in volunteer administrative capacities, including as professional development workshop and doctoral consortium chair from 2010–2011, program chair from 2011–2012 and division chair from 2013–2014. “It was a very pleasant surprise being selected for the award,” Crowston said. “The Division is sustained by the contributions of many volunteers, so it is an honor being singled out for recognition.” Crowston’s research examines new ways of organizing made possible by the use of information technology, including

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

coordination-intensive processes and problems and design and evaluation of systems to support people working together. His specific interests include free/libre open source software development projects, citizen science projects and research data management. Founded in 1936, the Academy of Management is the preeminent professional association for management and organization scholars with a community of more than 20,000 members in more than 120 countries. Members are professors and doctoral students in business schools at universities, academics in related social science and other fields, and practitioners who value knowledge creation and application. The Academy’s OCIS division focuses on the study of behavioral, economic and social aspects of communication and information systems within and among organizations or institutions. n

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

iSCHOOL NEWS

Children’s Innovation Connections Project Receives IMLS Funding “I’m excited about this project because reviewers acknowledged the importance and power of bringing together both inventive thinking and literacy skills (reading, information, and digital) in the same afterschool program.” — MARILYN ARNONE

children’s attitudes towards learning and literacy, according to Arnone. “I’m excited about this project because reviewers acknowledged the importance and power of bringing together both inventive thinking and literacy skills (reading, information, and digital) in the same after-school program,” she said. “Rural areas suffer from lower economic growth rates and lower educational attainment rates, and rural public libraries and the programs they offer are an important part of the solution.” Plans call for developing a carefully selected collection of paired literary and informational texts that will encourage

children in their creativity and innovation efforts, and disseminating them through the website, The Innovation Destination. That site was developed by Arnone and Small through an IMLS grant the pair received in 2015 and is the outgrowth of many years of observations by the professors regarding children’s creative and innovation processes, and the role that librarians and other adults can play in encouraging children’s ideation. The website currently contains information and resources and offers activities to promote those activities for children in grade levels four to eight. Those resources will now be expanded with materials appropriate for children in grade levels kindergarten through third grade. The program will be designed in early 2019, formatively evaluated and iterated, and be ready for rollout with the first participating libraries in the Fall of 2019, according to Arnone. After assessing results, it will be fine-tuned then debuted with the rest of the libraries in the following semester. n

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Marilyn Arnone STEVE SARTORI

lans for developing library programming that help prepare young children to contribute to the economic viability of their communities through creativity and innovation have received a significant grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Funds of $248,986 have been awarded to a proposal submitted by iSchool faculty member Marilyn Arnone, research associate professor and associate professor of practice. The project, supported by National Leadership Grants for Libraries programming funds, is titled, “Making the Literacy-Innovation Connection for Rural Libraries and their Youngest Patrons.” Co-principal investigator on the project is Ruth Small, Laura J. & L. Douglas Meredith Professor Emerita. The proposal supports the development of literacy and innovation skills in children grades kindergarten through three by creating and evaluating a replicable after-school project in eight rural public libraries. That kind of skill development is designed to support youth from an early age in creative ideas and innovations, including entrepreneurship ventures. The initiative also emphasizes the importance of family literacy, acknowledging the positive role parents and caretakers can play in shaping

STEVE SARTORI

Ruth Small

connectiONS

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

FACULTY NOTE

Hurst-Wahl Directs New Effort for Public Libraries Research KELVIN P. RINGOLD

n iSchool initiative is serving as a discovery zone for public library innovation, a hub for student inquiry on librarianship topics, and a means to circulate new ideas and research findings to public library professionals. The newly established “iSchool Public Libraries Initiative,” (IPLI) led by Professor of Practice Jill Hurst-Wahl as Jill Hurst-Wahl director, has several key purposes. She says it creates an intellectual home for iSchool faculty and students who want to research public library topics and apply the knowledge they discover. Secondly, the initiative offers iSchool master’sdegree Library Information Science (MSLIS) students and others a faculty-supported research hub focused on topics in their field. In a third vein, students and faculty are helping public libraries build added capacity for innovation by sharing the information research projects uncover. At a time when public libraries face mounting operational and community-support challenges, ideas on how to innovate new offerings are most welcome, according to Hurst-Wahl. “Public library staff often lack time and resources, and consequently they may make decisions with a limited amount of information. Many times, especially with smaller libraries, they don’t have the luxury of sitting around and doing deep thinking about what they can offer. I felt that a group of researchers could provide better information and distribute it so that it is available to libraries, providing information about projects and programs that are in use and that are successful.”

iSchool PUBLIC LIBRARY Initiative

connectiONS 12

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

The initiative’s goals include: n Researching the state of public libraries and their

communities, with a focus on information needed by decision-makers and advocates n Compiling and disseminating information about

how libraries are innovating, helping them build their capacity to do so n Applying iSchool research (such as issues about infor-

mation privacy and the use of technology in marginalized communities) to the public library setting n Developing white papers, trade and scholarly articles,

webinars, and presentations on innovation for the public library community’s use n Offering classes and professional development

programming for library staff, administration and trustees on various topics, including collecting and using data to support public library activities. Three iSchool MSLIS students have each been working 20 hours a week there as research assistants through Wilhelm Library Leadership Award scholar funds, and they have several projects underway. Heather Elia’s main focus is a national survey of innovative public library programs, especially those that don’t involve books and that are conducted outside of the library building. She’s scouring news articles, library newsletters, academic journals, conference agendas and other sources to discover ideas that have been tried, tested and importantly, documented so that others can reproduce them. Elia and first-year MSLIS student Sabrina Unrein also are working with EveryLibrary Institute, the non-profit research arm of the EveryLibrary, a national organization dedicated to building voter support for libraries. They have obtained information from state libraries and library associations across the United States about the array of legal (governance) structures public libraries use, and are producing a catalog of those models. That information will be used to help libraries understand which legal structures have more stable funding and better funding increases over time. Georgia Westbrook has been examining how public libraries originated and spread across the United States. Working with the EveryLibrary Institute, her work provides insights into how libraries that want to change their structures, charters and legal organization can do so. A third effort, now in the literature-review phase, looks at the creative ways libraries are supporting the health and

A R O U N D

wellness needs of their communities, from providing information to hiring nurses and social workers on the library staff. Unrein, who has experience as a web developer, also is designing content and a web presence for the initiative and looking at ways to distribute project findings. The IPLI also has several other projects under consideration and is in discussion with potential collaborators. Hurst-Wahl says the Initiative is designed to let students lead the research agenda. “I’m really empowering them to look at this as ‘our’ research and not just ‘my’ research, permitting them to tackle the subjects that are of interest to them, then having them figure out the ways they want to push out what they’re learning.” Both Elia and Unrein are happy to be involved in the startup effort of the governance model project. “I would have

T H E

expected something like this would have already existed, so it’s filling a big gap in resources,” Unrein reflects. “Anything to make public libraries better is a good thing. I’m looking forward to seeing what shape it takes because it’s so new, and it can go anywhere and that’s exciting.” Elia says the initiative is widening her professional scope at a good time, just before she begins work in the library field. “I want to go into public librarianship. I think it’s important that there’s a way for public libraries to share with each other and I’m hoping that’s what this will be. Most people may only have opportunity to get to know one public library. With this initiative, we get to know a lot of different things about a lot of different libraries, and that’s only going to make the experience richer and give me a broader perspective.” n

i school

Professor of Practice Jill Hurst-Wahl, center, directs the IPLI with assistance from student researchers, Sabrina Unrein, at left, and Georgia Westbrook. Another student, Heather Elia, also worked on projects. J.D. ROSS

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

Helping Students Innovate CARL J. SCHRAMM, UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR

I Carl J. Schramm

connectiONS 14

t was a crisp fall evening when on their absence of I began class in the SU Art curiosity. An immediate Gallery in Shaffer Hall. The piece of evidence is that museum staff was kind enough year after year, most to allow my Introduction to (sometimes all) of my Innovation class to meet after students, juniors and the galleries had closed. As I seniors, have never set foot do every year, I held class there in the University’s art to engage one of eight mental gallery. How can this be? exercises I’ve devised to disturb One reason is that many of our normal pathways of thought, my students, mostly coming to “leave the dock” to which our from well-regarded high brains are usually tethered — schools, never have had an to think in different ways. This art appreciation course. particular exercise focuses on Most have never heard a two pieces of art, requiring the live symphony. Fewer still students to analyze the record have had a poetry course. of how someone else has seen This helps explain the the world. second shortcoming that The first is Hyachinthe bears directly on limits to Rigaud’s Portrait of Louis XIV any individual’s ability to (1701). Students are asked to innovate, namely, the trade places with Louis, looking paucity of words at their at themselves through his eyes. command. It’s taken me What does the modern world some time to realize, but, look like? How can eighteen students no longer enter people be looking at him from college with the vocabulary a room with no windows that that was once expected. Louis XIV In Coronation Robes (painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud)* is filled with light? The second is Any doubt I had was Larry Rivers’ Poetry of K. Koch put to rest when I discov(1961). Students contemplate ered that in 2016 the SAT how impressionist art was an impossitwenty years. In 2016 entrepreneurs was made easier. The test, necessary for bility before Einstein and Freud changed started 30% fewer businesses than in college entrance, no longer includes our view of time and space and of 1996. What’s not in my book is sentence completion questions that human consciousness. We also reflect evidence that the rate of innovation required students to chose appropriate on how the genius of George Eastman across the economy is also falling. final words. Worse, hundreds of tested made representational painting Robert Gordon, a respected economist, vocabulary words were eliminated as unnecessary. makes this point in his book, The Rise “highly obscure or only relevant to one Teaching this course, while very and Fall of American Growth. The two domain.” Thus, professors can no longer rewarding, continuously presents me statistics are related. They both suggest expect freshman to know the meaning with three unsettling observations. we are not as innovative as a society of abrogate, deliberate, hypothesis, Unfortunately, they confirm macroecoand, necessarily, as individuals, as we obsequious, transform or unscrupulous. nomic research I have done, some of have been in the past. Why is this relevant to my worry which is the foundation for my recent about “Generation Z” not being as WHY? book, Burn the Business Plan. In the innovative as previous cohorts? Simply, One theory relates to how poorly book I note that the number of Ameriinnovation is a synthetic process. With students are educated by our high cans starting businesses every year, declining rigor in our high schools, where schools. Many colleagues comment entrepreneurs, has been in free fall for the acquisition of indispensable factual THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

