Website celebrates achievements of University of Illinois women

Linda C. Smith
Linda C. Smith, Professor Emerita, Interim Executive Associate Dean

A new website celebrating the accomplishments that women have made during the University of Illinois' 150-year history includes three women with iSchool connections.

The website, 150 for 150: Celebrating the Accomplishments of Women at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is part of the U of I's sesquicentennial celebration. The website highlights women who have made significant achievements as students, faculty members, staff, or alumni. It is a collaboration of the Gender Equity Council, whose mission is to foster a gender-equitable and inclusive climate for faculty, and the University Library.

Cindy Ingold, gender and multicultural services librarian and chair of the Gender Equity Council, oversaw the project. She said the women were selected through nominations; through research in the University Archives; and in consultation with experts on the history of the University, including archivists and Professor Emeritus Winton Solberg.

The accomplishments of the women featured include leadership, pioneering achievements, and distinguished service in careers both within and outside the University community. The website is divided by decades and includes a description of each woman's achievements. Ingold said many of the women were early champions for the inclusion of more women in their fields.

The iSchool women featured on the website include:

Katharine Lucinda Sharp completed her library science degree at the New York State Library School in 1892 under the tutelage of Melvil Dewey, creator of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification. At the recommendation of Dewey, Katharine served as founding director and university librarian for the first library science program in the Midwest at the Armour Institute in Chicago in 1893. Four years later, the program moved to Urbana and was renamed the Illinois State Library School. Katharine created the first curriculum and built a firm foundation for the school, establishing a program of excellence that remains to this day.

Linda C. Smith (MS '72) received her PhD from the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University in 1979. Linda returned to the iSchool as an assistant professor in 1977. Currently a full professor, she has served as interim dean and acting dean for the School and has been associate dean for academic programs since 1997. Linda has held positions in many professional organizations, including serving as president of both the Association for Information Science and Technology and the Association for Library and Information Science Education.

Lian Ruan (MS '90, PhD '11) joined the University of Illinois in 1999, becoming the head librarian of the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI). Beginning in 2005, Lian has led the IFSI Chinese Librarians Scholarly Exchange Program which has trained more than 340 librarians from all over China. Her awards include the Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence Award and the Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year Award. 

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

iSchool researchers to present at NeurIPS

iSchool faculty, staff, and students will present their research at the 37th Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2023), which will be held from December 10-16 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NeurIPS is one of the most prestigious and competitive international conferences in machine learning and computational neuroscience.

Tilley featured in comic book

Associate Professor Carol Tilley had an unexpected citation in her favorite medium—comic books! Dav Pilkey, author and illustrator of a number of bestselling and award-winning children’s books, including the popular Captain Underpants series, depicts Tilley's research on psychiatrist Fredric Wertham in his newest comic, Cat Kid Comic Club Influencers.

Dav Pilkey's comic depicting Carol Tilley

Carter to lead student affairs

April Carter has joined the iSchool as assistant dean for student affairs. In her new position, she will provide strategic direction and support academic advising, career services, and enrichment of the student experience.

April Carter

iSchool researchers present at 4S 2023

iSchool faculty, staff, and students presented their research at the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) annual conference, which was held from November 8-11 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The society is an international, nonprofit association that fosters interdisciplinary scholarship in social studies of science, technology, and medicine. 

Smalheiser named ACMI Fellow

Affiliate Professor Neil Smalheiser, professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois Chicago, is one of twenty-three new Fellows inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI). New Fellows are elected annually to the College by the 473-member body of Fellows.

Neil R Smalheiser