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.
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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.
