Alumni E-News
The University of Texas at Austin School of Information
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/
Issue 3 - March 2003

THIS ISSUE
Dean's Word
News Summary
Notes from the Faculty
New PhD Graduates
Alumni Events
Opportunities for Participation
Continuing Education Events
Subscribe or Contact us

DEAN'S WORD

Greetings and welcome to the latest issue of the alumni
e-newsletter. Our ranks are swelling, and the current subscriber list
has topped the 300 mark. But there are many more alumni out there, so
help spread the word so we can keep in touch with you all.  Since our
last meeting we have been joined by a new faculty member, Randolph
Bias, who has joined us as an Associate Professor. We are delighted
with this appointment as Randolph brings such energy and enthusiasm to
the School. Less positive is the financial picture as the budget
shortfall at the State level is hurting us directly. We have been
required to give up a significant part of our budget but we are
working hard to keep the School moving forward during these difficult
times.  The School will have a strong presence at TLA in Houston next
month, so if you are there, stop by our booth and say hello!  If you
are unable to attend the TLA conference, I hope you will join us for
the Alumni Dinner at Treebeards at 6:30 pm on Thursday, April 3, 2003.
See Alumni Events for details.


NEWS SUMMARY

Alumni, Faculty & Students to Participate in TLA Conference, Houston,
April 1-4:
iSchool faculty and students will participate in several program
sessions and will have a booth at the Texas Library Association
Meeting.  Dean Andrew Dillon,  Associate Dean Mary Lynn Rice-Lively,
Professors Barbara Immroth, Fran Miksa and Loriene Roy, and Master's
Candidate Danielle Plummer will all present.  Ron Pollock, Career
Services Director, will be on hand to review resumes and provide other
support to students/alumni who are interviewing.  TLA Placement Center
Hours of Operation: Wed. (10 am-5:00 pm), Thur. (9 am-4:00 pm), and
Fri. (9 am-noon).


ASIST 2003 Information Architecture Summit - Portland, OR, March 21-23: 
The School will also have a strong presence at the IA Summit. Dean
Dillon will talk about navigation in information space on a special
panel and Dr. Oliver Chen and two of his students, Mike Alexander and
Prentiss Lee, will present two research projects.


Career Services Office Launches New JobWeb
The Career Services Office JobWeb has a new look and new features
which eliminate the need for user IDs and passwords. In the
development stage is a version that will permit employers to post
their jobs directly to the JobWeb. Come see the site at:
http://sentra.ischool.utexas.edu/jobweb.


Explore UT Alumni Dinner was a Great Success
The School of Information held its first Explore UT Alumni Dinner on
Saturday evening, March 1st. Twenty-seven alumni and faculty,
including Dean Andrew Dillon and his wife, enjoyed a lively evening of
good food and great conversation at Serrano's on Red River. The School
of Information plans to have three alumni gatherings each year: (1)
the Saturday evening in November during the Texas Book Festival, (2)
the Saturday evening in March during the annual Explore UT event, and
(3) the Thursday evening in April during the Texas Library Association
Annual Conference. Mark these months on your calendar and check the
School's website for details.


iSchool Scholarship Recipient Plans Symposium - Austin, TX, April 11-12: 
Hannah Fischer, 2002/03 Harrington and University Recruitment
Fellowship Recipient, received funding from the Harrington Foundation
to coordinate a symposium. Two of our faculty members, Dr. Philip Doty
and Dr. David Gracy,  will be presenters at the Symposium on
Information and the War on Terrorism. For more information contact
hfischer@ischool.utexas.edu. 


NOTES FROM THE FACULTY

Dr. Donald G. Davis Jr. was honored at ALA Midwinter with the
presentation of a Lifetime Editorial Achievement Award a Lifetime
Editorial Achievement Award for "judicious and diligent scholarship"
and 25 years of service as Editor of Libraries and Culture.  

Dr. Loriene Roy was selected as the "2002 Outstanding Alumna" by the
School of Information Resources and Services at the University of
Arizona, and served as their Commencement Speaker at the SIRLS
December 2002 Commencement celebration..

