Please email Cindy Ashwill by November 15 to submit items for the next issue of the digest.
ACTION ITEMS
Bylaws Review: The iSchool Bylaws Committee is tasked with reviewing the iSchool's existing bylaws and recommending changes, which must be approved by a full faculty vote. The committee invites your insights and feedback in one or more of the following ways:
- Attend a drop-in discussion (for some or all of the time):
- Tuesday, October 27, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. (Carol Tilley, host; Zoom link).
- Respond to questions on our Google doc (available for the next month; can be anonymous).
- Contact a Bylaws Commitee member via email or set up a time to meet individually.
Campus Charitable Fund Drive: Visit the CCFD website to learn more about how your support can help improve the lives of people in our community and around the world. Please make your gift by Wednesday, November 18. Questions? Contact Jill Gengler.
Community Engagement Survey: As part of an ongoing, campus-wide effort, Research Services is gathering information about the iSchool's engagement with community partners and involvement in community-based research projects and initiatives. Faculty are asked to complete a brief form, by Friday, October 30, outlining any research and activities that involve external partnerships within the local community.
Course Sites for Spring 2020: Request your courses now with the ATLAS Course Site Request System. If you have questions, follow the step-by-step documentation and video tutorial. If you need assistance, materials ported over from the retired iSchool Moodle system, or help setting up your site, contact the Help Desk.
Diversity Committee: The committee welcomes your agenda items for the next meeting on Wednesday, November 4, from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Please let your students know that there are two open positions: BS/IS student representative and CAS student representative. You are encouraged to contact a committee member or complete a survey with concerns, suggestions, and/or programming ideas; review minutes from the last meeting; and subscribe to receive announcements about our activities.
Election Day Holiday: There will be no classes on Tuesday, November 3.
Email Access: When the campus transition from BasicAuth to ModernAuth occurs, you will be prompted to sign in to email using Shibboleth and 2FA authentication. Most email clients will work well following the transition, but some will not work well, including POP and IMAP clients. In order to ensure continued email access, you should use one of the following clients for email and calendaring in the iSchool: the latest Outlook client for Windows or Mac from Office 365, Outlook Web, AppleMail OWA sync Android, or IOS OWA sync. Questions? Please contact the Help Desk.
Email Forwarding: Due to the increasing global acceptance of DKIM (Domain Key email signing), it is strongly recommended that no iSchool email is forwarded to other email accounts or systems. To ensure that emails can be sent and received without being marked as suspect and discarded, use one of the clients listed above and connect directly to Microsoft.
Ethics Training: The annual ethics training window ends on Saturday, October 31. Be sure to complete your training by this date!
ITD Consultations: Do you have a class activity you're not sure how to accomplish in Moodle? Grade book woes? Contact the Help Desk to schedule a consultation.
Library Trends Editor Opening: Library Trends seeks applications for a new editor-in-chief, who will serve for a minimum three-year term beginning January 1, 2021. The editorship offers an opportunity to influence the content of the journal and help shape the research and practice of the profession. A complete application package should include an electronic letter of application that addresses the candidate’s qualifications and vision for Library Trends and a current CV. Application materials should be sent to Christine Hopper with the subject line “Library Trends Editor Search.” The due date for applications is Friday, October 30.
Spring Hiring: Requests for spring hiring of graduate assistants, graduate research assistants, and pre-professional graduate assistants are due on Wednesday, November 4. Hourly appointments, such as graduate hourly, academic hourly and extra help should be submitted by Friday, December 4. Instructions for how to hire, including positing an ad and submitting the request, are located on the iSchool Wiki.
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
Affinity Groups: Join iSchool faculty and staff to discuss affinity group topics this fall:
- The Eldercare group will continue to meet throughout the fall semester—watch for invitations.
- The LGBTQ+ group will meet on Wednesday, November 4, from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Please contact Kathryn La Barre for access.
- The Parenting and Working group will meet on Monday, November 9, at 2:00 p.m, hosted by Meg Edwards (Join via Zoom)
AISLE Virtual Conference: The iSchool will host a virtual booth during the conference, which will be held from November 5-14. Questions? Please contact Jill Gengler.
Just iSchool Faculty & Staff (JiFS) Social Committee: JiFS invites you to participate in the following events and activities:
- Graduate Student Appreciation Week, October 26-30: It’s time to celebrate the hard work and contributions of our graduate students! Please take a few moments to write a note of GRADitude or share an image by Monday, October 26 via Padlet. This board of GRADitudes will be shared with the students on Tuesday morning in their newsletters. Please also consider using the "I LOVE Grad Students" Zoom backgrounds provided by the Graduate College in your classes next week!
- #HowIiSchool: Anonymously share a photo, description, sketch, or abstract rendition of your workspace to connect and interact with other iSchool staff and faculty (visit the Padlet site to view and add entries).
- Trivia Night, Sunday, November 8, 7:00 p.m. (Register and join via Zoom): Enjoy new categories and conversations with others in the iSchool. The winner will be awarded an iSchool sweatshirt!
Tech Times: The ITD Team will host two Tech Times, explaining updates as well as new and underutilized features in Zoom, Moodle, and Illinois Media Space. Please join us and feel free to email the Help Desk with any topics you would like to see covered.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Academic Calendar for Spring 2021: The University Senate has approved a revision to the spring calendar as follows:
- Revise the spring semester start date from Tuesday, January 19, to Monday, January 25.
- Remove the spring vacation currently scheduled for Saturday, March 13, through Sunday, March 21.
- Add three non-instruction days off; Wednesday, February 17; Wednesday, March 24; and Tuesday, April 13.
If you have questions about the change, including how it will affect your class schedule, please contact iSchool Academic Affairs.
Diversity Working Group: Dean Santos has charged an ad hoc working group to identify and create opportunities to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the iSchool in order to foster social justice and anti-racism. Membership includes faculty (Linda Smith, Emily Knox, Kathryn La Barre), staff (Moises Orozco Villicaña, Rebecca Hodson), alumni (Kimberly Hale MS '89, Nancy Kirkpatrick MS '07), and a current student (Ashley Mitchell, MS/LIS Leep). The group initially met on October 15 and identified a number of potential focus areas, including curriculum, pedagogy, recruitment, placement, and training opportunities. The group agreed that recommended actions could be categorized as immediate, mid-term, or long-term in order to identify work that could be undertaken immediately as well as to highlight efforts that will take additional time to implement. A shared Google doc will be created to facilitate idea development and resource sharing.
iSchool Uplift: The Uplift is a monthly blog that highlights themes and resources for supporting student well-being at the iSchool and is managed by Student Affairs. Please read our inaugural post: October: Engaging Virtually. Have an idea or contribution for the Uplift? Email Meg Edwards to share your contribution!
MS/LIS & CAS Program Committee: This group is managing a number of initiatives as well as providing feedback on new and timely topics courses. Current efforts include formulating a recommendation to eliminate the variable credit option for IS 510, supporting program directors in developing a joint JD and MS/LIS degree with the College of Law, and working with the BS/IS committee to explore undergraduate pathways to LIS. In the next few months, the committee plans to give substantive attention to developing standards and plans for program assessment.
Student Research Opportunity Portal: This portal is now open and available to students. Faculty and students can use the space to connect over potential research projects. Information about enrolling in internships, independent studies, and practicum is also available. If you have questions about enrollment, including passwords, please contact Research Services.
Virtual Student Coffee Hours: Student Affairs is hosting virtual student coffee hours once each month. This is a time for students from across all degree programs to get to know one another, share their ups and downs, and generally connect and communicate. The next coffee hour will be held on Wednesday, November 11, from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. and will be hosted by Melissa Newell.