Flood receives CNI fellowship

Jamie Flood

MS/LIS online (Leep) student Jamie Flood has been awarded a 2022 Paul Evan Peters Fellowship from the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI). The fellowship, established in honor of CNI's founding director, recognizes outstanding scholarship and intellectual rigor, a commitment to civic responsibility and democratic values, and imagination. CNI annually provides two awards: one to a doctoral student in the amount of $5,000 per year, and one to a master's student in the amount of $2,500 per year.

Flood is employed as an outreach and information specialist with the Agricultural Law Information Partnership at the USDA National Agricultural Library (NAL), where she contributes data to Wikipedia and organizes edit-a-thons. Her primary focus is adding content related to women and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) in scientific fields, especially in the areas of property rights, food and nutrition equity, and farmland access.

"Wikipedia is an excellent platform for free, open sharing to a global audience," said Flood. "However, knowledge access is essential, and our catalogs and collections are often not easily accessible. Editing Wikipedia with our unique information is a great way to reach a wider audience, while ensuring greater access to more rich and accurate information."

Flood holds an MS from Auburn University's Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology and a BA in sociology and women's studies from Eastern Illinois University. She chose the iSchool because of the MS/LIS online option and the "vast experiences and interests" of the iSchool's faculty. Her research interests include information organization and metadata, information access, and archives.

"Viewing these topics through an equity lens, while working to make research and information openly accessible and equitable, and creating more inclusive metadata and descriptions are also vital to me," she said.

After earning her MS/LIS, Flood wants to continue working to connect libraries and Wikipedia and to address topics of equity in agriculture and agricultural law.

Kirstin Nelson, senior law librarian and Diversity and Inclusion Council executive director at NAL, said of Flood, "She intentionally seeks out the stories and images that highlight women and BIPOC people to help give a fuller narrative to science and stories around agriculture and agricultural law. . . . She is brave and speaks up for inclusion and equity even when—especially when—it is hard and may carry consequences."

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Get to know Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou, PhD student

PhD student Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou's goal is to make information and communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) experiences more equitable, accessible, beneficial, and ethical for all. In his free time, he is devoted to helping junior researchers, especially those from populations not typically represented in STEM.

Zhixuan Zhou

Santos honored by Illinois State Comptroller

Professor and Dean Eunice E. Santos was named a 2024 Women's History Month Honoree by the Illinois Office of Comptroller. She was recognized at a ceremony hosted by Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza on March 21 in Springfield. At the Women's History Month celebration, Santos and three other women trailblazers were honored for their achievements and contributions to the community.

Eunice Santos

Dual degree program a perfect fit for Byington

Richard Byington wanted to pursue a master's degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies (REEES) at the University of Illinois, but after learning that he could earn an MSLIS at the same time, he decided to enroll in the dual degree program.

Richard Byington

Book co-edited by Dahlen recognized by ChLA

A book edited by Associate Professor Sarah Park Dahlen and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, associate professor in the University of Michigan's Marsal Family School of Education, has received the Children's Literature Association (ChLA) Edited Book Award. The annual award recognizes the contributions of an outstanding edited collection of essays to children's literature history, scholarship, and criticism. 

Sarah Park Dahlen

Campus-community partnership launches new maker-in-residence program

A new program co-led by the Champaign-Urbana Community (CUC) Fab Lab aims to bridge and enhance the creative capabilities of local maker communities. The Champaign County Community (CCC) Maker-in-Residence Program was recently awarded a $29,293 grant through the Campus-Community Compact to Accelerate Social Justice initiative in the Office of Public Engagement.

Cu Community Fab Lab