Cooke receives 2016 Cowan Award for Teaching and Mentoring in Diversity

Assistant Professor Nicole A. Cooke is the 2016 recipient of the Larine Y. Cowan Make a Difference Award for Teaching and Mentoring in Diversity, given annually by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The award honors Dr. Larine Y. Cowan, past director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Access. There are four award categories, including Advocacy for LGBTQ Affairs, Excellence in Access and Accommodations, Leadership in Diversity, and Teaching and Mentoring in Diversity. Cooke received the award at the University's 31st Annual Celebration of Diversity on November 11 in Champaign.

At the iSchool, Cooke has led the development of three graduate courses directly addressing diversity: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Information Professions (LIS 537), Social Justice in the Information Professions (LIS 545), and Information Services for Diverse Populations (LIS 547).

"I have had the pleasure of being a student in two of Dr. Cooke's classes: Information Services to Diverse Populations and Social Justice in the Information Professions," said doctoral student Cass Mabbott in the nomination materials. "I can easily say she has been one of the most influential professors I have ever had in all of my education. I believe this is because she has a gift for creating trust in the classroom, something that is much needed when discussing diversity and equity. From the first day of class, she presented and demonstrated the ground rules for respect. She allowed us to make mistakes, recover, and eventually, transform into more culturally fluent individuals."

Cooke recently collaborated with the School's student affairs staff to ensure the integration of cultural competency training for all new students. A member of the iSchool's Diversity Committee, she took the lead in organizing workshops for faculty and staff addressing racial microaggressions.

Cooke's publications in the areas of social justice and diversity includes articles in The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy; a chapter on "Reference Services for Diverse Populations" in the 5th edition of Reference and Information Services: An Introduction; and her book on Information Services to Diverse Populations: Developing Culturally Competent Library Professionals (2016). In addition she has co-edited the book Teaching for Justice: Implementing Social Justice in the LIS Classroom (forthcoming in 2017). 

cooke-smith1.png?itok=GziAYzgJ Cooke was named a "Mover & Shaker" by Library Journal in 2007 and was the 2016 recipient of the American Library Association's Equality Award. Her research and teaching interests include human information behavior, particularly in the online context; critical cultural information studies; and diversity and social justice in librarianship with an emphasis on infusing them into LIS education and pedagogy. She holds an MEd in adult education from Penn State, and a Master of Library Science and PhD in communication, information, and library studies from Rutgers University, where she was an ALASpectrum Doctoral Fellow. Cooke serves as a member of the Spectrum Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of the American Library Association Committee on Diversity.

"Receiving this award is an overwhelming honor, and I'm so grateful that my work is being recognized," Cooke said. "Not only is my award named for an amazing scholar and activist, but I was nominated by Dr. Linda C. Smith, which is an honor in and of itself! I am very fortunate to teach these courses at the iSchool and I’ve been blessed with some amazing students who have helped me make them successful."

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Knox appointed interim dean

Professor Emily Knox has been appointed to serve as interim dean of the School of Information Sciences, pending approval by the Board of Trustees. Until officially approved, her title will be interim dean designate. The appointment will begin April 1, 2025.

Emily Knox

iSchool instructors ranked as excellent

Fifty-six iSchool instructors were named in the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for Fall 2024 and Winter 2024-2025. The rankings are released every semester, and results are based on the ratings from the Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) questionnaire forms maintained by Measurement and Evaluation in the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. 

iSchool Building

Scholarship alleviates financial burden for returning student

During her time as an active-duty Naval Officer, Anna Hartman realized that she had a passion for helping others and building community. That passion, combined with a lifelong love of reading, led her to pursue an MSLIS degree at the University of Illinois. Hartman is receiving support for her studies through the Balz Endowment Fund, which was established by Nancy (BA LAS '70, MSLIS '72) and Dan (BS Media '68, MS Media '72) Balz to help make education more affordable for returning students.

Anna Hartman

Ocepek and Sanfilippo co-edit book on misinformation

Assistant Professor Melissa Ocepek and Assistant Professor Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo have co-edited a new book, Governing Misinformation in Everyday Knowledge Commons, which was recently published by Cambridge University Press. An open access edition of the book is available, thanks to support from the Governing Knowledge Commons Research Coordination Network (NSF 2017495). The new book explores the socio-technical realities of misinformation in a variety of online and offline everyday environments. 

Governing Misinformation in Everyday Knowledge Commons book

Faculty receive support for AI-related projects from new pilot program

Associate Professor Yun Huang, Assistant Professor Jiaqi Ma, and Assistant Professor Haohan Wang have received computing resources from the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR), a two-year pilot program led by the National Science Foundation in partnership with other federal agencies and nongovernmental partners. The goal of the pilot is to support AI-related research with particular emphasis on societal challenges. Last month, awardees presented their research at the NAIRR Pilot Annual Meeting.