ACTION ITEMS
Course cancellations and enrollment updates: All spring courses have either met enrollment targets or curricular needs. Therefore, no courses will be canceled. Please continue to monitor your enrollments via Banner or DMI.
Faculty searches and upcoming interviews: The iSchool is currently searching for specialized faculty; a tenure-track faculty member in information, data, and technology policy; and multiple tenure-track faculty members in data science and artificial intelligence. In addition, our School has been approved to recruit two faculty through the Targets of Opportunity program. The schedule for upcoming interviews is available in the Moodle. Each faculty candidate will give a presentation, which is open to anyone who wishes to attend. If you are interested in meeting with any of the candidates, based on their interests as noted in their posted CVs, please contact:
- Masooda Bashir (information policy search);
- Jingrui He (data science/AI search);
- Linda Smith (specialized faculty search);
- Mike Twidale or Ted Underwood (Safiya Noble); and/or
- Nigel Bosch or Yang Wang (Angela Stewart).
The form to provide feedback regarding each of the candidates is linked from the top of the Moodle; you also may access it via the direct link.
iSchool HR needs your help: The iSchool’s strong growth has imposed some challenges with respect to late and retroactive appointment requests and unsubmitted timesheets. We are asking for everyone’s help and awareness in allowing us to avoid these situations. Our systems and policies are rather unforgiving of late transactions, and they require additional processing time (and sometimes additional paperwork), compared to those that are processed in a timely manner. To allow us to comply with state and federal laws, better serve you, better serve your colleagues, ensure that we can deliver our HR services, and ensure that employees are paid on time, please consider the following:
- New hires: All employees must complete an I-9 form by their start dates to avoid violating I-9 law (and in the case of internationals, their visas). We have been notified by the campus that a pattern of late I-9s could result in the federal government revoking the University’s e-verify status. This would mean the University could no longer offer employment on an OPT visa to students after they graduate.
- Work hours for international students: Please remember that our international students are limited to 20 hours/week for all positions at the University. A student cannot shift hours from one timesheet to another or work unpaid to avoid this limit.
- Timesheets: Students and hourly employees are required to turn in timesheets on a biweekly basis. The majority of our employees and supervisors are conscientious about submitting and approving these on time, which is greatly appreciated. However, we recently experienced a number of requests for back pay for past timesheets, ranging from 2 to 11 months of pay per employee. The State Ethics Act requires accurate timesheets, and federal law obligates us to pay our employees in a timely manner.
- If an employee says they have not been paid, please directly notify iSchool HR at once. Their appointment or reappointment request may not have been submitted to us, and we are happy to look into that for you.
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
After-School Data Literacy Programs for Youth at the Public Library: Leanne Bowler, professor in the School of Information at Pratt Institute and iSchool research fellow, will discuss her research in the area of youth data literacy at the public library, most recently through the Data Literacy with, for, and by Youth research project. This online event will be held on Friday, February 11, from 11:00-12:00 p.m. CT. Visit the CCB website prior to the event for the Zoom link.
Alumni Affairs and Employer Relations Drop-In Hour: Jill Gengler and Michele Plante will host a weekly drop-in session during the spring semester for current students and alumni. The sessions will be held on Mondays from 1:00-2:00 p.m. CT beginning January 24. For more information, including the Zoom link, visit the event calendar.
Data Protection and Privacy Lecture Series: This series features world-class privacy experts from diverse backgrounds and perspectives to explore the complex issues of data privacy. Upcoming speakers include:
- Thursday, February 17, Anita Allen, University of Pennsylvania
- Tuesday, March 22, Helen Nissenbaum, New York University
- Wednesday, April 20, Michele Gilman, University of Baltimore School of Law
- Wednesday, May 4, danah boyd, Microsoft Research
All lectures will be held from 12:00-1:00 p.m. CT. For more information about the speakers and how to register, visit the lecture series website.
Fair Use Gameshow: Would you like to test your knowledge of fair use? Join us on Tuesday, February 22, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. CT for the Fair Use Gameshow. Your host, Sara Benson, copyright librarian, will quiz the audience with fun and challenging questions, and a panel of esteemed copyright experts will share their opinions and discuss the many nuances of fair use. The panel will include Melissa Ocepek, iSchool assistant professor; Pia Hunter, College of Law access librarian and online learning consultant; and Barbara Kaplan, College of Law faculty outreach librarian. For more information and to register, visit the event page.
Responsible Data Science and AI Speaker Series: Held on Fridays from 9:00-10:00 a.m. CT via Zoom, this series continues in the spring and addresses topics such as equity, fairness, biases, ethics, and privacy. Please refer to the series website for the schedule of upcoming speakers.
- Graduate students across campus who would like deeper engagement with this topic can sign up for the online course, IS 597: Responsible Data Science and AI (view the syllabus). When signing up, students should select “Advanced Topics in Data Analytics & Data Science” or “Adv Topics Data An & Data Sci,” then Responsible Data Science & AI / RDA (CRN is 76353).
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Communications resources: The following resources are available to promote information sharing and support the work of our iSchool community. If you need additional resources or assistance, please contact Cindy Ashwill.
Game Studies and Design Minor: This program is now open for enrollment. In the next couple of weeks, informational Zoom sessions will be held for interested students. For the schedule and other information, visit the Informatics website.
Internationals working remotely from abroad: The University ended remote work from abroad for internationals on December 31 (a temporary arrangement due to the pandemic). University Legal Counsel has advised that some countries impose severe sanctions on international employees working illegally in their home country for a U.S. employer, including substantial fines and imprisonment, in addition to any liability assessed to the University. A small number of employees who are in the process of traveling to the U.S. in spring semester have been granted the ability to work temporarily by prior arrangement until their arrival date here. If an employee or student employee returns to their home country, their University employment must end.
LMS Consultations: The ITD team is happy to schedule a consultation to help set up your Canvas or Moodle course space and to answer any questions that you may have. Please reach out to the Help Desk to set up an appointment.
Loaner Equipment: Loaner equipment is now available in the 501 and 614 Help Desk locations. Faculty and staff can check out equipment in both locations, and equipment for use by students is available at the 614 location. Questions? Contact the Help Desk.
Summer/fall course schedules: Academic Affairs and Student Affairs will begin working on the summer and fall course schedules during the first week of February.