School of Information Sciences

Blakeman wins spot on 'Forty Under 40' list

[image1-right:resize-180w]GSLIS alumna Katie Blakeman (MS ’11) has been named one of the prestigious “Forty Under 40” award winners announced annually by Central Illinois Business Magazine.

The “Forty Under 40” awards honor young professionals “based on achievement, experience, innovation, leadership and community involvement,” according to an announcement in t­he News-Gazette. Honorees are selected annually by an independent panel of judges.

The 2013 recipients will be recognized at a ceremony and luncheon on October 3 at the Hilton Garden Inn, and individual profiles will be included in the October-November issue of Central Illinois Business Magazine.

Blakeman, who was born and raised in Champaign County, currently serves as Champaign County Circuit Clerk, having been elected in November 2012. She has held leadership positions with the Junior League of Champaign-Urbana and served on the Urban League’s board of directors from 2005 to 2007. She currently serves on the University YWCA’s Race Against Racism committee and on the technology committee for the Illinois Association of Court Clerks. In addition to her GSLIS degree, Blakeman holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Augustana College.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Wang group receives ICWSM Best Dataset Paper Award

A paper from Professor Dong Wang's Social Sensing & Intelligence Lab received the Best Dataset Paper Award at the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM) held in May 2026 in Los Angeles, California. According to Wang, the paper was accepted in the first review round, which had an acceptance rate of 4.7 percent (14 of 298 submissions). 

2025 Downs Intellectual Freedom Award given to Nicole A. Cooke

Nicole A. Cooke has been named the 2025 recipient of the Downs Intellectual Freedom Award for her advocacy, groundbreaking research, and dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion within the field of library and information science. Cooke is the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair and professor in the College of Information and Communications at the University of South Carolina.

Nicole Cooke

iSchool researchers to present at ChLA 2026

iSchool faculty and staff will present their research at the Children's Literature Association (ChLA) annual conference, which will be held from May 28-30 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The theme of this year's conference is "Neighbors and Neighborhoods in Children's Literature, Media, and Culture."

iSchool alumni named 2026 Movers & Shakers

Two iSchool alumni are included in Library Journal's 2026 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes 50 professionals who are moving the library field as a profession. Leah T. Dudak (MSLIS '17) was honored in the Advocates category and Mariella Colon (MSLIS '07) was honored in the Community Builders category. 

2026 student award recipients announced

The School of Information Sciences recognized student award recipients at the iSchool Convocation on May 17. Awards are based on academic achievements, as well as attributes that contribute to professional success. For more information about each award, including past recipients, visit the Student Awards page. Congratulations to this year's honorees! 

2026 Student award recipients smile outside.

School of Information Sciences

501 E. Daniel St.

MC-493

Champaign, IL

61820-6211

Voice: (217) 333-3280

Email: ischool@illinois.edu

Back to top