Alumni E-News - November 2003

[alums@ischool.utexas.edu]

Alumni E-News
The University of Texas at Austin School of Information
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/
Issue 6 November 2003

This Issue
	Dean's Word
	School News
	Faculty News
	Alumni News
	Student News
	Upcoming Events
	Gifts from Alumni and Friends
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DEAN'S WORD

Greetings once again. The Fall has seen an upturn in admissions to the
School, the first for many years, and a quick survey of interests
among the incoming class indicates the tremendous diversity of career
aspirations among our students. This is wonderful news but it places a
burden on us to provide a cohesive set of classes and an ever greater
range of opportunities for capstones and internships. You can help us
by agreeing to work with students, supervising a capstone experience,
presenting at the alumni speaker series run by our Careers Office, and
becoming involved in the regular alumni activities that enable you to
meet with the students to share your wisdom. While the budget woes
have not, and will not, disappear, the School will be hiring new
faculty this year and actively pursuing new research funds, an area
which is becoming critically important to all schools of our kind.
Times are difficult for many LIS programs as the recently announced
closing of the program at Clark Atlanta confirms, but, as you will see
in this edition, we continue to make progress. We need your help,
however, and I personally appreciate every dollar that you send us and
every opportunity that you offer our students. I foresee a rough road
ahead for many schools, but I am confident that with your support our
School will prosper.  Stay connected!

SCHOOL NEWS

PROFESSOR ROY RECEIVES $341,294 IMLS GRANT
2003 Recruiting and Educating Librarians for the 21st Century -- The
University of Texas at Austin School of Information will provide six
Native American students an opportunity to pursue master's degrees in
librarianship. Partnering with the American Indian Library Association
in an effort to bring new master-degreed librarians back to tribal
communities, the School will provide financial support as well as
opportunities for community-based experiences, advising from an
on-site Native American professor, and professional development
through networking.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LANDS MICROSOFT GIFT
Associate Professor Randolph Bias has been awarded an unrestricted
grant of $100,000 to study the effects of Microsoft ClearType on
reading performance.  ClearType is a font-rendering technology
designed to make on-screen text easier to read.  Dr. Bias will extend
some ClearType research currently being conducted by School of
Information Dean Andrew Dillon by studying the effects of ClearType on
computer programmer productivity.  This is just one of a variety of
threads of research the iSchool is pursuing in the area of
human-computer interface design and usability.

KNOWLEDGE GATEWAY INITIATIVE TAKES SHAPE
The UT Digital Knowledge Gateway, announced by President Faulkner in
2002, aims to offer the citizens of Texas access to a world of
treasures and expertise through a specially designed portal. The
School of Information has been centrally involved from the start with
Dean Dillon serving on the Gateway Executive Committee. This summer
the Dean taught a special seminar on the design issues involved in
creating such a service and two students from this class, Andrew
Switzky and Sam Burns, have been employed by UT to help develop the
first release.

STRONG ISCHOOL PRESENCE AT ASIS&T 2003
Faculty and students were involved in multiple sessions at the 2003
conference of the American Society for Information Science and
Technology at Long Beach, CA in October, ensuring high visibility for
the School and our students at the premier information science
conference in the US.  Randolph Bias led a panel on the dangers of
amateur usability testing; Oliver Chen was a co-author of two papers
with students (Mike Alexander and Bethany Letalian); Andrew Dillon was
a panelist on the limitations of user-centered design; Glynn Harmon
co-authored a paper with PhD alumnus Anil Singh on the use of
risk-adjusted measures for profitability impacts of IT; and Fran Miksa
was a presenter in the session on Classification across Disciplines,
as was alumnus David Crabbe.

ARCHIVES WEEK    
October 26-November 2: Archives Week explored the intricate
relationship between archives and politics.  Participants learned how
to preserve their personal documents, photographs, home videos at the
Annual Archives Clinic.  More information is available at
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~saa/archivesweek/

NEW O. HENRY WEBSITE AT THE AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY
The O. Henry website is a perfect example of the symbiotic
relationship between the School of Information, the Austin History
Center, and the Austin Public Library.  iSchool Visiting Professor
Paul Wilson's class (Spring 02) initiated the web site design and
selected photos. The Austin Public Library staff actually built the
site and did final edits. The wonderfully designed new web pages,
selection of photos and other graphics, and well-written text really
do justice to the priceless O. Henry collection. The logo conceived by
Sue Trombley is a beautiful addition. For more information see
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/ohenry.htm

IRON MOUNTAIN INITIATIVE
We are delighted to announce that Iron Mountain, the premier records
storage and management company, will sponsor students at the iSchool
to work on projects of direct relevance to the company. Starting this
Fall Iron Mountain will provide three 20-hr a week paid placements
that will provide students with real job experience in the
fast-changing records management field while they continue their
studies. This is a unique arrangement and one that will cement the
School's place at the forefront of education in archives and records
management.
 