A R O U N D

and working knowledge of language, history, science and mathematics has been devalued as “rote learning,” displaced with “critical thinking,” students arrive in college without the tools to compose new ideas. Madame Curie’s observation comes to mind: “A great discovery does not issue from a scientist’s brain ready-made. It is the fruit of an accumulation of preliminary work.” Put more simply by my high school Latin teacher, “You can’t paint a barn with a dry brush.” I believe there is a third culprit depressing innovation, one that is having the opposite of its intended effect. Universities, by emphasizing the unrealistic idea that entrepreneurship is a readily accessible career path to be pursued upon graduating, have implicitly taught students that creating new ideas, particularly ones that hold the promise of commercial success, is a competency particular to people in their twenties. This belief, quite naturally, reflects the stories of entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg and others who experienced tremendous success starting companies just after college. Such individuals are, however, so rare that they and the companies they start are referred to as “unicorns.” To urge premature entrepreneurship results in unnecessary failure rates, the highest of all, in the cohort 20 to 30 year olds. And, countering the view that failure pays dividends in the future, only a fraction of entrepreneurs who fail in their twenties ever start another company. Empirical studies tell us that innovation is not a young person’s game, no more than starting a successful new business is. “Big brain” innovators, those recognized with Nobel, Wolf, Abel and Breakthrough prizes as well as Lasker medals, make their salient discoveries, on average, in their forties. Similarly,

“We should prepare students to better understand that the life of an innovator or entrepreneur is not a sprint but a marathon. ” CARL J. SCHRAMM

empirical studies conducted by the Kauffman Foundation, have shown conclusively that average American entrepreneurs are 39 when starting their first companies. The lesson? When we think about innovation, it is important that we realize that education can play a more effective role in preparing students to become more innovative and successful in starting businesses. A good place to start is for university presidents and college professors to join the chorus stumping for fundamental reform of American schooling. No student should get to college without having visited a museum, heard a symphony, or understand what deliberate means. How can STEM-focused high school training be working if students get to college not knowing the meaning of hypothesis or transform? Second, we should prepare students to better understand that the life of an innovator or entrepreneur is not a sprint but a marathon. Reading history, including the biographies of scientists and business people, can’t help but provide a larger life lesson, namely, that time invested early in life in understanding as much as possible in as many fields as possible pays dividends in later life. Individuals so equipped are more likely to have the synthetic thoughts that we know as discovery in science

T H E

i school

and as the moment when a fledging entrepreneur sees how something can be done “faster, better and cheaper.” Finally, and closer to home, the iSchool can play a critical role as a model for undergraduate training that produces students who are better at thinking in innovative ways, equipped to outperform graduates of other universities at work, and likely to be more successful if and when they start their own companies. The iSchool curriculum strives to combine a solid intellectual frame on which the many relevant disciplines that make up the field of information sciences can work together to produce valuable new insights — the stuff of innovation. Second, our students are exposed to faculty who are engaged in the art of innovation — pushing frontiers of synthetic knowledge that relate to information theory and practice. Finally, the iSchool has made exposure to business through internship and other immersion experiences an integral part of the student experience. Editor’s Note: Carl J. Schramm is a University Professor who teaches in the iSchool. His most recent book, Burn the Business Plan, was published in January, 2018 by Simon and Schuster. It was released in paperback in January, 2019. In October, 2018 Schramm was honored with the One America Award for Entrepreneurship for his expertise in entrepreneurship and philanthropy by the National Italian American Foundation. *From Wikimedia Commons, CCO: 1.0 (universal public domain dedication https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/ zero/1.0/deed.en)

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

STUDENT PROFILE

TYUS BATTLE ’20

On Basketball and Technology BY: JEFF RUBIN ’95 G’98

first met Tyus Battle ’20 when he was being recruited to Syracuse, and then-assistant basketball coach Mike Hopkins (now head coach at University of Washington) brought him into my office in Hinds Hall. Prior to the visit, Hopkins mentioned that Tyus was interested in technology and thought that the iSchool might be a good fit for him. Tyus visited with his father, and we talked about the school, the opportunities here, potential career paths in technology, and I had the opportunity to show him how I bring some of that together at SIDEARM sports and in the classroom. Not too much later, I saw that he committed to Syracuse, and in the fall, he was in my IST 195 (Introduction to Information Technology) class. Tyus rarely missed a class (except when games had him traveling), and unlike most students he always sat in the first or second row. Needless to say, Tyus was engaged and it was truly a pleasure having him in class. Being a student athlete is a challenge, and I don’t think a lot of people understand what is asked and expected of them. Student athletes don’t necessarily ask for the spotlight, but the spotlight (and sometimes a microscope) is given to them. Being a student athlete is more than just the games and the practices, it’s the community outreach that they do, the travel, getting back from a game at 2:00 a.m. and then being there in class a few hours later at 8:30 a.m. That’s a lot to ask of anybody and I have always had the utmost respect for the ones like Tyus that do it without complaining. I give Tyus, and all student athletes, a lot of credit for being able to find that balance—being *Editor’s Note: Following able to have the success he does on the court the close of the 2019 college and also be present and engaged in the classbasketball season, and after room. Tyus defines a student athlete. this interview, Tyus Battle When Tyus made the decision last summer to announced that he was withdrawing from college remove his name from consideration for the NBA play and the SU team to draft and come back to Syracuse*, I was happy enter the National Basketball for him and glad to have him back on campus for Association draft. He plans another year. Honestly, whatever decision he to continue his studies at made I would have been happy for him. Tyus is a Syracuse University and is great advocate for Syracuse University. He’s a on track to graduate in 2020 leader on the court, he’s down to earth and with a degree in information understands the importance of finding that management and technology balance between what he wants to do in his from the SU School of Information Studies.

connectiONS 16

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

profession, basketball, but also working to complete his degree at Syracuse University. I had an opportunity to speak with Tyus in my office recently, and our interview is below. It has been lightly edited for length and clarity. JEFF: How and when did you become interested in technology? TYUS: It’s funny — when I was really young, I was a huge video game guy. I loved playing video games. So I told myself, as a second plan, I wanted to be a video game creator. At the time I also liked to draw and make things as well, but video games were my first introduction to technology. I was a huge Call of Duty fan growing up, and still am, actually. I play Fortnite a little bit, too. I’m pretty good. The whole team is kind of addicted, too, everyone gets addicted to it! But Call of Duty is my favorite, I just love it. JEFF: You see professional athletes, like Steph Curry and Lebron James, investing in tech and startups. Is that something you could ever see yourself wanting to get involved in? TYUS: Oh yeah, definitely. Everything is technology-based now. Look at sports, there’s statistics, at practice we wear these Zephyr vests to track our heart rate, measure how much energy we’re expending out on the floor. Everything is tracked on this system, it’s amazing. JEFF: How have you used this technology to help you be more competitive on the court? TYUS: They’re not just tracking rebounds, like offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, they’re tracking where you’re getting those rebounds from, how you’re positioning yourself to get them, and so on. You can dive so deep into your stats, look through the analytics, all while you’re re-watching the film from the game. I watch film before every game. I actually watch it with my dad, both of us together on FaceTime, clips of myself—the good and the bad plays—and clips of the team as a whole. And then as a team, we watch film of the team we’re going to be playing. It helps me see the mistakes I’m making and correct them. I’m much more of a visual learner, so when I see the good plays, it helps me to reinforce those movements.

