Zoë Kaler (MS/IM '18) serves as a senior user experience (UX) designer for the national digital services firm West Monroe. She credits the iSchool with preparing her for a rapidly changing technology landscape.

PhD student Jamillah Gabriel and iSchool alumna Katrina Spencer (MS/LIS ’16) gave the keynote address at the Society of American Archives Annual Conference, which was held on August 25-27 virtually and in Boston, Massachusetts.

Professor Catherine Blake will present the keynote at the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (HSLI) Annual Conference, which will be held virtually from September 7-9. HSLI promotes the professional and educational development of Illinois librarians, information professionals, and library students in the health sciences.

Talia Shaw has joined the iSchool as academic advisor and coordinator of graduate affairs. In this position, she will primarily provide academic advising and support to MS/LIS students as well as develop and facilitate programming/workshops, review applications for admission, and create new resources in collaboration with Student Affairs colleagues.

A new project led by Associate Professor Kate McDowell and Assistant Professor Matthew Turk will help libraries tell data stories that connect with their audiences. Their project, "Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians," has received a two-year, $99,330 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS grant RE-250094-OLS-21), under the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, which supports innovative research by untenured, tenure-track faculty.

David Charles has joined the iSchool as a specialized faculty member. He holds over fifteen years of industry experience in the areas of digital transformation, innovation culture and strategy, business and people analytics, and change management.

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.

Master's students Amina Malik and Inbar Michael have been selected to participate in the 2022-2024 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Kaleidoscope Diversity Scholars Program. With the goal of attracting MS/LIS students from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to careers in research libraries and archives, the Kaleidoscope Program offers financial support to scholars as well as leadership development through the ARL Annual Leadership Symposium, a formal mentoring program, career placement assistance, and a site visit to an ARL member library.

The power of information cannot be understated. It promotes discovery, drives decision-making, empowers individuals, and provides vision for the future. The School of Information Sciences (iSchool) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) uses the power of information to transform lives and society through innovative teaching, research, and engagement.

Professor Emerita Kathryn (Kathie) Luther Henderson passed away at home on August 18. She was determinedly independent until the start of her final illness on her 99th birthday.