14 minute read
New Board Members and Faculty
The 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 New Members Join Board of Advisors
Doug Sweeny Chief Marketing Officer at One Medical
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Graham Warner Chief Operating Officer, Americas Global Transaction Banking at Deutsche Bank
Beth J. Patin
Stephen Wallace
The iSchool Welcomes Two New Faculty Members
BETH J. PATIN B eth J. Patin joined the faculty in August after receiving her a Ph.D. from theInformation School at the University of Washingtonin Seattle. She earned her B.S. in Education from Loyola University in New Orleans and taught in theNew Orleans Public Schools prior to pursuing her master’s degree in Library and Information Science atLouisiana 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 theLaura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries. Herresearchfocuses 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.’”
STEPHEN WALLACE S 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.”
iSCHOOL NEWS
iSchool to Lead Partnership Expanding Internet Connectivity in Liberia I 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. 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
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.
J.D. ROSS
Kevin Crowston FACULTY NOTE
Crowston Awarded Lifetime Achievement Honor from the Academy of Management OCIS Division T 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 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
iSCHOOL NEWS
Children’s Innovation Connections Project Receives IMLS Funding P 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 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 “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 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
STEVE SARTORI
Marilyn Arnone
STEVE SARTORI
Ruth Small
FACULTY NOTE
Hurst-Wahl Directs New Effort
for Public Libraries Research
An 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 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.” KELVIN P. RINGOLD Jill Hurst-Wahl
The initiative’s goals include:
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Researching the state of public libraries and their communities, with a focus on information needed by decision-makers and advocates
Compiling and disseminating information about how libraries are innovating, helping them build their capacity to do so
Applying iSchool research (such as issues about information privacy and the use of technology in marginalized communities) to the public library setting
Developing white papers, trade and scholarly articles, webinars, and presentations on innovation for the public library community’s use
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 Awardscholar 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 withEveryLibrary 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
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 AROUND THE ischool
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
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.