A R O U N D

T H E

i school

J.D. ROSS

TYUS: Social media allows people to get to know you outside of just the sport—to get to know a little bit more about your personal life, what you like to do, other things that you’re interested in. And I think a lot of people forget about that because they just see you on the basketball court. Social media is what you make out of it. If you portray yourself as a negative person and put negative stuff out there, then that’s what the public is going to think about you. There’s positives and negatives for sure. Throughout the season, I try to stay off of Twitter because I like to stay focused. On Twitter, there’s a lot of ways people can try and get in contact with Jeff Rubin, right, Associate Professor of Practice, looks at the range of new apps Tyus Battle, you. The Syracuse fan base is so amazing an IM&T student, has installed on his phone. and cares so much about basketball, but people like to voice their opinions, both positive and negative, JEFF: People don’t always see the commitment so I just try and control that as much as possible. that student athletes make. As a team veteran, as a leader, what advice do you have for incoming JEFF: On your phone, what are the apps that get the students who are learning to balance academics most usage? while being a Division I athlete? TYUS: Snapchat for sure, I’m on Snap a lot. It’s more private, TYUS: First off, it’s not easy. It’s something that I started to you don’t have to put your whole life out to the public. On learn in high school, where they really focused on and enforced Instagram, I like to scroll through my feed, look at basketball the academics. I would say first that you really have to stay stuff, shoes. If people see me play, they know that the shoes I organized - write down everything so that you don’t forget it. wear are pretty ‘out there.’ I like to see what the new shoes are And second, you need to stay focused. College can get really that are coming out and then get them as fast as possible. I distracting at times, especially when you’re a student athlete, have a good amount of games on my phone, I’m not going to so you have to find that balance of priorities, which for me is lie! To pass time, I downloaded this game called Brawl Stars, a school and basketball. In season when we travel so much, little fighting game; I’ve been enjoying it so far. I have a ton of staying in contact with your professors and just getting your apps that track things — how I’m eating, my food and diet work done is key. intake. I’ve had that since high school. JEFF: You’re pretty active on social media, and you have a Interviewer Jeff Rubin ’95 G’98 is Associate Professor of decent following on Twitter and Instagram, do you feel Practice at the iSchool, and founder and CEO of SIDEARM that social presence has benefitted you? What have the Sports, a digital engagement platform for college athletics. downsides been?

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

SAMANTHA RUDDY: T E C H N I C A L LY F U N N Y

The life of a modern comic NATALIE WIESNET SHELTON

BY: BARBARA BROOKS

amantha Ruddy ’13 is one of Brooklyn’s funniest people— and, in a borough where countless aspiring comics jockey for attention, that’s saying a lot. Brooklyn Magazine gave Ruddy that nod in 2016, just two years after she began performing standup comedy at clubs around New York City and across the country—and three years after she left Syracuse University with stage presence, contacts in the field, and technical skills that could help her succeed. Now 27, Ruddy has already performed at the New York Comedy Festival, San Francisco Sketchfest, and Boston’s Women in Comedy Festival. She is represented by the William Morris Agency, and last year she headlined at Caroline’s on Broadway. In October, she got another huge break: She recorded a segment for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

connectiONS 18

Ruddy said she draws much of her material from living in New York—“an insane place where streets are spilling over with people and objects and everyone’s on top of each other. Funny things happen all the time.”

My friend was bragging to me about how her apartment in Wisconsin has a porch. She said it was nice to have a place to take your shoes off, play some music, and have a drink. She was like “you don’t have anything like that here in NYC.” I was like “Duh the subway.” Over the years, Ruddy has built 45–60 minutes of material that she considers “really solid.” She maintains a “giant database” of every joke she’s written since 2013 and, with skills in HTML, CSS and basic Java Script, she built and maintains her own website. People reach out to her by email and Facebook for bookings. And she tests the seeds of her jokes on Twitter (@samlymatters), where she also offers a

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

steady stream of promotions for her upcoming shows. She also promotes her fellow comics and pokes kind-hearted fun at her family, her friends, and her home state of Pennsylvania. has the Hershey t Pennsylvania chocolate factory and the Crayola crayon factory. We’re like the number one exporter of stuff you don’t want your dog to eat.

“I was obsessed with social media in college,” Ruddy said, “and now it’s a big part of me gaining traction as a comic. When I had 5,000 followers, if 20 people favorited or shared a Tweet, I figured the joke had merit.” Now, with 22,000 followers, she shoots for 100 or more signs of encouragement. Her jokes are usually clean though a bit dark; often self-deprecating and sometimes genderrelated. As an openly gay woman with a long-term partner who lives in New York, she takes extra care to be broadly relatable.

know I’m in love because I t Ideleted all my dating apps. Well

morning I stood in the Chickt This fil-a line behind an immigrant in a

Ruddy said that “one-linery misdirections” are at the heart of her comedy. “I think of a common occurrence and then I twist it.”

As a kid, Ruddy was funny. She was voted Class Clown in high school. “I had friends,” she said. “I wasn’t a loser, but I wasn’t super popular either. I just wanted to make people laugh. My grades were decent, but I got really obsessed with the SAT. I knew that was the ticket to going to a good college.” She entered Syracuse’s iSchool / Newhouse dual major program with dreams of becoming a writer for television. “Freshman year, I was definitely lonely,” she recalled. “I tried on some weird friend groups, but when I started doing sketch comedy, I found my people.” After spending “more time behind a video camera than writing and performing jokes,” she decided to drop the Newhouse part of her major and focus on comedy and on learning the business and technology skills she was most likely to need to succeed— especially web development with Adjunct Professor Chris Kirkegaard, and social media elements with Associate Professor of Practice Jeff Rubin. “I was so into the iSchool, that I had finished all the requirements by junior year.” Outside the classroom, she performed with a sketch comedy group called Humor Whore, and by junior year, she was writing and acting. By senior year, she was co-head writer with Newhouse student Mike Rogers ’14, who went on to work at Nickelodeon. “We filmed something every weekend,” she said. “Our sketches were all on the Internet.” Their most popular video caught fire with Syracuse alumni and attracted 100,000 views. Ruddy graduated early from the iSchool. She moved first to Boulder, Colorado, and then to Brooklyn to launch

except farmers only—but that’s just so when I leave the door open and my girlfriend asks if we live in a barn, I can say “maybe me and my next girlfriend do.”

friend wasn’t even drunk, t My and he got arrested at a DUI

checkpoint. In fairness, though, he had no business conducting a fake DUI checkpoint. “It’s really hard to write comedy that isn’t a little bit dark,” she said. “People are exhausted by politics, but comedy has to be relevant.”

is a weird job because t Standup what we feel is acceptable as a

society changes so rapidly. No accountant is ever like “well I looked at some tax returns I did back in 2013 and uh turns out they were super racist.” For her Colbert set, Ruddy prepared six minutes of her best material. She said, “It was so scary. It was so cool. I woke up and went and got my hair done. They picked me up in a car and gave me a swag bag. I have so much stuff, I look like I got drafted by Stephen Colbert.” Once in the green room, she got the royal treatment. “There was all this great food, but I couldn’t eat it I was so nervous. I had them get me some whiskey to chill my jitters, but as soon as I was on stage, I was fine.” For that performance, especially, she kept the material free of politics and major brands. For example, she saved this jab for other occasions:

MAGA hat and part of me was like “why would you support something that’s so against your own interest?” and then I remembered I was a gay person in line for Chick-fil-a.

her career. David Rosen ’11 G’12, now a senior solutions architect at CrowdTwist, Inc., in New York, helped her get her foot in the door at Oracle, where he worked at the time. She also picked up gigs as a social media manager and doing data entry. “In comedy, you have really great months, and then times when you need to temp,” she said. These days, she performs an average of a show a night—about 365 shows a year—with other rising stars. On Wednesdays, she’s at Lucky Jacks in Manhattan with the group “Too Many Cooks.” She also takes occasional writing gigs, such as when a friend needed a funny subcontractor to help meet a deadline for an awards show. About once a month, she travels to smaller markets such as Minneapolis, Denver, Boston, Omaha and Atlanta. Success is clearly building, as Ruddy plugs away, one joke, one gig, one cup of coffee, at a time. thing about being a woman: t Cool A female barista kept making me

the wrong drink (hot instead of cold, tea instead of coffee, etc.) and instead of either of us getting mad we just kept apologizing to each other and now I have 3 drinks. In the near term, she hopes to secure a job writing monologue jokes for a late-night show or for a sitcom. But the big payoff would be to tour the country full-time, as a headlining comedian. So, every day, she works at her craft. “I’m walking around and think of something, so I write it down. But once a week I force myself to sit down to write for an hour or more,” she said. “Even if I think it’s bad, I’m better for having done it.”

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

M A R K I N G 10 Y E A R S O F

Information T Design, and S

“Why aren’t students building things?” STEVE SARTORI SUSAN KAHN

From top: Mike D’Eredita, John Liddy, and Bruce Kingma. All three had a hand in building the iSchool’s program in Information Technology, Design, and Startups in 2009.

DAVID BRODA

connectiONS 20

his is the question iSchool adjunct faculty member Mike D’Eredita asked himself more than 10 years ago — a question which would lead to a program that would inspire hundreds of Syracuse University students to think differently and take risks. “I always viewed demonstration and building as the ultimate learning experience, for anybody,” D’Eredita said. “You learn your limits, you learn what you can do. You can sit in class and learn Java, but have you built anything? What have you done?” D’Eredita still remembers the pitch he made to the iSchool’s Board of Advisors to launch an innovation class. iSchool faculty member Bruce Kingma, who was serving as Provost for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the time, had already been in talks with Dean Liz Liddy about using money from the Kauffman Campus Initiative and from a Chancellor’s Leadership Project grant to start an entrepre neurship program, so it was easy for D’Eredita to garner support. Dean Liddy gave D’Eredita a few minutes to speak at an iSchool board meeting and he remembers a buzz when he was done. He said a few student entrepreneurs were also at the meeting and when the board saw how dedicated the students were, they were eager to back the vision. According to D’Eredita, universities often accidentally lead students to believe there is only one path after graduation — make a resume, get hired, and work. He said he doesn’t believe every student needs to be an entrepreneur but they at least need to be shown it is an option. As a rowing coach for years, D’Eredita had an idea to curate a similar student-athlete type environment around student entrepreneurs. He envisioned teams, coaches and practice time — basically a small community. With the backing of Kingma, the iSchool board, and Dean Liddy, a program staff began to form. It consisted of many people from across campus as well as from across the city (all of whom are included in the sidebar on page 23.) “It was really thanks to a combination of a supportive administration like Liz Liddy and Bruce Kigma among others, fused with supportive community members,” D’Eredita recalled. “It was important we had all of these champions of this program and that it spanned across not only the University but also the city.” Together, this team was able to launch a trial run of a course in fall of 2008. It was a single class called Technology Entrepreneurship and it was co-taught by

