The iSchool at Illinois is pleased to announce the open access publication of Library Trends 75 (1) “Cultural Heritage in Crisis.” 

Robert Wedgeworth (MSLIS '61), former University Librarian at Illinois and the iSchool's 1991 Distinguished Alumnus, will deliver the 2026 Windsor Lecture at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9, online via Zoom. Room 126 in 501 E. Daniel Street will be available for viewing.

A research team including professors Jingrui He of the School of Information Sciences and Hanghang Tong of the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has received a Phase II award through the US Department of Energy's Genesis Mission to develop a model for electric grid expansion.

Six master's students have been named 2026 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. The Spectrum Scholarships were established in 1997, and this year, the program received four times as many applications as there were available scholarships.

Associate Professor Rachel Adler and Teaching Assistant Professor Yildiz Esener serve as key research personnel on a project to develop better digital tools for older cancer survivors who are also facing physical, mental, and visual impairments.

As online platforms and other tech interfaces grow increasingly necessary for education, employment, and healthcare, digital accessibility has become an important computing competency.

The iSchool is proud to announce the following appointments: Masooda Bashir has been promoted to professor; Madelyn Sanfilippo has been promoted to associate professor with indefinite tenure; John Weible has been promoted to principal lecturer; and Elizabeth Wickes (MSLIS '16) has been promoted to senior lecturer. 

Professor Jingrui He is one of five professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to be recognized as a 2026 University Scholar. The program honors faculty excellence and provides $15,000 to each scholar for three years to enhance their academic careers. 

Assistant Professor Jiaqi Ma has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award to develop new tools to understand how individual components of training data affect the behavior of large artificial intelligence systems. 

A record number of new faculty will join the iSchool this fall: 13 across ranks and disciplines.