GRADUATION
Please join us in congratulating our graduates and welcoming their
parents to the School of Information Commencement Ceremony, which will
be held on Saturday, December 6th at 1 pm in UTC 2.112A.

AUSTIN TO HOST 2004 INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE SUMMIT 
Plan now to attend the ALA sponsored summit which will be held in
February 2004.  The summit is a great place to connect with employers
and to learn about developments in the field.  Dean Dillon is serving
on the Program Committee and students will volunteer at the conference
itself.  More information is available at:
http://www.asis.org/Conferences/IA04/index.html

ALUMNI HELP STUDENTS WITH CAREER PREPARATION
The Career Services Office began the Alumni Speakers Series during the
Spring 2003 semester. The purpose of the series is to provide students
with practical and timely information about successful approaches to
focusing on career objectives and successful approaches to resume
writing and interviewing in the current job market.  Alumni who
graduated within the last three years provided current students with
lively tales of their school and job search experiences. They also
talked about what worked and what did not work as they pursued their
career objectives.  During the Spring 2003 semester, Cherie
BonneCarrere told of her career development at the Joe Barnhardt Bee
County Library that lead to her current position at the Sterling
Library in Baytown, TX; Julie Holcomb discussed her job search
experiences that led to her position as archivist for the Pearce Civil
War Collection at Navarro College, Corsicana, TX; and Steve Schang
told of his journey from library intern to usability researcher at
USAA, San Antonio, TX. During the Fall 2003 semester, Amy Degner told
of her experiences at the iSchool and Austin Ventures that led to her
current position as Research Manager at Hoover Incorporated in Austin
and Hannah Sommers described her path from student to research
librarian at Baker Botts LLP, one of the premier law firms in Austin.

FACULTY RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS
School of Information faculty have numerous publications that may be
of interest. For a list of citations see
http://sentra.ischool.utexas.edu/research/publications.php

STUDENT NEWS	
Antony Cherian was named Scholar in Residence @ Varner Hogg State
Historic Site.  The award is the first of three fellowships for the
project "Interpreting the Texas Past" More information is available at
http://www.utexas.edu/opa/news/03newsreleases/nr_200308/nr_ie030822.html

Katherine Haack, for her Capstone project Libraries 101, is developing
a two-hour training program for the Austin Public Library that will
convey the importance of libraries and the ethics of librarians to
non-librarians. The seminar will consist of a general overview of
library functions as well as specifics, such as cataloging and
archival resources.

Uri Kolodney received the Digital Library Forum (DLF) Fellowship for
librarians new to the profession. The $1000 award will be used toward
participation in the Fall 2003 DLF Forum which will be held on
November 17-19 in Albuquerque, NM. The Forum convenes twice a year and
includes digital library practitioners from the 32 member institutions
of the Digital Library Federation. The forum provides an opportunity
for DLF initiatives to conduct their business and to present their
work, to share experiences and practices with one another and to
support a broad level of information-sharing among professional staff.
See the DLF site for more details:
http://www.diglib.org/dlfhomepage.htm

Jocelyn Duffy was recently appointed Executive Assistant to the Vice
Provost of General Libraries.  Jocelyn, recipient of a two-year
Harrington Recruitment Fellowship, will complete her master's degree
in May.

The American Folklore Society awarded Mark Westmoreland (Architecture)
and Antony Cherian (iSchool) the 2002 Zora Neale Hurston Prize for
their achievement in African American folklore for their oral history
documentary, TRUTH I EVER TOLD. Their film tells the stories of three
African American families whose Washington County roots date back to
the 1840s, when their ancestors were enslaved and brought to work on
cotton plantations.