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Technolog y,

Startups

BY ALEXANDRA ARCHAMBAULT ’18 G’20

SUSAN KAHN

D’Eredita and Nasir Ali, then Executive Director of the Syracuse Technology Garden — a hub in downtown Syracuse that helps to create technology-leveraging start-ups, fosters the development of entrepreneurs, and supports the innovation ecosystem throughout the Central New York region. This initial class was an immediate success and fostered the online reputation management company BrandYourself, that is still around today with locations in New York City and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After the triumph of the first course, the team wanted to expand. “We quickly realized one course wasn’t enough; these students needed more time to develop their ideas.” D’Eredita said. In 2009, a year after the initial class, the Syracuse Student Sandbox was introduced. At first, it wasn’t even a course, just an opportunity for students to work on their business ideas downtown in the Tech Garden. Since D’Eredita envisioned the program functioning like an athletic community, the founders agreed they needed to seek out a Sandbox “Head Coach.” They found that coach in John Liddy. At the time, Liddy was an entrepreneur in the area and was working on his MBA in Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management. He had worked with his mother, Dean Liddy, on a company called TextWise, as well as on his own companies. Due to his connection to Syracuse, his

wealth of knowledge, and his dedication to helping others find success, he was an obvious recruit. Once John Liddy joined the program, D’Eredita and the others would co-teach the first classes and when students had a viable business idea, they would be passed along to the Sandbox for refinement and coaching. Liddy recalled when he started working in the Sandbox he was essentially babysitting the students as they worked through their ideas. He quickly realized it was more helpful to let students figure out what worked and didn’t using trial and error rather than just telling them what to do.

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Sandbox students gather for a team meeting during the 2012 summer session.

connectiONS

SUSAN KAHN

Mike D’Eredita at left with students Phil McKnight, Gieve Kazerouni, and Josh Jackson, representing their venture, Promptous, at an entrepreneurship event held in the Blackstone LaunchPad in 2018.

connectiONS 22

“I found it was just important for me to help students understand how to think like an entrepreneur and to identify good ideas,” Liddy said. “It wasn’t about getting them to raise a lot of money, it was about getting them to see opportunities. Even if the company they were working on didn’t work out, they developed skills to make something else work in the future. Sure, we have successes but regardless, all of these students can benefit from what they learn here.” With the program growing, the team decided to make the Sandbox a registered University course as it was the easiest way to both market it to students and to ensure they were still continuing to attend their other classes while building their ventures. It quickly occurred to the team to lump all of the new entrepreneurship course offerings into an official university minor to provide structure. D’Eredita said that at the time, they never wanted it to become a full-fledged major as they wanted students to maintain interests in other disciplines, and weave entre preneurship into them.

John Liddy (standing) advises an early student venture in the Sandbox.

The resulting minor was called Information Technology, Design and Startups (IDS), and consists of three classes that students can take consecutively. What’s The Big Idea — a class structured to help students think like an entrepreneur — Idea to Startup — a class to help students develop business ideas — and finally, The Sandbox — a class dedicated to allowing students to work on their companies under the guidance of mentors in the Syracuse Student Sandbox. Despite humble beginnings, the IDS program was a clear success. Soon after its start, hundreds of students across all disciplines, and even from other colleges and universities, were finding their way to the IDS program and realizing they, too, could think like an entrepreneur. Additionally, Kingma said that institutions across the world were reaching out to him asking how they could cultivate similar programs. Today, ten years after its launch, D’Eredita said over 1,500 students have engaged in at least one of the program’s three courses. Beyond that, student teams in the program have collectively won over $1 million dollars in funding while still in school, and since leaving school, almost $40 million in funding. Although the Sandbox has recently moved from its home downtown in the Tech Garden to the Blackstone LaunchPad in Bird Library, it still serves the same purpose it did upon its inauguration — allowing students to push their minds in ways that a traditional classroom education does not. n

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

KARLEY BROWN

Syracuse Student Sandbox participants pitch their companies at an early ‘Demo Day’ at the Tech Garden in 2012.

The individuals below were all responsible for helping the iSchool build and grow the IDS program. They are noted with their role at the time, as well as their current role, if it has changed. NASIR ALI Executive Director of the Syracuse Technology Garden (now Managing Director of the Startfast Venture Accelerator and CEO of Upstate Venture Connect)

BRUCE KINGMA Provost for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (now Professor of Entrepreneurship at the iSchool)

SEAN BRANAGAN Tech Garden (now Director, Newhouse Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship)

ELIZABETH LIDDY Dean of the iSchool (now retired)

KATHLEEN BRANDT Professor, VPA DON CARR Professor, VPA ANN CLARKE Dean, VPA (now Associate Professor, VPA) BRADEN CROY Assistant Director, Student Sandbox (now Program Manager, Blackstone LaunchPad) MICHAEL D’EREDITA Professor of Practice, iSchool (now Director of the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship at Le Moyne College, and Adjunct Professor at the iSchool) ANDREW FARAH Graduate Assistant (now CEO at Density) TORY GENTES Graduate Assistant (now Immersive Ethnographer) LINDA HARTSOCK Executive Director, Tech Garden (now Executive Director, Blackstone LaunchPad)

JOHN LIDDY Director, Student Sandbox BILL PADGETT Professor, VPA ELIZABETH RUSCITTO Graduate Assistant (now Director of Developer Relations at HubSpot) PETER SCOTT Professor of Practice, Whitman MARCIE SONNEBORN Adjunct Professor, Whitman (now Professor of Practice, iSchool) MEL STITH Dean, Whitman (now retired) JOHN TORRENS Professor of Practice, Whitman GISELA VON DRAN Professor, iSchool (now member, iSchool Board of Advisors) CRAIG WATTERS Professor of Practice, Whitman

STACEY KEEFE Executive Director, Enitiative (now Project Manager, St. Joseph’s Health)

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

Liz Liddy: A Brilliant Innovator, Inspiring Teacher, Energizing Leader Retires

When Liz became dean at her alma mater, “She’s data driven down to her fundamental he pathways and she led the school to huge enrollment growth, level. Her way of working is to get in and work processes of learning, leading roles in innovation and entrepreneurship out problems, letting the solutions arise from tireless analysis, testing, and exploration; discovering, and doing studies and promoting technology careers and education for women, and a heightened global she has continued that into all other parts of have always been satis- profile. Later, at the Chancellor’s request, she her life. Whatever the challenge, she goes for it diverted temporarily to serve as interim vice with sheer curiosity and perseverance. She’s fying and grounding for Elizabeth chancellor and provost for the University for a just intrepid. Liz was a pioneer, and with her “Liz” Liddy, who retired in May as year and a half before returning as iSchool dean. contributions natural language processing At every stage of her career, her devotion to went on to become an everyday tool.” dean of the iSchool. discovery, continual learning, meeting BARBARA KWAŚNIK, PROFESSOR EMERITA As a child she accompanied challenges head-on, and doing new, interesting Professional Associates things drove personal stretch goals and iSchool her father and siblings on weekly academic strength. Liz succeeded—and “You have led the iSchool with grace, integrity, library visits. As a college student excelled—at every turn. and a passion for innovation. The programs you have spearheaded will benefit students for she earned a degree in English Time for Family and Self years to come.” In transitioning to retirement, Liz may find Language and Literature. As a BARBARA SETTEL, RETIRED ISCHOOL EXECUTIVE herself in an unfamiliar place for a woman who DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS young mom she volunteered in has been immersed in business and academia “You brought me into research and guided my the school library, then enrolled in since she was a teen. But the next chapter promises more time for family; service on five progress, with a most appreciated respect for Syracuse University’s Library and educational and business boards; and favored my needs and choices. You’ve supported my athletic and outdoor pursuits. career changes all along the way.” Information Science master’s Apart from her stellar professional achieveEILEEN ALLEN, FORMER ISCHOOL RESEARCH program. She became a college ments, Liz’s legacy as friend, mentor, role model, ADMINISTRATOR cheerleader, teacher, trusted associate and inspilibrarian, then returned to the “You are an innovative information scientist ration to hundreds stands intact. Some of those and academician who does not see boundaries, classroom herself, taking doctoral folks toast her here. only new possibilities.” courses part-time while ANNE TURNER, PROFESSOR, HEALTH SERVICES/ Doctoral Cohort Members BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS AND MEDICAL EDUCAmaintaining her full-time job. TION UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

Goals Undeterred

As a researcher, Liz believed that linguistic principles could be applied to computer language learning and text retrieval processes. Though status-quo thought leaders were skeptical then, Liz was undeterred. Her disser tation won awards before she even completed her doctorate, and she became a pioneer in the new field of natural language processing. Appointed to the iSchool faculty, she also built a company from her patentable findings. But being CEO kept her from the classroom more than she wanted. She sold the company and returned to teaching, founding the Center for Natural Language Processing. She continued leading-edge NLP, text mining, and information retrieval research and contract work for government agencies for many years.

