Each year, GSLIS recognizes a group of outstanding students for their achievement in academics as well as a number of attributes that contribute to professional success. The following student awards were presented at the GSLIS Convocation on May 18, 2014.
Bryce Allen Award for Reference Services
Presented to Holly Luetkenhaus by Assistant Professor Dr. Nicole A. Cooke:
During her time at GSLIS, Holly Luetkenhaus proved herself to be an outstanding aspiring information professional. Holly seamlessly combined her work as a graduate assistant in the library (participating in reference and instruction services) with her coursework, and as a result brought valuable experience to class discussions and assignments; this experience only augmented the acute insight and care she applied to her work. Personable, passionate, and professional are words that describe Holly and are traits that will surely distinguish her in the field. Holly is sure to soar to great heights in her professional career.
Berner-Nash Memorial Award
Presented to Thomas Mark Dousa by Professor and Interim Dean Allen Renear:
Tom Dousa’s dissertation on Julius Otto Kaiser (1868-1927) is a work of extraordinary scope, erudition, and intellectual precision. Subject indexing has always been at the very heart of library and information science, and Tom’s dissertation is a major advance in our understanding of the work of a key figure in this area. Tom’s magisterial treatment reveals the significance and nature of Kaiser’s work and leads the way for future scholars of knowledge organization.
Anne M. Boyd Award/Beta Phi Mu
Presented to Lori A. Hurley by Assistant Professor Vetle Torvik:
Lori has made a lasting impression on her instructors and is particularly noted for her off-the-scale work in several courses ranging from information processing and modeling to data mining and informetrics, culminating in a first-authored article published in the competitive full-length paper track of the 2013 ASIST conference proceedings. That article identified a collection of quantitative factors, including measures of author diversity, that help explain why collaborative work tends to be more impactful. This citation analysis was particularly impressive because of the scale and messiness of the data, and the complex interplay among these factors, some of which brought about Simpson’s paradox.
Presented to Julia Elizabeth Reynolds by Assistant Professor Carol Tilley:
Julia describes herself as an enthusiastic nerd, and while that’s fitting, she’s also a smart, busy woman who has made the most of her time at GSLIS. You might have spotted her volunteering in The Center for Children’s Books or helping people out with technology at the Urbana Free Library, or maybe you noticed her serving as president of the ALA Student Chapter or working as a graduate assistant in the University Library. If you missed her there, you had to notice her in the classroom, where she was consistently passionate, reflective, and articulate.
Edith Harris Camp Award
Presented to Johna Louise Picco by Assistant Dean Diana Stroud:
Johna Picco’s enthusiasm for life, commitment to learning, creativity, and friendship provide the foundation for professional success wherever she chooses to work. She is the employee, friend, volunteer, and family member that we all want on our team during good times and bad. During her time at GSLIS, first as a LEEP student and then on campus, she served as graduate assistant in the Office of Advancement, student assistant for Graduate Career Services, volunteer researcher at the Spurlock Museum, and digital initiatives intern at the University of Louisville; she was a member of ALA, ACRL, and SAA, served on the Provost and Graduate College Student Assistant Advisory Board, and was the master’s representative on the LSAA Board. In addition, she presented and coauthored a publication for the 2014 iSchools conference in Berlin.
Jane B. and Robert B. Downs Professional Promise Award
Presented to Thomas George Padilla by Professor and Associate Dean Linda Smith:
Through his work in libraries, publications, and presentations, Thomas Padilla is already demonstrating leadership and professional promise across his diverse interests in digital humanities, digital preservation, data curation, archives, history, and interdisciplinarity. Prior to beginning his studies at Illinois, he worked at the Library of Congress where he helped launch and grow the Digital Preservation Outreach and Education program. He has been recognized as an ARL Diversity Scholar and now holds the position of digital humanities, linguistics, and philosophy librarian at Michigan State University Libraries.