Dennis Haire successfully completed the final step in his doctoral
work with a successful defense of his dissertation. The study, "An
Ethnography of a Federal Agency Enterprise: Social and Technical
Change," focused on the adoption and use of IT within a military
organization, as well as documented organizational culture changes
during the study's time period.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Bill Lukenbill, Chair of the Research and Colloquia Committee, has
announced the following iForum presentations.  Please join us: 3:30
PM, Sanchez Building, Room 556

Nov. 17	Special IForum presentation by Glenn Taitoko of the New Zealand
	National Ministry of Maori Development will speak about his work.
Nov. 18	John Strother Moore, head of the Computer Science Department will
	speak on machine reasoning and the theorems that control them.
Nov. 25	Susan Cisco and Bob Guz of Iron Mountain will present case
	studies involving record management problems.
Dec. 2  Barbara Parmenter of the School of Architecture will speak on
	Community Identification and Networking.

Previous fall speakers have included Dr. Fran Miksa of the School of
Information who presented his ideas about how to define information
and Dr. Bruce Naylor who spoke on 3D graphics and the philosophical
underpinnings of their creations.  A special forum also included a
presentation by Orton Gambier, who spoke on information dissemination
in Brazil.  Last week Paul Mac Lachlan of the Asian Studies and
Government departments spoke about the Japanese and British Postal
Systems as a form of information dissemination and political control.

GIFTS FROM ALUMNI AND FRIENDS (July 16-Oct 30, 2003)
We acknowledge with gratitude your many gifts and all you do for the
School of Information.  PRESIDENT'S ASSOCIATES: Patrick Drew, M/M
Darryl S. Tocker; ANNUAL FUND: Curtis M. Asher, Austin Ventures,
Jeffrey P. Bartkovich, Barbara H. Billmyer, Kathryn Y. Boccheciamp,
Judith S. Briden, Deanna L. Brouillette, Sherrie L. Burson, Mary
M. Carroll, Nancy F. Casillo, Marie S. Cavanagh, Claudia F. Chidester,
Anita L. Choate, Ruth A. Cook, Janet E. Cornell, Deborah M. Countess,
Sheila W. Davis, Stephen H. Dew, Charles R. Dyer, Diane D. Eckels,
Sheryl H. Eldridge, Margaret C. Ford, Rhoda L. Goldberg, H. L. Gore,
Laura Gutierrez-Witt, Mrs. John M. Hammerick, Kevin R. Harwell,
D. Elizabeth Haynes, Susan W. Hunter, Violet B. Jasper, Andrena L.
Johnson, Brian E. Keefe, Caitlin Kelly, Ardelle K. Koperski, Sally
S. Leach, Sara J. Lee, Marcella C. Lesher, Kaleen E. Lieck, Lockheed
Martin Corporation, Marjorie E. Martinez, Kathleen Marx-Sharp,
Constance A. Matheny, Carol Weeks McKnight, Nelda C. Meixner,
Ernestina P. Mesa, Judy A. Moltz, Judith L. Muck, Mary H. Musgrave,
Stephanie V. Neely, Barbara C. Pearson, Octavia K. Perryman, Richard
D. Quartaroli, Mary E. Rankin, Agnes L. Reagan, Robert W. Ruliffson,
M. Alexandra Salinas, Lisa M. Sjoblom, Patricia H. Smith, Paul
W. Smith, Kimbol D. Soques, Anne R. Souby, Erica C. Stepchinski,
Elizabeth E. Stultz, D/M Herman D. Suit, Patricia Anne Tuohy, Penny C.
Washington, Sarah A. Widener, Sandra F. Young: STUDENT LOAN FUND (in
memory of Professor Emeritus Eugene B. Jackson): D/M James
W. Deitrick, Robert A. Divine, Karen E. Lemunyon, M/M Ralph W. May,
Agnes L. Reagan, Eugene A. Ripperger; PAUL N. BANKS GRADUATE
FELLOWSHIP: Carey E. Murphey, Lorraine H. Olley, Soy Leung Yee; GLISSA
ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP: Mary Lynn Rice-Lively; IF I CAN READ I CAN DO
ANYTHING: M/M Joseph Rice, Jr.; C. GLENN SPARKS ENDOWED PRESIDENTIAL
SCHOLARSHIP: Mrs. J. Lou Sparks; JOHN P. SCHNEIDER EXCELLENCE
ENDOWMENT: D/M John P. Schneider

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