PhD candidate Michelle Bak successfully defended her dissertation, "Promoting a Healthy and Comprehensive Diet through Theory-Driven Large Language Models-based Agents," on July 14.

The iSchool is pleased to announce the appointment of two specialized faculty members. Yildiz Esener and Nitin Verma will join the School as teaching assistant professors in August 2025.

iSchool faculty, staff, and students will present their research at DH2025, the annual conference of the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO), which will take place on July 14–18 in Lisbon, Portugal. The digital humanities (DH) conference is the largest event of the international DH community and unites scholars from across the globe. 

iSchool Alumni Association (ISAA) is pleased to announce the recipients of its annual awards, which were presented at an alumni reception during the 2025 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition.

Corissa Clark joined the iSchool last month as an office administrator for Academic Affairs. In her new position, she will work closely with faculty, staff, and university administration to ensure accurate scheduling and efficient course management for the iSchool's graduate programs.

PhD candidate Andrew Zalot successfully defended his dissertation, "'Tweet of the Town:' Synthesizing Local and Social Media Discourse on Book Bans," on July 3.

The Library of Congress announced the appointment of 37 undergraduate, graduate students, and recent graduates to its Junior Fellows Program, including seven students from the iSchool. 

The American Library Association (ALA) is pleased to announce the selection of MSLIS student Sarah Shuai Martin of Chicago, Illinois, as the 2025 recipient of the Mary V. Gaver Scholarship.

MSLIS student Fi Keane found their way to the iSchool after working in the children’s section of a bookstore. For the past academic year, they have served as the graduate assistant for Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, a peer-reviewed, open access, academic journal hosted by the iSchool’s Center for Children’s Books.

Assistant Professor Karen Wickett has received a $30,000 Arnold O. Beckman Research Award from the University of Illinois Campus Research Board for her project, "Who is seen? New digital frameworks to address archival silences."