News Feed

iSchool researchers to present at The Web Conference 2021

iSchool researchers will present their work at The Web Conference 2021. The conference, which will be held virtually from April 12-23, will address the evolution and current state of the Web through the lens of computer science, computational social science, economics, public policy, and Web-based applications.

Grenby to deliver 2021 Gryphon Lecture

M. O. Grenby, dean of research and innovation and professor of eighteenth-century studies at Newcastle University, UK, will deliver the 2021 Gryphon Lecture on April 15. Sponsored annually by The Center for Children's Books (CCB), the lecture features a leading scholar in the field of youth and literature, media, and culture.

M.O. Grenby

Wang to join iSchool faculty

The iSchool is pleased to announce that Dong Wang will join the faculty as an associate professor in August 2021. He is currently an associate professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Notre Dame.

Dong Wang

Hao defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Yun Hao successfully defended her dissertation, "Towards a Better Understanding of Music Playlist Titles and Descriptions," on April 6. Her committee included Professor J. Stephen Downie (chair); Associate Professor Vetle Torvik; Assistant Professor Nigel Bosch; Xiao Hu, associate professor at The University of Hong Kong; and Andreas Ehmann, manager of research/data science at Pandora Inc.

Yun Hao

iSchool instructors ranked as excellent

Forty-nine iSchool instructors were named in the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for Fall 2020. The rankings are released every semester, and results are based on the Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) questionnaire forms maintained by Measurement and Evaluation in the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. Only those instructors who gave out ICES forms during the semester and who released their data for publication are included in the list.

iSchool at Illinois ranked number one

U.S. News & World Report has once again named the iSchool at Illinois the top graduate school for library and information studies, based on national rankings of accredited master's degree programs. The iSchool has held the top spot among its peer institutions since 1996. On the Urbana-Champaign campus, it was the only college with a degree program to be placed number one in the current rankings.

iSchool Building

Get to Know: Donnita Harris, Administrative Aide

Our School is grateful for talented and dedicated staff, who contribute greatly to our teaching and research excellence. This “Get to Know” series highlights our staff, sharing their friendly faces and stories of professional success.

Donnita Harris

Interest in education, data management leads Kearse to iSchool

MS student Jeremy Kearse is a future educator and data manager. His career goals are to work both in the corporate world, "helping a business make smarter and more efficient decisions," and as an adjunct professor in an MSI (minority serving institution), working with students in STEM and LIS. Kearse, who earned his BS in computer science from Morehouse College, became interested in the field of LIS after serving as a paraprofessional for a fourth-grade class through the UPS Community Scholars Program.

Jeremy Kearse