Please email Cindy Ashwill by October 15 to submit items for the next issue of the digest.
ACTION ITEMS
Award Nominations: Efforts are underway to increase nominations of iSchool faculty and staff for awards at the campus level and from professional associations. Please contact Linda Smith with suggestions for nominees.
Diversity Committee: In order to best serve and support our iSchool community this academic year, the Diversity Committee asks faculty and staff to complete a survey to inform these efforts.
Editorship Opening: Lisa Hinchliffe will conclude her term as editor-in-chief of Library Trends at the end of December. A call for applications has been issued, with the goal of having a new editor appointed by January 1, 2021. Linda Smith can respond to any questions about this opportunity.
Eldercare Affinity Group: Faculty and staff are invited to share their thoughts about forming an iSchool eldercare affinity group to offer mutual support for those with eldercare responsibilities. Please contact Kathryn La Barre if you are interested.
Ethics Training: The annual ethics training window will be held October 1-31. Please watch for an email with instructions coming from the University Ethics Officer and complete your training in a timely manner.
Faculty Handbook: A draft Faculty Handbook has been compiled and is linked from the Faculty Resources section of the iSchool Wiki. Please share your feedback with Linda Smith.
Help Desk Support: If you are having trouble with Internet access or experiencing computer issues that are preventing you from working well remotely, please contact the Help Desk for assistance with a solution.
Student Research Projects: The iSchool will begin promoting the Student Research Opportunities portal in the coming weeks. If you have projects that you would like to promote to students, please post them to the portal as soon as possible. Please email Research Services with any questions.
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
The Playful by Design Fall Symposium, co-sponsored by the iSchool, will be held next month:
- Thursday-Saturday, October 1-3: This three-day event will kick off with Unity Seminars, “Intro to Bolt: Visual Scripting” and “Game Jam Tips and Tricks,” hosted by Ben Mcilmoyle, and a Q&A with Rafael Chandler, game designer, writer, and creator.
The newly established iSchool Affinity Group: Parenting and Working invites faculty and staff who are balancing the joys and challenges of parenthood with professional responsibilities to the first meeting:
The Just iSchool Faculty & Staff (JiFS) Social Committee invites you to the first event of the semester:
The Diversity Committees of the University Library and the iSchool invite you to participate in the upcoming event series, "Becoming A Trans Inclusive Library” this fall. Upcoming events include:
- Thursday, October 15, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.: Lazarus Letcher, "Who Gets to be Trans?: Troubling Colonial Archives of BIPOC Lives and Loves Beyond the Gender Binary" (register by October 13)
- Friday, October 16, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.: Brown Bag, "Is the Library a Gendered Space?" (register by October 14; read in advance)
Alumni Affairs will host virtual booths and online receptions at the ILA Conference (October) and the AISLE Annual Conference (November). Contact Jill Gengler with questions.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CAS-DL Concentration: The Curriculum Committee and faculty voted to eliminate the Digital Libraries (CAS-DL) Concentration within the Certificate of Advanced Study.
Cohort Connections: This new Student Affairs initiative promotes community building among new iSchool students in a virtual setting during the fall term. It is open to MS students and integrated into the required IS 100 course for BS students. It connects approximately 10 students in each cohort with peers in their degree programs. A facilitator will provide a toolbox of ice breakers, article and video discussion topics and questions, online games, and other peer-to-peer activities. Each group will meet a minimum of 3 times during the semester and may choose to meet more often as they wish.
Course Schedule: Course Explorer for Spring 2021 opens on Monday, October 5. Almost all courses will be offered online. IS 400 Colloquium will have both on campus and online sections.
Daniel 6 Building Project: Meetings are scheduled to resume this month to address physical design, including furniture, flooring, paint, and audiovisual needs.
Informatics: Administration of Illinois Informatics Institute has been transferred to the iSchool. The Informatics PhD, MS in Bioinformatics, and CU Community FabLab continue to be cross-campus programs hosted by the iSchool. The cross-campus Informatics Minor is now an iSchool program. Informatics staff are iSchool staff, and Lisa Bievenue remains in her role as director for Informatics programs.
iSchool Wiki: The iSchool Wiki has been updated and reorganized to better serve faculty and staff, with new sections added for Business & Finance and Facilities, as well as expanded content for Communications, IT, and Human Resources. In addition, a Faculty Governance and Resources section has been added, and iSchool COVID-19 Resources for faculty and staff include Fall 2020 iSchool Building Usage Guidelines for Employees.
New Students: The iSchool welcomed 944 students this fall, including 119 undergraduate students in the inaugural BS/IS class, 566 MS/LIS students, 179 MS/IM students, 67 PhD students, 7 Bioinformatics students, and 6 CAS students.
NSF Proposal Submissions: NSF guidance and proposal submission updates will go into full effect on October 5. More information will will be provided soon. In the meantime, faculty should contact Research Services with any questions.
Recruitment Resources: A new virtual Visit web page and degree programs flier are available to share with prospective students. In addition, new videos include a Virtual iSchool Tour and "Why is the iSchool right for you?"