Gregory B. Newby passed away October 21, 2025. Newby was an assistant professor at the iSchool at Illinois from 1991 to 1997 and taught graduate-level courses in information technology; networking tools and use; information organization and system design; and user-based design and analysis. He was the founder of Prairienet and instrumental in the design of the iSchool's Leep program in 1996.

Kim Hooper has joined the iSchool as an office support specialist. In her position, she will provide administrative support to the admissions and records team. 

The iSchool Alumni Association (ISAA) is seeking nominations for three distinguished awards. The awards are given annually at the iSchool alumni reception held at the American Library Association conference. The deadline for nomination is April 1, 2026.

Iftikhar Haider has joined the academic affairs team as assistant director for experiential learning. In his position, he will collaborate directly with faculty, staff, students, and external partners to facilitate successful experiential learning in undergraduate, graduate, and online programs of the iSchool. 

PhD student Mubarak Raji has been selected as an IAPP Westin Scholar Award honoree for the 2025-2026 academic year. The annual awards were created by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) to support students who are identified as future leaders in the field of privacy and data protection. Honorees receive a $1,000 cash award; two years of membership with the IAPP; three complimentary exams for IAPP certifications (CIPP, CIPM, CIPT); and unlimited access to online training for the recipient's selected IAPP certification exams.

Prior to entering the MSIM program last fall, Sneha Vyas worked as a project management associate with Siemens in India. She enjoys using the skills she is learning in her classes on personal projects and looks forward to future opportunities where she can "turn information into smart decisions and see the impact of those decisions in action."

The iSchool is pleased to announce that Professor Dong Wang has been appointed associate dean for research. In this role, Wang will provide leadership in the support, integration, communication, and administration of the iSchool's research and scholarship endeavors. This includes supervising the iSchool's Research Services unit, supporting the research centers, and assisting faculty in the acquisition of research funding.

PhD student Ebubechukwu Uba has been invited to present her work at the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) conference, Net Inclusion 2026, which will be held on February 3-5 in Chicago. Uba will discuss her digital inclusion work with StepUp Academy, a nonprofit education and digital inclusion initiative in Nigeria that she founded in 2023.

The School of Information Sciences is proud to recognize the 2025 academic milestones of our PhD students.

The second edition of Interim Dean and Professor Emily Knox's book, Book Banning in 21st Century America, was recently released by Bloomsbury. The first edition, published by Rowman & Littlefield (now Bloomsbury) in 2015, was the first monograph in the Beta Phi Mu Scholars' Series. The new edition examines 25 contemporary cases of book challenges in schools and public libraries across the United States and breaks down how and why reading practices can lead to censorship.