Entrepreneurial Promise Awards
Presented to Kelsey A. Heffren by Professor Michael Twidale:
Kelsey did not enter GSLIS intending to pursue a career in the for-profit sector. However, her natural intellectual curiosity led her to apply for and obtain a summer internship at W. W. Grainger. During her internship, Kelsey seized the opportunity to show her colleagues at Grainger what a GSLIS-educated student had to offer in addressing various challenges in information management. Unsurprisingly, Grainger offered her a full-time position. Additionally, they now want to hire more GSLIS alums. Kelsey’s demonstrated abilities and effective selling of the benefits of a GSLIS degree in solving problems in the corporate sector make her a worthy recipient of the Entrepreneurial Promise Award.
Presented to Taylor Kirch by Research Associate Professor David Dubin:
From XML schemas for digital magazines to proposals for collaborative art projects, Taylor Kirch has worked to connect the academic experience to her work as an independent contractor, seeking partnerships for business initiatives that serve and enrich communities. Rising to our professional challenge in both public and private settings calls for confidence, generosity, and creativity. Taylor exemplifies all three, and we look forward to hearing how she’ll put them to work next.
Faculty Special Award of Merit
Presented to Aisha L. Conner-Gaten by Assistant Professor Emily Knox:
Even though she is graduating today, Aisha began her professional employment as the GSLIS computer-assisted instruction specialist last November. If you teach in the LEEP program, you are familiar with her friendly, yet informative emails about upcoming deadlines, training opportunities, and general encouragement for LEEP instructors. In her commitment to managing the LEEP program and her position as staff advisor to the GSLIS Students of Color group, Aisha embodies the professional values that the faculty hope to instill in all of our students.
Herbert Goldhor Award for Public Librarianship
Presented to Katharine O’Brian by Assistant Professor Carol Tilley:
A colleague used the phrase “generosity of spirit” in referring to Katie, and that seems as apt a description as any to sum up who she is. In any class she took, Katie’s bright smile, willingness to engage, and thoughtful interactions meant a better experience for all of us. Through her assistantship in the children’s department at the Urbana Free Library, Katie encouraged kids to ‘shake their sillies out,’ wonder about the world, and grow as readers. The communities served by our country’s public libraries will be better places because of strong, reflective, and generous professionals like Katie O’Brian.
Peggy Harris Award
Presented to Miguel Ruiz by Assistant Professor Nicole A. Cooke:
Miguel Ruiz is a dynamic, personable, intelligent, and giving library and information science professional. His work as a student was thorough, above average, and delivered with the utmost care and pride. Miguel accepted every challenge and opportunity to broaden his horizons, going so far as to conduct original research with faculty. As a student and LAMP Scholar, Miguel was an active part of the GSLIS and University communities, always ready to assist and participate. And now, Miguel continues to demonstrate his commitment to GSLIS as an alum.
Health Sciences Information Management Award
Presented to Alvin Ray Stockdale by Professor and Associate Dean Linda Smith:
Alvin Stockdale’s work as a GA at the Funk ACES Library contributes to so many facets of the library’s services and systems that it will be impossible to list them all. He provides extraordinary reference services and contributed to the development of new statistical protocol to track reference interactions. He also coordinated the move to a single reservation system for study rooms, led a pilot project developing open instruction sessions, contributed to the website creation and maintenance, reviewed and revised the emergency action plan, and completed a collection assessment toward forthcoming preservation efforts. When there is a need, Alvin is there to take care of it and take care of it well. He goes above and beyond, and he earns this award for his outstanding work, reliability, and character.
