Cooke, Knox to join GSLIS faculty

Nicole A. Cooke
Emily Knox
Emily Knox, Interim Dean and Professor

The Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is pleased to announce the addition of two new faculty members: Nicole A. Cooke and Emily Knox will join GSLIS as assistant professors in August 2012.

Cooke's research interests include human information behavior in online settings; LIS distance education and instruction; the retention and mentoring of minority librarians and LIS doctoral students; and leadership, organizational development, and communication in libraries.

Cooke received her BA in communication and an MLS from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; an M.Ed from Pennsylvania State University; and is now completing her PhD in communication, information, and library studies at Rutgers. She comes to GSLIS from Montclair State University's Sprague Library, where she has worked as an instruction librarian and tenured assistant professor for nine years; she is also an ALA Spectrum Doctoral Fellow and was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2007.

“I am thrilled and honored to be joining GSLIS, a leader in our field and a cutting-edge school poised for continued growth and innovation. I am looking forward to working with the dynamic faculty and students, and growing as a scholar and LIS educator,” said Cooke.

Knox's research interests include intellectual freedom and censorship, book history and reading practices, and information ethics and policy. She received her BA in religion from Smith College, an MA from the University of Chicago Divinity School, an MS in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is completing her PhD in communication, information, and library studies at Rutgers. Emily was the associate director and reference librarian at the St. Mark's (now Keller) Library of the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York City for five years before returning to doctoral studies.

“I'm thrilled that I will be returning to UIUC to join the GSLIS faculty. My own research in information cultures is an excellent fit with GSLIS's current research areas. I'm excited to continue my research program and teach in such a vibrant and collegial environment,” said Knox.

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome these outstanding young scholars as new faculty members at GSLIS,” said Allen Renear, interim dean. “Both bring solid, deep, and varied experience in libraries, as well as engaging fundamental research agendas in areas critical to advancing the understanding and shaping of information organizations and practices.”

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