connectiONS 24

“What really struck from the beginning was her brilliance. Her insights, her research on linguistic understanding and knowledge, and the mechanisms applied to information were the best in our field. If she had done nothing else, her research legacy was huge. The other thing Liz had was this innovation entrepreneurship side. She really has been a glass ceilingbreaker her whole life. There’s nobody quite like her in all the things she’s done.” MICHAEL EISENBERG, DEAN EMERITUS AND PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON ISCHOOL

iSchool Graduates “From helping me start my career, to finding a new city to call home, the iSchool has forever changed my life.” ZACH WILDER, ’18

“You cultivated a community of people passionate to help students learn, grow, and push boundaries. You personally made sure that students felt welcomed and had a place to nurture their talents.” HAILEY TEMPLE, ’15

“The love and family feel that the iSchool has starts at the top. You’ve created an environment where students thrive, learn, and continue to push the boundaries of the college experience.” DAVID ROSEN, ’11 G’12

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

STEVE SARTORI

Academic Credentials l

B.A., English Language & Literature, Daemen College, 1966 M.S., Library and Information Studies, Syracuse University, 1977 l Ph.D., Information Transfer, Syracuse University, 1988 l

NLP Innovation l

One of the earliest researchers in natural language processing and text mining l Faculty career began 1983 l Dissertation earned: ISI Dissertation Proposal Award; ASIS&T Doctoral Dissertation Award; ALISE Doctoral Dissertation Award for proving the utility of NLP for information science

Research Leadership l

Led 70 projects; authored 110 papers Presented at hundreds of conferences around the world l Her chapter on NLP in the Encyclopedia of Library & Information Science in 2001 is a staple in many computer science courses l Founded and directed the iSchool’s Center for Natural Language Processing l

Entrepreneur/CEO l

Founded startup company TextWise, 1984 Holds 8 software patents l Grew company to 50 employees before selling it l Continued confidential research work for U.S. Government intelligence agencies for many years l

Academic Achievement l

35+ years as faculty member, researcher and administrator Led iSchool to No. 4 ranking among LIS schools (U.S. News and World Report – 2018/Best Graduate Schools rankings) l Led iSchool to 2nd for information systems, 4th in school library media, 4th in digital librarianship in Library and Information Science category specialization rankings (U.S. News and World Report/2018 rankings) l Led iSchool to No. 17 for best online degree programs for graduate computer information technology; No. 6 in information technology programs for veterans l

Momentum for Growth l l l l l

Boosted iSchool undergraduate enrollment by 71% Increased graduate student enrollment by 66% Initiated New York State’s first graduate certificate program in Data Science Initiated a new undergraduate minor in Data Analytics Raised $26.2 million for funding research and development

Promoting Women in IT l

Founded Women in Technology student organization to promote female iSchool enrollment and success l Led 8 years of the It Girls Overnight Retreat, an annual weekend to interest high school junior and senior girls in tech educations and careers

Liz Liddy was awarded the Chancellor’s Citation for Lifetime Achievement in April at SU’s One University Awards event by Chancellor Syverud, pictured. The award, first presented in 1979, recognizes outstanding achievement in teaching, scholarship, and creative work. l

Boosted females enrolled at the iSchool to 42% of total undergraduate enrollment in 2018 l Achieved female undergraduate enrollment of 47% in the undergraduate class of 2022

Leading-Edge Entrepreneurship l l l l l

Pioneered connections to leading innovators/entrepreneurs in the IT field Led internal and university-wide student entrepreneurship competitions Helped bring Blackstone Launchpad to Syracuse University Began Syracuse Student Sandbox incubator and Information Technology, Design, & Startups minor Created iSchool immersion-learning programs: EntreTech NYC, Innovate Ireland, MLB Challenge, Peak2Peak Pacific Northwest, Spring Break in Silicon Valley, TechTrek Chicago, and several regional road trips

Administrative Leadership l

iSchool Trustee Professor Interim iSchool Dean, 2007-2008 l Dean 2008 – 2015; again May 2016 - May 2019 l Served 17 months as Syracuse University’s Interim Vice Chancellor and Provost l Awarded Chancellor’s Citation for Lifetime Achievement (May 2019) l

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

I N D U S T R Y

iNSiGHTS

Making Connections: IBM and the iSchool SARAH WEBER

I Sarah Weber

n past Industry Insights columns, I’ve highlighted a number of companies with a focus on the individual engagement that each has with the iSchool. For this column, I look at one company, IBM, and the numerous initiatives where they partner with the iSchool. Through their engagements, IBM has collectively addressed developing a diverse talent pipeline of high school women into the field of information technology, has enriched current student skillsets through real-world applications, and has prepared students for their professional careers. These initiatives have touched many students at different points in their academic careers and provided them with opportunities to learn more about new

technologies, and prepared them for inspiring new careers in the field of information technology. IBM’s broad and varied engagements with the iSchool provide a solid and holistic foundation to innovate and expand from, engaging industry experts, students, faculty, and alumni.

IT GIRLS OVERNIGHT RETREAT

JULIE WALAS

A sponsor and strong supporter of the iSchool’s It Girls Overnight Retreat for a number of years, IBM raised their level of support in 2018 to generously become the program’s first Event Level sponsor. For eight years, approximately 100 high school students, junior and senior women from across the country have traveled to Syracuse University each year to participate in a fun-filled, technology-focused, two-day event. Designed to support and engage the It Girls, the event also helps them develop a pathway to study Information Technology as an academic discipline. Essential components of the program are the opportunities the It Girls have to meet like-minded students and create meaningful connections with professional women, iSchool staff, faculty, current students, and iSchool alumnae who work in the IT industry. Connections and technical knowledge were shared with the It Girls through a number of means, including industry and academia-led workshops and an insightful conversation with IBM Keynote Speaker, Sharon Fortune Bowden. Sharon shared a relevant and engaging presentation with the It Girls about their futures and the vast opportunities there are for women in the field of information technology.

IBM’s Sharon Fortune Bowden (lower right) was the keynote speaker for our 2018 It Girls Overnight Retreat.

connectiONS 26

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Exemplifying the spirit of the It Girls program with her message of “IT means everything,” Sharon connected and inspired many future female technologists and leaders.

CALL FOR CODE

IBM’s Call for Code Global Initiative inspires technologists around the world to apply their skill sets and talent to drive positive and long-lasting change across the world. Hosted at Syracuse University’s Blackstone LaunchPad in Bird Library, 125 students from across campus formed teams and challenged themselves to develop solutions that significantly improve preparedness for natural disasters and relief in their aftermath. Following a hackathon-style format, the program culminated with final presentations to a panel of technologists from IBM and the Syracuse community. Enthusiastic for opportunities to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges, iSchool students represented the largest contingency at the event, and a team of five graduate students from the iSchool’s Information Management and Applied Data Science degrees won the challenge. All participants had exposure to tools such as IBM Watson, Chat Bot Engine, and IBM Blockchain through this initiative, enhancing their understanding of current technologies and inspiring them to think of new and innovative applications for them.

FALL CAREER FAIR

An important event each Fall semester, the iSchool welcomes companies from across the country to campus to recruit talented students. A participant of many past iSchool career fairs, both Fall and Spring, IBM has leveraged these high-visibility events to connect directly with students in all iSchool programs,

J.D. ROSS

IBM’s Phil Evangelista talks with students visiting the IBM booth at our Fall Career Fair in the Carrier Dome.

cultivate interest in IBM careers, and develop a strong talent pipeline. Visible and welcoming at the career fairs, IBM representatives have been instrumental in developing a line in front of IBM’s table that has consistently grown over the years. This year alone, IBM representatives, Phil Evangelista and Eric Higgins, saw hundreds of students within only a four-hour timeframe, as students looked to highlight their skillsets and gain valuable insight into sought-after IBM internship and full-time opportunities.

IBM DAY AT THE ISCHOOL

A complement to career fairs during peak recruiting seasons, or engagement opportunities at any time of the academic year, ‘Company Days’ at the iSchool offer a creative and customized way for companies to engage with iSchool students. In recent years, IBM has leveraged IBM Days to showcase specific programs and highlight connections between iSchool courses and professional roles. Through numerous classroom visits, one-on-one student

appointments, and an engaging information session, IBM Day allows students to have in-depth engagements with senior IBM representatives and also to connect with iSchool alumni at IBM. Alumna Dominique Parker G’17 generously donated her time and returned to campus this Fall, providing current students with the opportunity to visualize their own futures at IBM through her experiences. Alumni Janak Khilnani G’15 and Jamar Smith G’16 have also returned to campus in the past for different events and classroom engagements, providing invaluable mentorship to students and inspiring them to think big.