Information Systems/Technologies Award
Presented to Laura C. Miller by Assistant Professor Kate Williams:
Laura C. Miller has carried out sustained and creative work focused on local culture and local communities, bringing together public libraries, digitization, and what we call cybernavigating. As part of the Community Informatics Research Lab and its research and community discussions about Big Broadband, she helped to launch CUwiki.net, videorecorded and posted the Digital Divide lectures online, and continues to help people use technology at both public libraries and the Douglass Center. As a student in the University Library, she collected local photos and built a set of online tours, populating a website called exploreCU. As a GSLIS student staffer, she made video tutorials and conducted workshops on a dozen different technologies. Finally, following in the footsteps of fellow Tennessean and library trailblazer Mary Utopia Rothrock, Laura carried out a detailed survey of the websites of rural public libraries in that state. We are very happy to see Laura launching her professional life as (in her words) librarian-designer-developer!
Library School Alumni Association Award
Presented to Pia M. Hunter by Professor and Associate Dean Linda Smith:
Pia Hunter was inspired to pursue her master’s degree through her work with colleagues as a staff member at the University of Illinois at Chicago Library, where she is head of reserve, media, and microforms. She is already inspiring members of her own staff to further their education. As GSLIS Advising Coordinator Meg Edward observed, “Overall Pia is motivational to her fellow students and me” with her “all-around positive attitude and approach to school, work, and life.” Her professional promise has been recognized by her selection as an ARL Diversity Scholar.
Alice Lohrer Awards for Literature and Library Services for Youth
Presented to Katelyn B. Boucher by Associate Professor Christine Jenkins:
Katie has been an exemplary and professional GA at The Center for Children’s Books (CCB) for the past two years, tirelessly and cheerfully managing the collection and sustaining programs such as the Young Adult Lit Club, the annual CCB booksale, and the Storytelling Festival. Katie’s vision and initiative are second to none—she has actively sought out new challenges and effortlessly mastered them, resulting in her providing fundamental research and language for grant work, and she has been a key contributor in a project’s execution. Her many talents and her dedication to youth services make her a highly deserving recipient of the Alice Lohrer Award.
Hazel C. Rediger Award
Presented to Charlotte H. Roh by Professor and Associate Dean Linda Smith:
Coming to GSLIS following several years working in the publishing industry, Charlotte Roh noted that it was her intellectual curiosity that drew her to library and information science as well as her commitment to service and supporting diversity. As a student she explored the field in many ways, both within and beyond the classroom. As the scholarly communications resident librarian at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she is exploring, adapting, and implementing emerging technologies and policies in support of library and campus open access, open education, and library publishing initiatives.
Joseph Rediger Librarian as Humanist Award
Presented to Andrew Tenopir-Lundeen by Professor and Associate Dean Linda Smith:
Andrew Tenopir-Lundeen is a humanist in both senses of the word: someone having a strong concern for human welfare and devoted to the humanities. His undergraduate studies encompassed classical studies, philosophy, and religious studies and his graduate coursework has spanned special collections and data curation. As a consultant with the Special Collections department at Michigan State University, he is investigating and cataloging the provenance of rare books and sharing his findings in a blog.
Social Justice Award
Presented to Thaddeus Andracki by Assistant Professor Emily Knox:
An excellent student, Tad cofounded the GSLIS Queer Book Club, was a cofacilitator of the Inclusions & Exclusions Reading Group, and was a committee member for the Rainbow List Project of the GLBT Round Table of the American Library Association. In February 2013, Tad wrote an open letter, cosigned by 175 alumni, to the Illinois community on racism, privilege, and continuing support for the Chief. For this work and Tad’s dedication to eliminating injustice in both the profession and the wider community for all, we award him the Social Justice Award.
Yingbo Zhou Memorial Fund Award
Presented to Yan Liu by Professor and Associate Dean Linda Smith:
Throughout Yan Liu’s career, she has been a high achiever with recognized accomplishments. She came to GSLIS with law degrees and experience working for a law firm library and for LexisNexis as a content developer in her native China. She has excelled in her coursework as she developed the knowledge and skills needed for a career as a business librarian. She is the recipient of the Sheila Suen Lai Scholarship from the Chinese American Librarians Association in recognition of her potential for leadership in Chinese American librarianship.