School of Information Sciences

GSLIS alumni selected for ISL leadership program

Six GSLIS alumni are among thirty Illinois librarians selected to participate in the tenth year of "Synergy: the Illinois Library Leadership Initiative.” The unique yearlong program sponsored by the Illinois State Library (ISL) is designed to develop future leaders in the library profession and Illinois community.

The group of librarians will attend three sessions over a six-month period and work in a leadership environment with other emerging leaders, experienced Illinois library leaders, and nationally recognized speakers. The goal of the program is for each individual to develop leadership skills that can be applied in local, state and global arenas.

GSLIS alumni who will participate include:

Barbara Alvarez, MS ’12
David Ehrenhart, MS ’10
Taran Ley, MS ’93
Sarah McHone-Chase, MS ’05
Bobbi Perryman, MS ’07
Dana Russell, MS ’03

Synergy objectives include self-assessment; discovering and developing personal values; identifying the local, state, and global environment; fostering and expanding skills and tools for personal, professional, and positional leadership; creating a cohort group; establishing mentoring relationships; and developing a vision of and beyond the field of librarianship.

Research Areas:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Ma receives NSF CAREER award

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. 

Jiaqi Ma

NSF backs new effort to secure scientific AI

As artificial intelligence becomes central to scientific discovery, researchers face a growing but often overlooked risk: the AI models, datasets, and automated systems they depend on can be compromised in ways that conventional cybersecurity tools are not designed to detect.

Anita Nikolich

Wang invited to join CRA Emerging Leaders Cohort

Professor and Associate Dean for Research Dong Wang has been invited to join the 2026 Computing Research Association (CRA) Emerging Leaders Cohort. The inaugural cohort will be introduced at the 2026 CRA Summit, which will be held from July 21-23 in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The summit is an exclusive, invitation-only gathering of senior leaders from academia, industry, and government who are shaping the future of computing research.

Dong Wang

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