THANK YOU to these IBMers for their close relationship with the iSchool and for helping to forge many important partnerships to benefit our students: PHIL EVANGELISTA Business Unit Executive, Technical Sales IBM Global Markets, Financial Services Market University Partnership Executive - Syracuse University ERIC HIGGINS IBM Summit Champion Leader for nine years at Syracuse University Financial Services Market Certified IT Specialist - CICS and z Technical Professional SHARON FORTUNE-BOWDEN IBM Global Markets, Financial Services Market CTO

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

I N D U S T R Y

iNSiGHTS

Thank You to Our Corporate Partners and Employers We thank our corporate partners and employers who sponsor programs at the iSchool, host student groups on the road, and visit our career events to hire students for internships and full-time positions. CORPORATE PARTNERS

connectiONS 28

1871 Accenture Adobe - LiveFyre AIM Air Force Research Laboratory Air National Guard Airbnb Airtel ATN Alarm.com Amazon Arkadium Aspen Dental Assured Information Security AXA Bank of America Merrill Lynch Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) Barnes & Noble BASES - Stanford BD (Becton, Dickinson & Company) Big Switch Networks Blackstone LaunchPad Blink UX Bloomberg BNY Mellon Boeing Brand Yourself Brevite BugCrowd Cadence Design Systems Catapult Celerity Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Chicago ArchAngels Cisco Meraki CitizensRX Cloudability Crowd Twist Crowe LLP Cryomech, Inc. Deloitte Consulting Density Department of Defense

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Department of Homeland Security Department of Transportation Dig Safely New York, Inc. Dogpatch Labs Eaton Elevate Emogi EPE Innovations Epic Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Exelon Corporation EY (Ernst & Young) Facebook FactSet Research Systems, Inc. FDM Group Federal Reserve Board Fidelity Investments First Data FTI Consulting GE Georgetown University Goldman Sachs Good Uncle Google Gutchess Lumber, Inc. Halma HH Brown Highspot Hill-Rom HubSpot IBM IBM Design IDEO Inficon INROADS Intel Inter-American Development Bank Intercom Jet.com JPMorgan Chase & Co. KPMG LLP Library of Congress Lincoln Park Zoo

J.D. ROSS

iSchool alumni participants in the 2018 Fall Career Fair

LinkedIn LUX Capital MAG Sourcing Marlabs Inc. MedMen mHub Microsoft Microsoft Flagship Store MLB Advanced Media MobileIron Momentum MoviePass National Grid Nest Northeast Information Discovery Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) NPR NY Air National Guard NY on Tech OBG Oldham Gryska Oracle Peak Campus PIE Pinterest PMI Protiviti Quake Capital

Quanterion Solutions Inc. (QSI) Rapid Response Monitoring Services Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Relativity ROIDNA Rookie Road Salesforce Scott’s Pizza Tour Sevenrooms Skilljar Smarsh SRC, Inc. Starbucks Startup Hall Synchrony Financial TAO Tata Consultancy Services Teach For America Tech4kidz LLC Tempus Thales The 505 on Walnut The CBORD Group Inc. The Hartford The Raymond Corporation Threadloom T-Mobile Tory Burch

Trading Technologies Trinity College/ADAPT Twitter U.S. Government Accountability Office U.S. National Library of Medicine Uber United States Navy United States Senate United Technologies Climate, Controls & Securities University Beyond University of Rochester, River Campus Libraries University of Rochester-Rush Rhees Library UW Virta Labs Vox Media Walk.me Warby Parker Washington National Airport Wayfair Inc. WAYV Wethos World Bank Yewno Zimmerman Associates Inc.

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

ALUMNI

connectiONS

DAVID BRODA

Julie Walas DAVID BRODA

We’re pleased to welcome Adrienne Graves to the alumni engagement team at the iSchool!

Introducing a New Team Member JULIE WALAS, DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

have some big, big exciting news. We’ve added to our alumni engagement team! Please help me give a warm iSchool welcome to Adrienne Graves! Adrienne recently joined us as the new Assistant Director for Alumni Engagement, and in the first few months, she’s been quite busy making her mark! We’ve stepped aside to watch her bring expertise in planning to our tables at our Orange Central Alumni awards ceremony and creativity and vibrancy to our annual College Colors Day celebration. She also helped to welcome back our It Girls Alumnae at our new It Girls Alumnae Reunion in conjunction with retreat weekend and has big plans for the future success of this program. As she grows in her role here Adrienne will assist in the overall strategy and execution of on- and off-campus programs, communication and services for all of our

10,000+ undergraduate and graduate alumni — YOU! Adrienne will help us grow our alumni reach by diversifying the ways in which each of you engage with our current students and by working specifically with our international and graduate alumni populations. Adrienne comes to the iSchool with eight years of alumni engagement experience. Most recently, Adrienne comes from the Syracuse University Office of Alumni Engagement. Prior to that, Adrienne spent six years at Le Moyne College as the Associate Director of Alumni & Parent Programs. Both her undergraduate and graduate degrees are from Le Moyne, where she remains an active alumni association board member and chair of the young alumni committee. “My career has centered on alumni engagement and stewardship in the higher education setting. Within my

role, I work in many facets, including event planning, marketing, employer relations, and volunteer management. Above all, I love having the opportunity to reconnect alumni to Syracuse University, and to build valuable relationships within the University network,” Adrienne commented. We’re excited about the value and expert care that Adrienne brings to our team and we know you’ll love her as soon as you meet her. She’s on the road with us now — at library conferences and iSchool events. I hope you get to meet her soon! Until then, feel free to send her an email welcoming her to our crew at algraves@ syr.edu or connect with her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/adriennelgraves.

se the enclosed envelope to make your gift and let us know about your professional and personal accomplishments, such as promotions, awards, marriages, births, and adoptions, so that we can include them on our website, or in a future issue of Connections. Also, please keep us informed of any address or employment changes. Visit ischool.syr.edu/alumniupdate to change or submit information. Visit ischool.syr.edu/alumni to participate in the online alumni community and make a gift to the school. Information can also be submitted via e-mail to istalum@syr.edu. Julie Walas Director of Alumni and Student Engagement School of Information Studies Syracuse University 343L Hinds Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244 315-443-4133

connectiONS 30

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

f facebook.com/su.ischool t twitter.com/ischoolsu i ischool.syr.edu/linkedin I instagram.com/ischoolsu Yo youtube.com/syracuseischool

J.D. ROSS

B.S. IN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

Billy Ceskavich G’15 started a new posi-

Menotti Minutillo ’07 came to campus as

Joshua Aviv G’17 founder and CEO

part of the HINDSights Alumni Visitor Program. He recently moved to the San Diego area, and works for Uber as an engineering manager on the company’s privacy engineering team.

of SparkCharge, a company that produces a portable, fast charging battery unit for electric vehicles, earned the top prize of $1 million at 43North, a Buffalo New York-based startup competition. As a student, Aviv was a participant in the iSchool’s Information Technology, Design, and Startups program, and took his project to the Syracuse Student Sandbox accelerator where he received guidance and mentorship.

tion at Frame.io, based in New York City.

HINDSights PARTICIPANT J.D. ROSS

John Burke (left) and Kevin Dong talk with students in Professor Jeff Rubin’s IST 195 course about their JetBlue careers. John Burke ’12, Manager of Airports

Menotti Minutillo speaks with students in Professor Bruce Kingma’s class during his campus visit in September.

Jasmine P. Thompson ’07 m arried her best

friend Marques A. Dunn in August 2017 and works for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in Chicago. Josh Frost ’08

r eturned to campus in November as part of our HINDSights Alumni Visitor Program. After nearly 10 years HINDSights PARTICIPANT working for Major League Baseball’s Advanced Media division, Josh left MLB in April to take on a new role as Head of Product at Barstool Sports.

NANCY PARISI

HINDSights PARTICIPANT

Project Management & Testing for JetBlue Airways, visited campus in October along with Kevin Dong ’09, who serves as Senior Analyst for JetBlue’s hospitality programs. Burke and Dong were part of the HINDSights Alumni Visitor Program and shared their JetBlue career experiences with students. Keegan Slattery ’13 recently took a new

job as a Senior Digital Media Specialist with 2U in Denver, Colorado. Andrew Pregler ’15 started a new role

at the Topps Company, as a Mobile Application Producer, creating content for digital collectors. He also continues to write for the Syracuse sports blog, Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician.

Joshua Aviv G’17 receives his trophy from New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul at the 43North awards ceremony.

M.S. IN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Brian Kievit G’17 recently started a new

RJ Sherman G’12 is now Vice President

position at The Bulfinch Group working in financial planning and services.

of Innovation at Citizens Bank in Boston. Zach Schleien G’15 is co-founder of

18percent, a free mental health online community based on the Slack messaging platform, where users can receive peer-to-peer support. The community offers free, 24/7 support in a moderated environment with many channels that cover various mental health issues. They recently partnered with the Crisis Text Line, a confidential text message service for people in crisis.

M.S. IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE M.Wahiduzzaman G’64 , now retired,

publishes a monthly tourism and trade newsletter, The Traveller. A recent issue features his column, “A Writer’s Approach to Imagination Science.” Wahiduzzaman resides in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and his newsletter website is: www.thetraveller.online.

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

ALUMNI

connectiONS

M.S. IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORK MANAGEMENT

Jane Verostek G’96 is an Associate

Librarian at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Librarianship. This award recognized her re-opening of SUNY ESF’s Archives and Special Collections and her dedication to preserving and digitizing archival items and her work with faculty, students and alumni and researchers. In May Jane also completed work on and received a second Masters from Syracuse - a Masters of Arts in Museum Studies.

