Alumnus Colin Rhinesmith named Benton Faculty Research Fellow

Colin Rhinesmith (PhD '14) has been named the new Benton Faculty Research Fellow by the Benton Foundation, a private foundation working to ensure that media and telecommunications serve the public interest and enhance democracy. In this role, Rhinesmith will conduct original research as well as advise the foundation on new research opportunities.

In his first project for Benton, Rhinesmith is conducting a study of low-cost Internet and digital literacy training programs in low-income communities across the U.S. The goal of the study is to provide data and outcomes-based measures that can be useful to policymakers, Internet service providers, and other digital inclusion stakeholders, particularly as the Federal Communications Commission and Congress seek to reform the Universal Service Fund.

Rhinesmith is also working with Benton Fellow Raphael Leung to compile research resources on the impact effects of broadband availability on vulnerable communities. A fall 2015 report will look at the need for robust broadband among low-income communities and address what the minimum services standards should be for low-income telecommunications programs.

"I am honored to be affiliated with the Benton Foundation as a Faculty Research Fellow," said Rhinesmith. "For the past thirteen years, I have followed the Foundation’s tireless efforts to create more equitable access to information and communication in the digital age. I look forward to working with the Benton Foundation as a researcher to help inform how policymakers and practitioners design, implement, and evaluate digital inclusion and broadband adoption strategies."

Rhinesmith is an assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Oklahoma. His research investigates digital inclusion and broadband adoption. Recent research looks at how community anchor institutions, such as public libraries and community technology centers, promote digital inclusion through public access computing, home broadband access, and digital literacy training. Rhinesmith’s work has been published in the following journals and peer-reviewed conference proceedings: Government Information Quarterly; International Journal of Communication; Journal of Education for Library and Information Science; Community Informatics Research Network Conference Proceedings; and Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology.

Rhinesmith received his PhD from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was an Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded Information in Society Fellow. He received his BA and MA in media studies from Emerson College in Boston, MA. Previously, Rhinesmith was a Google Policy Fellow and an adjunct research fellow with the Open Technology Institute at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Tags:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Get to know Chetna Beri, software engineer

Chetna Beri (MSIM '23) is a software engineer at W. W. Grainger, a leading distributor of industrial and safety supplies. Grainger was one of several companies that contacted Beri after she attended the iSchool's career fair last fall. Her advice to students is to network, get involved, ask questions, and attend the iSchool Networking and Career Fair on September 8.

Chetna Beri

Get to know Kelly Schulz, archivist

When Kelly Schulz (MSLIS '18) visited the National Gallery of Art in the 5th grade, she immediately knew that she wanted to work there. "At that time, I had no idea what the job would be, but I just knew that I wanted to do it here," she recalled. As fate would have it, Schulz's dream came true, and she is now an archivist at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Kelly Schulz

Foundation job provides personal connection for Henderson

Ethan Henderson (MSLIS ’07) is more than a staff member at the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. The funds that he raises as the foundation's senior director of advancement benefit him personally, as someone with Parkinson's disease.

Ethan Henderson

Estate gift a ‘Guru-Dhakshina’ for PhD alum

According to Chandra Prabha (PhD '84), in traditional Indian culture, a student offers a gift in gratitude to the teacher who has played an important role in his or her life. This practice, called "Guru-Dhakshina," inspired Prabha to make an estate gift to the University of Illinois in honor of the professors who most influenced her PhD studies—F. W. "Wilf" Lancaster and Linda C. Smith. Her gift will be split between the Wilf Lancaster Scholarship and the Linda C. Smith Doctoral Student Endowment Fund in the School of Information Sciences.

Chandra Prabha