Students from the iSchool and other majors who are interested in data science, information sciences, and information systems are welcome to join Psi Eta Mu, the School's official co-ed professional fraternity. Psi Eta Mu is currently holding its rush for the spring semester and plans to accept up to twenty new members.

The School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign seeks nominations for the 2022 Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award. The deadline for nominations is March 15, 2023. The award is cosponsored by SAGE Publishing.

Jingrui He, associate professor and MSIM program director, has been named a Senior Member of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). The Senior Member status is bestowed upon AAAI members who have achieved significant accomplishments within the field of artificial intelligence.

MSLIS student and ALA Spectrum Scholar Wardah Mohammed earned her bachelor's degree in philosophy with a focus in bioethics, global studies, and Arabic language and culture from Loyola University Chicago.

Since she was a child, Myriam Ramos has enjoyed helping organizations that give back to her community. Over the years, she has volunteered in the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago, mentoring players in the Holy Cross Marimba Ensemble and planning and hosting book giveaways for youth.

The New Philadelphia National Historic Site in western Illinois, commemorating the first U.S. town to be legally founded by African Americans, is the nation's newest national park. The national park designation in late December is the result of years of work by descendants of New Philadelphia's inhabitants, Pike County residents living near the former village, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors and students, and collaborators from across the nation.

Sara Benson (MSLIS '17), adjunct associate professor at the iSchool and copyright librarian and associate professor at the University Library, was recently named a senior policy fellow for the American Library Association's Public Policy and Advocacy Office and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) representative to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). 

Samip Mallick (MSLIS '11) is the executive director and co-founder of SAADA, the South Asian American Digital Archive. He is proud of how his organization's work creates a place of belonging for the South Asian American community.

Documenting the Future: Navigating Provenance Metadata Standards, a new book authored by PhD student Michael Gryk and alumni Rhiannon Bettivia (PhD '16) and Jessica Yi-Yun Cheng (PhD '22), explores provenance, which is the study and documentation of how something has come to be. Provenance documentation is critical for authenticity, trustworthiness, and reproducibility in science. 

Amber Holmes joined the iSchool this month as assistant director of academic affairs. In her new position, she will support Academic Affairs, playing a key role in scheduling the curricula across all degree programs and collaborating with Student Affairs to balance program needs with instructor preferences.