Sathya Gopal G’10 is a consulting

Congratulations to these iSchool alumnae, named Super Librarians by the CNY School Librarians Association. From left: Margaret Middleton, Susan Padjen, Penny Feeney, and Leslie Cartier. Leslie Cartier G’08, Penny Feeney G’13, Margaret Middleton G’11, and Susan Padjen G’11 were honored with the

2018 Super Librarian Award by the Central New York School Librarians Association. Cartier is a school librarian at Baker High School in the Baldwinsville Central School District, Feeney is a Library Media Specialist in the Westhill School District, Middleton is a Library Media Specialist at K.C. Heffernan Elementary in the Marcellus Central School District, and Padjen is the Librarian at the East Syracuse-Minoa High School. Jane Verostek and Otto after her May graduation ceremony. Brian Hildreth G’05 was appointed to

the New York State Regents Advisory Council on Libraries in November. He is the Executive Director of the Southern Tier Library System in Painted Post, New York. He also serves as Chair of the Trustee Education Committee of the New York State Public Library System Directors Organization, President of the Public Libraries Section Board of the New York Library Association (NYLA), and Secretary of NYLA’s Rural Libraries Roundtable.

systems engineer for the Northern California territory for Aruba Networks. He supports 20 sales engineers in the Bay Area and primarily works on large opportunities. He writes, “I love the current role as I get to work with some of the largest and complex networks like Google, Facebook, Kaiser, Uber, Lyft, Safeway, Sephora, Wells Fargo, CSUs, U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Davis, and U.C. San Francisco, to name a few.” PH.D. IN INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Isabelle Fagnot G’11 was recently

promoted to Full Professor in Management of Information Systems at Audencia Business School in Nantes, France where she also serves as the Director of Quality, Accreditations, and Rankings. Jerry Robinson G’18 took a position with

Facebook in June as a User Experience and Accessibility Researcher.

Abigail Digel G’17 has recently accepted

a position as the lower school librarian at Graland Country Day School in Denver, Colorado. Alexa Hirsch Lalejini G’17 r eceived

the Frank B. Sessa Scholarship for Continuing Professional Education from the Beta Phi Mu International Library and Information Studies Honor Society. Lalejini works as a youth and teen librarian at the Clarkston Independence District Library in Clarkston, Michigan.

Ph.D. graduate Jerry Robinson G’18 (center) was surprised with a visit by Professor Jennifer Stromer-Galley (left) and Postdoctoral Researcher Patricia Rossini when they stopped in to see him during a meeting at Facebook’s campus in Menlo Park, Calif.

We want to celebrate you! If you have news to share, please let us know: istalum@syr.edu. connectiONS 32

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

MORE THAN

Thank

850 alumni,

You! Thank you for helping transform the iSchool student experience. With your support, they live and breathe our mission of expanding human capabilities through information.

parents, staff

F A C U L T Y,

friends

contributed to the iSchool’s success last year. You can check the 2017-2018 HONOR ROLL online at ischool.syr.edu/donors

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

ALUMNI

connectiONS

Vanessa St.Oegger-Menn G’14 has curated an exhibit reflecting on the Pan Am 103 tragedy over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people, including 35 Syracuse University students.

connectiONS 34

Vanessa St.Oegger-Menn G’14

Curating an Exhibit Marking the 30th Anniversary of the Pan Am 103 Tragedy BY: J.D. ROSS

n exhibit currently featured at the Special Collections Research Center in Syracuse University’s Bird Library honors and remembers the victims of the bombing of Pan Am Airways flight 103 that occurred over Lockerbie, Scotland 30 years ago. On December 21, 1988 the New York City-bound aircraft exploded over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, the result of a terrorist attack. The disaster claimed the lives of all 259 passengers on board and 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. Among the aircraft victims were 35 Syracuse University students,

returning home after spending their fall semester at Syracuse’s London and Florence programs. Since the day of the attack, Syracuse University has been dedicated to preserving and honoring the memory of all who lost their lives that day. Through archival materials donated by families of victims, friends, advocates, and affected communities, the exhibit, We Remember Them: The Legacy of Pan Am Flight 103, is intended to document not only the terrorist act itself, but the lives of those lost and the ways in which they are remembered.

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

The exhibit, which opened in Sep tember 2018, was curated by Pan Am 103 Archivist and Assistant University Archivist Vanessa St.Oegger-Menn G’14, a graduate of the Library and Information Science program at the iSchool. St.Oegger-Menn has served as the Pan Am 103 Archivist for four years. In addition to her archival responsibilities, she is also one of the advisors for the Remembrance Scholars and the Lockerbie Scholars. Remembrance Scholars are 35 senior students studying at Syracuse, and Lockerbie Scholars are

J.D. ROSS

responsibility in learning and telling their stories, and in making sure that the University doesn’t forget.” “Many times when collections are donated to an archives it is because someone has passed away, and that process can be a very emotional one,” she continued. “Many archives are, in a sense, grief-based archives, but something like Pan Am 103 is much more so. I form much stronger connections with the donors and the families than some other archivists do.” St.Oegger-Menn credits current University Archivist Meg Mason, and former University Archivist Edward Galvin as mentors, both in how she approaches the exhibit curation, and in how she learned to interact with Pan Am 103 families and collection donors. Materials on view in the exhibit that St.Oegger-Menn has curated include:

she explained. “It was a very matter-offact publication about life in the town at the time, and how they were dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy, offering information and resources. I found that amazing. And we also have a travel alarm clock from one of the passengers. To me, that alarm clock takes on a much different meaning when you realize where it came from.”

STEVE SARTORI

two students from Lockerbie, Scotland who study at Syracuse for one year. St.Oegger-Menn helps to shepherd the Remembrance Scholars through planning Remembrance Week, which occurs each fall at Syracuse. As she began her work curating the exhibit, St.Oegger-Menn realized that it should have a broad reach. “I wanted to have all of their faces somewhere – as many of the victims as we had photographs for,” she said. “It’s important to personalize this event, to show the victims.” “There are so many layers to this tragedy, and so much that happened,” St.Oegger-Menn explained. “I don’t feel that you can focus on one thing without it being at the expense of other things, so I wanted to cover as much of it as possible. That’s where the idea came of doing something to remember them as a group.” Along the sixth floor hallway of Bird Library, a long display case stretches between two classrooms. Inside of the case, carefully arranged, were small, square photographs, one for nearly each of the 270 victims. “I wanted this to go beyond Syracuse University,” St.Oegger-Menn said. “Our collecting scope when we first started in 1990 was isolated to just Syracuse and the students who lost their lives. But in 2006 it became clear that we had developed strong relationships with non-Syracuse families, so we opened our collection scope to everyone. I feel like it’s important to recognize all of them.” St.Oegger-Menn grew up on the West Coast, and was just a child when the tragedy occurred. It wasn’t until her graduate studies at the iSchool that she began to learn of the history of Pan Am 103. “As I was learning the history and getting to know the archives, I found that my job was incredibly personal,” St.Oegger-Menn reflected. “Getting to know the family members and the victims, reading the journals the students kept while studying abroad, I felt a real

n photographs and original documents

from the joint US/UK investigative team and the criminal case of two Libyan nationals at Kamp van Zeist, Netherlands; victims’ personal items returned from the crash site;

n legislation, correspondence, newslet-

ters, memorabilia, and photographs depicting the role of the victims’ families and allies in working towards justice and improved aviation security;

n clippings, publications, and other

materials portraying the experiences and responses of both the Lockerbie, Scotland and Syracuse University communities;

n a visual recreation of the memorial

book On Eagles’ Wings, consisting of photographs of the 270 victims alongside their name, birth date, seat number, and home country. For St.Oegger-Menn, there are a couple of items displayed that stand out in her mind: One from the public library in Lockerbie, and the other an item that belonged to one of the passengers on Pan Am 103. “The library had published a newsletter in 1989, shortly after the event,”

iSchool senior Hairol Ma speaks at the annual Rose-Laying Ceremony in November, honoring the victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Hairol is one of 35 Remembrance Scholars, each scholar recognizing one of the 35 Syracuse University students who lost their lives in the tragedy.

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

ALUMNI

connectiONS

Connecting With

Alumni LIS alumni gather for an evening reception at Dinosaur BBQ in Rochester during the New York Library Association conference in November.

Barbara Settel visits with Neil Winston ’14 and Andy Ades ’16 while on a trip to Boston. Neil works for Cognizant Technology Solutions in incident and vendor management, and Andy is a digital product manager for Dunkin’ Brands.

Alumnae returned to campus in October to take part as mentors and guest speakers at our annual It Girls Overnight Retreat.

connectiONS 36

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Alumni Award Winners —2018

C J.D. ROSS

2018

ongratulations to these alumni, honored at our 2018 Alumni Awards & Recognition Ceremony at Orange Central in October. From left: Emily Drabinski G’03, Dev Sundarasekhar G’10, Eliza McLeod G’94, Shay Colson G’10, and Cameron Dixon G’13.

Learn more about our 2018 winners, and nominate a classmate for our 2019 awards here: ischool.syr.edu/ alumniawards. Nomination deadline is July 1, 2019.

On a trip to Philadelphia we caught up with Kara and Subhash Verghese G’01, Shruti Amla G’18, and Gupta G’16 (above) and Elliot Cole G’80 (left).

Christine Larsen G’84 welcomes students to First Data Corp. on the iSchool’s Fall Retail Road Trip.

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

ALUMNI

connectiONS

Sanda Erdelez G’95

Making a Career Out of Serendipity BY: BARBARA BROOKS

n 1987, when Sanda Erdelez G ’95 arrived at the iSchool to begin her doctoral work, the “world wide web” was anything but worldly. Or webby. “We had e-mail but everything was server based. ‘Gopher services’ was the search term of the day. And the Internet was closed to everyone except academics,” said Erdelez, who in June became director of the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University in Boston. “Just imagine! The world wide web was just emerging; and it was prohibited for businesses to use it.”

