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Alumni E-News
The University of Texas at Austin, School of Information
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/
Issue 11 - June 2005
Welcome! In this issue:
- Dean's Word
- Graduating Class spring 2005
- Capstone Award
- Kilgarlin Center Students Offer Assistance
- Tocker Women Receive Funding
- Technology Services survey
- New Faculty Book Releases
- 2005 Presidential Management Fellows
- Alumni Careers Web site
- News Notes
- Alumni, Faculty, Student, and Staff News
- Supporting the iSchool
- Contact Details
- Dean's Word
Greetings and welcome to the summer 2005 edition of the
e-newsletter. As mentioned in the previous email, we anticipated a
large class for fall 2005 and early indicators are that it will be
so. We have admitted over 120 students and had applications from more
than twice that many indicating strong demand for the educational
experience we offer. Thankfully, there is equivalently strong demand
for our graduates once they complete the program. While recent reports
in the professional literature allude to shortfalls in entry-level
positions, our graduates are highly successful in locating
professional jobs. Indeed, over 70% of our graduates report successful
employment in a professional position within 3 months of graduation
(the majority of these obtain their positions before they graduate),
and well over 90% are placed within 9 months. Since we know that among
the remainder there are many students who continue studies for higher
degrees in this and related fields, these data strongly support the
value of a graduate degree from the School of Information.
One of the strengths of this School is the connection we have with
employers, many of whom are alumni who take advantage of our capstone
requirement to connect with students early. It is partnerships of this
kind which emphasize the importance of face-to-face experiences for
students both within and beyond the classroom, and which explain why
so many employers seek out our students above others when they have
positions to fill. I am confident that our graduates are among the
best in the nation and we will seek to maintain that standard in the
years ahead. As always, your involvement and your support is vital to
helping us meet this goal and I am continually grateful that so many
of you stay connected with us at the iSchool.
- Class of Spring 2005
Fifty-nine iSchool students graduated during the spring 2005
graduation ceremonies. Dr. Herman Suit, a radiologist oncologist at
Massachusetts General Hospital and the Andres Soriano Distinguished
Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, spoke on
the topic of "Information, Technology, and Knowledge." Graduates
will pursue a range of exciting career and further study options, from
Presidential Management Fellowship positions in Washington DC to law
school at New Mexico State University. We wish them all
congratulations on their success and best wishes for wonderful careers
in the years ahead. At the ceremony, Alumni of the Year awards were
presented to Virginia Bowden ('94) and Mary Moore ('95) for their work
as library director at the UT Health Science Center Library in San
Antonio. Dr. Bowden was the former library director, and Dr. Moore is
the current director.
- Capstone Award
All iSchool master's students conclude their studies with a required
"capping experience" that may be satisfied by completing a master's
thesis, a practicum, or what we call a Capstone Project. Students
conduct their Capstone Project in an organization similar to that in
which the student aspires to work. The project is a practical
culmination of the individual student's knowledge and skill set. This
semester, the iSchool initiated its first Outstanding Capstone
award. Anne Bowman, the award recipient, conducted her project
"Arrangement, Description and Digitization of the R.C. Hickman
Photographic Archive," at the UT Center for American History. Her
faculty sponsor was Dr. David Gracy and the field supervisor was Linda
Peterson ('97), the Center's photography archivist.
- Kilgarlin Center Students Offer Assistance
Karen Pavelka and Kilgarlin Center conservation students restored fire
damaged audio, video, and photo archives of the East Austin black
music community. Read more at
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about/news/mcmillan_burn_05242005.php
- Tocker Women Program Receives 4th Year Funding
In 2003, the UT Connexus Office
(http://www.utexas.edu/student/connexus/) in collaboration with the
iSchool received $90,000 from the Tocker Foundation over a three -year
period to fund a program to encourage freshman women, who are first
generation college students, in their use of technology by providing
the students with a laptop computer. Mary Lynn Rice-Lively ('96),
associate dean, developed and taught two courses to support the
project's mission, "IT and the Global Community" and "Tech
Tools for Academic Success." This fall's class of "Tocker
Women" will receive laptops supplied through a grant from the
Beaumont Foundation.
- Technology Services survey
Technology Services at the School of Information is performing a
survey to evaluate existing iSchool services and to address the following
questions: What skills, technical or technological, should a student
have when they enter a program like ours and when they leave a program
like ours? What is the best way for students to acquire these skills?
The survey is open to anyone, but we are especially interested in the
insights alumni can provide. The URL to begin the survey is
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~support/survey/
- New Faculty Book Releases
This spring brought the release of two new books in the area of
Human-Computer Interaction and Information Design by iSchool faculty
members Randolph Bias and Andrew Dillon. Find out more at
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about/news/new_books_05132005.php
- 2005 Presidential Management Fellows
The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program is a two-year
program that provides special training and employment opportunities
within the Federal government and promotion potential from GS-9 to
GS-12 by the end of the two years. For the 2005 program, 643 finalists
were selected from 4,000 applicants to interview for employment with
Federal agencies at the PMF Job Fair in Washington, DC. Four iSchool
students (Michele Akyol, Cheryl Beaver, Monique Delatte, and Brent
Mast) were invited to participate. For more information see
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about/news/presidental_management_06162005.php
- Alumni Careers Web Site
The Career Services Office maintains an Alumni Careers Web site at
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/careers/alumni_careers.php The site
provides a way to find out where fellow alumni are working, and it
provides an indication of the wide variety of jobs that students can
expect to find when they complete their degrees. To include your
information on the web site, just send the following information to
careers@ischool.utexas.edu: name, date of graduation, degree (MLS,
MLIS, MSInfoStud), job title, organization (library, company, agency),
city, and state or country.
