Yoo-Seong Song, faculty member and librarian at the University Library, now has a joint appointment with the iSchool. As a result, he will increase the number of courses he teaches for the School and participate more broadly in advising students who focus on information consulting and related areas.
Song has been teaching courses at the iSchool for eight years, specializing in information consulting and applied business research. In his Information Consulting (IS 539) class, students work as research analysts and coordinators for actual companies and organizations that seek assistance with real-world information problems.
"Song's courses are renowned among our students for the intensity of his commitment to experiential learning and his ability to involve external organizations and companies, including other universities, in student projects. Over the years, I have talked with many of his students and attended the presentations of their final projects. He is truly an exceptional instructor, and it is very exciting to have more of his time devoted to our School," said Professor and Dean Allen Renear.
"Through Information Consulting and Applied Business Research classes, I have engaged iSchool master's students with over 20 companies from around the world and helped them work on real-world projects," said Song. "Students, both in LIS and IM tracks, have been able to apply their knowledge to solving complex questions and problems faced by many organizations. I hope to strengthen this experiential learning program so that our students can better prepare for their careers."
Song's research interests include knowledge management, business information, consulting, and experiential learning for information professionals. Prior to coming to Illinois, he was a senior associate at Ernst & Young, specializing in e-commerce, high-tech, and telecommunications. Song also worked as a consultant at Accenture and as a market intelligence analyst at Tellabs. As an entrepreneur, he co-founded two information service firms in Korea—Logit International and Heavenly Seeds Media.
Song holds an MBA from the University of Iowa and MSI from the University of Michigan. He was named the 2014 Instructor of the Year by the Web-based Information Science Education (WISE) Consortium and has regularly appeared on the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent.
"I am very excited to join the faculty at the iSchool. This expanded appointment provides me with greater opportunities to be fully embedded in the School, working with faculty and students," he said.