Randolph Bias will be presenting at several professional societies: 1)
March, 2003, the South-by-Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference in
Austin, panelist on "Building Electronic Curbcuts for Accessibility";
2) May, 2003, Society for Technical Communication (STC), in Dallas,
panelist on "My Manager Said 'Yes' to Usability; Now What?" and 3)
October, 2003, American Society for Information Science and
Technology(ASIS&T), Long Beach, CA, presentation on "The Dangers of
Amateur Usability Engineering."

Lee Lacy (Capstone Coordinator) and Dr. Pat Galloway have been awarded
a $35,000 contract with the Texas State Library to improve the
mandated Dublin Core metadata markup on state government websites
being made available through the TRAIL portal. Students will evaluate
existing markup with special attention to descriptive elements,
suggest improvements, and contribute to the improvement of TSL
training and guidelines materials based on their observation of user
behavior. Galloway will serve as Principal Investigator.


NEW PHD GRADUATES

Jon Arvid Aho and Richard Nauert both completed their dissertations
and graduated last Fall. The faculty and staff extend hearty
congratulations to both.



ALUMNI EVENTS  

April 3 (Thurs.)     The UT School of Information Alumni Dinner (held
in conjunction with the TLA Conference) will be held at Treebeards (on
Market Square), 315 Travis, Houston, TX at 6:30 pm.  All alumni are
welcome. You do not have to attend TLA to come to the dinner.
Payment of $35.00 for the dinner can be made through TLA registration
or directly to the iSchool.  Contact Kathleen Adrian via phone
(471-2492) or via email (kathleen@ischool.utexas.edu) for details. 


OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPATION

50TH Anniversary
In 1953 the Graduate School of Library Science (GSLS) awarded six MLS
degrees.  Eight students who received their bachelor's degree later
graduated from our School.  By the end of 1953, 21 students had
graduated.  If you are one of our early graduates or if you will be
attending the Class of 53 50th Anniversary Celebration and would like
to get together to talk about "the good old days", please contact Don
Davis via dgdavis@ischool.utexas.edu.  If there is sufficient
interest, the School of Information will host a reception for the
Class of 1953 in conjunction with the Texas Exes 50th  Anniversary
Celebration, April 24-25, 2003.


Alumni Speakers Series
Several of our recent alumni will discuss their professional journey
with iSchool students during the Spring semester. The alumni speakers
scheduled to date are: 1) February 14: Steve Schang, MLIS 2002: Web
Usability Specialist, USAA, San Antonio; 2) February 28: Cherie Bonne
Carrere, MLIS 2000: Coordinating Librarian for Adult Services,
Sterling Public Library, Baytown, Texas; and 3) April 11: Julie
Holcomb, MLIS 2000: College and Special Collections Archivist, Pearce
Civil War Collection, Navarro College, Corsicana, Texas. If you would
like to share your experience and knowledge with our students, please
contact Ron Pollock , Career Services Director at
rpollock@ischool.utexas.edu


Share Your Story
Students pursuing their master's degrees in information studies often
wonder what really comes after graduation day. As alumni, you have the
answers that may help in dispelling some of the mystery. We would like
to showcase all of the wonderful endeavors our alumni have pursued in
an online Alumni Success Stories webpage.  Please share with us your
current place of employment, city, state, and/or country via email to
careers@ischool.utexas.edu.


Professional Work Experience Needed  
Do you have a challenging, professional level project that is
continually put on the back burner?  Could you use the expertise and
enthusiasm of an iSchool student?  To learn more, visit the new
Capstone Experience Program website:
(http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/programs/capstone/index.html).


CONTINUING EDUCATION EVENTS

April 10 - May 8, 2003	ABCs of Cataloging: A Topical Approach to
Creating and Enhancing Library Catalogs.  This web-based course covers
the basics of computer-based catalog records for use in online and
web-based databases.. Registration deadline: April 3, 2003. For more
information:
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/programs/continuing_ed/courses.html.


CONTACT US

To subscribe to the Alumni E-Newsletter:  
Complete the form at:
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/mailman/listinfo/alums
OR
Send an email from the email address you want subscribed to:
alums-request@ischool.utexas.edu with "subscribe" as the subject.

To unsubscribe from the Alumni E-Newsletter:
Fill in your email address at the bottom of the page at:
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/mailman/listinfo/alums
This will take you to a page where you can unsubscribe

To update your personal and business information, go to the following
site: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/nlogon/alumni-address/

To contact the editor: send your email to dgdavis@ischool.utexas.edu