- News Notes
Libraries & Culture Receives Top Ranking
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about/news/top_ranking_05132005.php
Dean Dillon Featured on Hot Topics Site
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about/news/dillon_hottopics_04072005.php
Strong iSchool Presence at IA Summit 2005
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about/news/ia_03112005.php
- Alumni News
Congratulations to Anne Bustard, a 1982 graduate whose picture book
biography Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly has been published by Simon
& Schuster Books for Young Readers/A Paula Wiseman book. Details
about her writing process and suggestions for use of the book in the
classroom and library can be found on her web site
http://www.annebustard.com
To find out more about alumni go to
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/people/alumni_updates_index.php
If you would like to share your information with the more than 700
subscribers to this newsletter, please send an email to
chansen@ischool.utexas.edu
- Faculty News
Dr. Donald Davis, professor, is retiring to emeritus status in summer
2005. He will continue participation in scholarly meetings and
represent the iSchool in his area of interest and expertise. In June,
he presented "Reading and the Theological Librarian: Some Musings" at
the American Theological Library Association's annual conference.
Dr. David Gracy, the Governor Bill Daniel Professor in Archival Enterprise, is the recipient of the Katherine Drake Hart History Preservation award by the Austin History Center. He was recently elected by the membership of the Society of American Archivists to the Nominating Committee of the Society for 2005-2006. Dr. Gracy succeeds Dr. Don Davis as editor of Libraries & Culture effective this summer.
Dr. Barbara Immroth, professor, and Amanda Williams, adjunct
professor, each presented a juried paper at the International Reading
Association's 50th Conference held in San Antonio in May.
Karen Pavelka, Kilgarlin Center lecturer, was featured in the April
2005 issue of College and Research Libraries News. The full story can
be found at
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2005/April05/culturalheritage.htm
Dr. Loriene Roy, professor, was featured in the 'Movers and Shakers'
March 15, 2005 supplement to Library Journal. The full article can be
read at
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA510782.html?display=LJMS&pubdate=2F2005
In addition, Dr. Roy received the Texas Exes Teaching Excellence award
this spring.
Dr. Irene Owens, associate professor and graduate advisor, has been
appointed dean of the School of Library and Information Sciences at
North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. Irene
will be sorely missed by all but we wish her the best in her new
challenge.
Dr. Lynn Westbrook, assistant professor, was appointed to the
2005-2007 ALA Education and Professional Development Committee of the
Reference and User Services Division.
A list of recent publications from faculty can be found at
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/research/publications.php
- Student News
Kelly Delevan, master's student, won the SLA 2005 William B. Neff
Scholarship Award to attend the SLA conference in Toronto.
Jennifer Hickenbottom, master's student, received the Ray Janeway
Scholarship from Texas Library Association for $2000 to continue her
studies toward the master's degree.
Melissa Keenan, master's student, was named the UT ALA Student Chapter
student to staff recipient. Melissa will attend the ALA annual
conference in Chicago on June 23.
Bethany Letalien, doctoral student, won a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral
Research Abroad Fellowship. She will spend a year of research in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil beginning in the fall 2005. She also is the
recipient of the prestigious PEO award.
Pedro Reynoso, doctoral student, was accepted as a summer intern in
the Community Services Program at the National Museum of the American
Indian in Washington, DC.
- Staff News
During the 2005 TLA conference, Ron Pollock, director of career
services, presented programs on "What Else Can I Do with My Degree?"
and the initial highlights of the TLA Continuing Education Needs
Assessment Study. In addition, Ron accepted a $2,000 grant on behalf
of TLA from DEMCO, Inc., for the continuing education research
initiated through the Needs Assessment Survey.
Supporting the iSchool
Gifts to the School enable us to provide more than 20 named
scholarships each year as well as to support student activities in
specialist areas such as archives, preservation, and services to
indigenous communities. Endowments can also create professorships or
teaching fellowships to attract the very best faculty to our
School. Excellence funds allow us to innovate and react to changing
needs. Such gifts significantly enhance the ability of our school to
educate professionals for careers that make a significant difference
for all of society, both now and in the future. All gifts are
welcomed, but we currently have special needs in the following funds
which require additional donations before they will yield support:
Julie Hallmark Graduate Fellowship
Named in honor of recently retired faculty member Dr. Julie Hallmark,
this endowed fund needs to reach $50,000 to be established to provide
support for students in the area of special librarianship.
Harold Billings Graduate Fellowship
Named in honor of Harold Billings, former director of libraries at
UT. This fund will be used to provide support for graduate students
selected on the basis of academic excellence.
Brooke E. Sheldon Professorship
Named in honor of Dr. Brooke E. Sheldon, former dean of the School
from 1991 to 1996, and a tireless champion of education in
librarianship, this endowment is designed to provide support for a
faculty member in the areas of management and public libraries.
To make a gift online, see
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/development/ Be sure to specify School
of Information in the relevant box and to name the general area or
fellowship you would like to support. Every gift really helps. We
thank you for your generous support.
- Contact Us
If you know someone who has graduated from our program and is not
receiving this electronic newsletter, please forward a copy and point
them to the subscription page on our site at:
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/mailman/listinfo/alums
Moving? Need to update your alumni records? An "Information for
Alumni" page has been set up with various links to help make it
convenient for you to make changes. Go to
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/people/alumni.php
to learn more.
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Alums mailing list
Alums@ischool.utexas.edu
https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/mailman/listinfo/alums
Last Modified: May 31 2006 12:37:12.
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