When students return to campus for the fall semester, they will find an exciting new art installation welcoming them back. The digital art installation, Library of Color, will be in the east foyer of the iSchool building at 501 E. Daniel Street. The artwork was created by one of the world's foremost data artists, Jer Thorp, and made possible through a generous grant from the John N. Chester Estate Endowment Fund provided by the Office of the Chancellor.

A new scholarship in the iSchool will support students who are interested in pursuing a career in academic libraries. Thomas Wilson established the Kuang-Hwei "Janet" Lee-Smeltzer Scholarship Fund in honor of his wife, Janet, who passed away on November 28, 2015. Lee-Smeltzer (MS '93) had a distinguished career in librarianship, working in academic and public libraries in several states. At the time of her death, she served as head of Cataloging and Metadata Services at The University of Alabama Libraries in Tuscaloosa.

PhD student Malik Salami has been accepted into the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science in Chicago (SICSS-Chicago), which will be held virtually from June 14-25. Sponsored by Northwestern University, the institute will bring together graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and beginning faculty for lectures, group problem sets, and participant-led research projects.

Each year, the School recognizes a group of outstanding students for their achievement in academics as well as a number of attributes that contribute to professional success. Congratulations to this year's honorees!

PhD student Jamillah R. Gabriel will give the opening keynote address at the Critical Pedagogy Symposium, which will be held virtually on May 17-19. The symposium is a collaborative project of the Association of College and Research Libraries/Greater New York Metropolitan Area Chapter, Library Information Literacy Advisory Committee (LILAC) of The City University of New York, and METRO.

A record seventeen iSchool master's students were named 2020-2021 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MS/LIS student Marisol Bribiescas holds a BA in psychology and a minor in art from Northern Illinois University.

Projects by Assistant Professor Nigel Bosch and Jeff Ginger (PhD '15) are featured in the 2021 STEM for All Video Showcase. The showcase, which brings together videos from hundreds of projects funded by the National Science Foundation and a diverse group of other federal agencies, is an interactive event. From May 11-18, viewers will watch, share, and interact with projects that are transforming science, technology, engineering, math, and computer science learning.

For supporting the value and necessity of equity, diversity, and inclusion as a part of her library's mission and service, Amy Dodson has been named the 2020 recipient of the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award. The award is given annually by the faculty of the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and cosponsored by the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF), a nonprofit legal and educational organization affiliated with the American Library Association (ALA).

iSchool faculty and students will present their research at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2021), which will be held virtually from May 8-13. The conference, considered the most prestigious in the field of Human-Computer Interaction, attracts researchers and practitioners from around the globe. The theme for CHI 2021 is "Making Waves, Combining Strengths."

Patients with compromised health conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, are at enhanced risk of contracting COVID-19. Unfortunately, these patients are also hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine because of their condition. A new project, led by Assistant Professor Jessie Chin, aims to develop an accessible, generalizable, and efficient digital health solution for promoting vaccination among vulnerable populations.