“We had e-mail but everything was server based. ‘Gopher services’ was the search term of the day. And the Internet was closed to everyone except academics. Just imagine! The world wide web was just emerging; and it was prohibited for businesses to use it.” —SANDA ERDELEZ G’95

Even academics had to overcome obstacles with clever workarounds. For example, in 1989, visa regulations required Erdelez to return to her home country of Croatia. “I told my professors, ‘we’ll keep in touch’—but when I got there, I realized there was no email yet in Croatia.” Undaunted, she traveled to Belgrade, Yugoslavia, petitioned the government, and received the very first address, “earn001,” in the nascent European Academic Research Network (EARN), which connected universities and research institutions across Europe. It also gave a few very-early adopters a way to communicate across the Atlantic. Erdelez’s curiosity—and her keen sense of where the world was headed—have been her keys to success. Her dissertation topic from nearly 30

connectiONS 38

years ago—“Serendipity in Information Behavior”—created a field that is hyper-relevant today. She has since co-authored two books on the subject: Theories of Information Behavior (2005) and Incidental Exposure to Online News (2016), which she defines as “the study of chance encounters with interesting, useful, or surprising news while using the Internet for non-news-related online activities such as email, social media or online shopping.” A serendipitous meeting at a conference in Dubrovnik with the late Jeff Katzer, dean of the iSchool at the time, led Erdelez to Syracuse. She said, “It was a combination of him being very descriptive, and the opportunity of having earned a Fulbright to study for a Ph.D.” Fortuitously, her first iSchool class, with former professor Michael Nilan, explored user behavior. “And like many researchers who notice something interesting, I decided to study it.” She eventually expanded her study to what she called Information Encountering. “Until my work was published, that wasn’t recognized as an area of research.” After two years of studying remotely—long before “remotely” was in vogue—Erdelez returned to Syracuse to complete her studies and start her family. At about that time, her hometown of Osijek became engulfed in civil war. “It was a rather unsettling and dramatic part of my life,” she said. “I was constantly worried for my family back home. They were hiding in cellars and phone lines would go down. But we had our nuclear family in Syracuse.” Her iSchool mentors and classmates provided refuge as best they could. The late Marta Dosa, a refugee from Hungary, was her advisor. “Her heart was as big as a mountain for interna-

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

tional students,” Erdelez recalled. “She understood what it was like for me.” Barbara Kwasnik, professor emerita, was new to the faculty at the time and also was a strong influence. “Just to demonstrate how closely knit the community was, she would make her place available to me between semesters,” Erdelez said. “I had nowhere else to go.” A few classmates also became lifelong friends and colleagues. She remains in touch with Howard Rosenbaum G’96, and Phillip Doty G’95, who serve, respectively, as professor of information science at Indiana University’s School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering; and associate dean and graduate advisor at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Information. To say the least, Erdelez’s career has followed an unusual trajectory. Drawn to the social sciences, she initially wanted to be an archaeologist, then a detective, and then a producer or director of movies. “Film lines up well with being a teacher,” she said, “and archaeology is one of the fields where serendipity is one of the ways of finding artifacts.” Eventually she became a lawyer, hop-

ing to study computer law and publish papers about information privacy and intellectual property. “But there wasn’t enough happening yet in that field.” Ironically, she created her field of study nonetheless. After serving as an adjunct instructor at the iSchool from 1992–1995, she spent six years as an assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Science at University of Texas at Austin. From 2001–2018, she worked her way up the ranks at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s School of Information Science and Learning Technologies, becoming a full professor in 2012 and serving as program chair of the Library and Information Science Program from 2013–2016. For five years, she directed Missouri’s Information Experience Laboratory and led research on usability of information systems and human-computer interaction. Now, Erdelez is at the helm of Simmons University’s School of Library and Information Science, with 730 graduate students. While she believes students will continue to study serendipitous information encountering, she also sees a strong future in digital preservation and archival management, as well as in virtual and augmented reality. She predicted: “As processing power and speed catch up to technological inventions, tethered VR devices will become more mobile and seamless, and will move from gaming into more general use. This is a really exciting time, with libraries and museums already leading the way,” she said. “The most exciting developments are literally taking place at the ampersand between library and information sciences.”

Thank you to our 2018–2019 HINDSights alumni visitor program participants. John Burke ’12 Manager, Airports Project Management & Testing Jet Blue Airways Kevin Dong ’09 G’12 Senior Analyst, Hospitality Programs Jet Blue Airways Josh Frost ’08 Head of Product Barstool Sports Menotti Minutillo ’07 Privacy Engineering Manager Uber

ant to visit campus and share your career and life experiences with iSchool students? In addition to class visits and presentations, visiting alumni are treated to campus tours, meals with faculty members, and are able to spend time getting caught up on what has happened at the University since you graduated. Contact us at istalum@syr.edu for more information.

Scott Weiner ’04 Entrepreneur and Author Scott’s Pizza Tours

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

connectiONS

LIZ LIDDY LEGACY A

C E L E B R AT I O N O F D E A N L I Z L I D D Y

Liz’s Legacy

Liz Liddy has made an immeasurable lasting impact during her time as Dean of the iSchool. Through her leadership, the iSchool has become a leader in information science and technology, pioneering new programs and partnerships, and ensuring that all students have the opportunity to gain hands-on experiential learning. As she prepared for retirement, we sought to advance her legacy for future iSchool students.

The Three Pillars

While her legacy is extensive and has touched every corner of the iSchool, Liz’s work can be summarized into three distinct pillars:

Women in Technology: Under Liz’s leadership, the iSchool’s undergraduate program has grown, along with the number of women interested in pursuing an education and career in the information management and technology field. The most recent undergraduate class of 2022 is a record 47% female. And the signature It Girls Overnight Retreat program just finished its 8th successful year of introducing high school girls to academic programs and careers in information technology.

connectiONS 40

Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Investments in entrepreneurship programs at the iSchool and across the University have allowed students to ignite and sustain their passion for building new businesses and ventures. The Syracuse Student Sandbox and the iSchool’s Information Technology, Design, and Startups minor have provided an academic path for entrepreneurial students. Nearly 200 start-up teams have won over $2 million in entrepreneurship competitions, and established ventures have secured almost $30 million in venture capital backing.

THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Academic Impact: Over the course of her academic career, Liz led 70 research projects, authored more than 110 research papers, acquired eight software patents, and delivered hundreds of conference presentations. Liz was at the forefront of library and information science research with her efforts in natural language processing (NLP) and was the founding director of the iSchool’s Center for Natural Language Processing (CNLP), advancing the development of language understanding software capabilities for government, commercial, and consumer applications.

Doctoral graduate Keisuke Inoue (left) presented Dean Liddy with a customized bottle of wine from each doctoral advisee she worked with during her time at the iSchool.

Support Liz’s Legacy To ensure that Liz’s legacy continues, an endowed fund has been established. This fund will directly support students in areas detailed by the three pillars above. Help us celebrate the lasting impact that Liz has made on the iSchool, our students, and alumni with a gift to the Elizabeth D. Liddy Endowed Student Support Fund. Enclose your gift in the envelope included in this magazine, or give online at liz. ischool.syr.edu.

Leave a Toast to Liz After more than 30 years as a faculty member, researcher, and Dean at the Syracuse University iSchool, Liz has touched the lives of many. Read and share a celebratory toast to Liz’s Legacy on our site dedicated to her: liz.ischool.syr.edu.

connectiONS

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY SYRACUSE, NY

343 HINDS HALL | SYRACUSE NY 13244

Upcoming Alumni Events

Mark these dates on your calendar, because the iSchool is hosting alumni gatherings in these cities over the next few months. If you’re nearby or can travel to meet up, network, and reminisce, please join us! JUNE

SEPTEMBER

ALA Networking Night

iSchool Alumni Awards Luncheon

✘

Sunday, June 23 — 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. City Tap House (Penn Quarter) (During ALA 2019) 901 9th St NW, Washington, DC

D.C. Summer Shindig

✘ Monday, June 24 — 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. W Hotel, POV Rooftop Bar 515 15th St NW, Washington, DC

JULY

NYC Summer Shindig

✘ Wednesday, July 10 — 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Beer Authority, Rooftop Terrace 300 W 40th St, New York, NY

Boston Summer Shindig

✘

Thursday, July 11 — 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. Legal Harborside 270 Northern Ave, Boston, MA

AUGUST

Seattle Alumni Networking Night

✘ Tuesday, August 13 — 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Location TBA

Portland Alumni Networking Night

✘ Thursday, August 15 — 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Location TBA

✘ Friday, September 13 — 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. Syracuse University, Hinds Hall Syracuse, NY

iSchool Homecoming Brunch

✘ Saturday, September 14 — 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Syracuse University, Hinds Hall Syracuse, NY

Fall Career Fair

✘ Tuesday, September 24

Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

OCTOBER

Philadelphia Alumni Night

✘ Thursday, October 3 Location: TBA

IT Girls Retreat

✘ Sunday, October 6 – Monday, October 7 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY

We send event notifications via e-mail—do we have your correct e-mail address and location in our records? Update your information at: ischool.syr.edu/update so we can invite you to events in your region.

Connections - Spring/Summer 2019

Articles inside

Vanessa St. Oegger-Menn, ’14: Curating an Exhibit Marking the 30th Anniversary of the Pan Am Tragedy

Supporting a Legacy: Celebrating Liz Liddy

Sandra Erdelez, G’95: Making a Career Out of Serendipity

Class Notes

From the Director

Marking 10 Years of Building: Information, Design and Startups

Faculty Viewpoint with Carl Schramm: Helping Students Innovate

Dean Liz Liddy Retires

Industry Insights

Technically Funny: Samantha Ruddy

New Board Members and Faculty

Student Profile: Tyus Battle

Around the iSchool