A record number of new faculty will join the iSchool this fall: 13 across ranks and disciplines.

As artificial intelligence becomes central to scientific discovery, researchers face a growing but often overlooked risk: the AI models, datasets, and automated systems they depend on can be compromised in ways that conventional cybersecurity tools are not designed to detect.

As assistant dean for community, culture, and engagement, Caroline Nappo will help lead and shape the Office of Community, Culture, and Engagement and its team.

Professor and Associate Dean for Research Dong Wang has been invited to join the 2026 Computing Research Association (CRA) Emerging Leaders Cohort. The inaugural cohort will be introduced at the 2026 CRA Summit, which will be held from July 21-23 in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The summit is an exclusive, invitation-only gathering of senior leaders from academia, industry, and government who are shaping the future of computing research.

Jones' coauthored book, The Future of Memory: A History of Lossless Format Standards in the Moving Image Archive,  was recognized by the Society of American Archivists for its outstanding published work related to archives preservation.

Dong Wang (Distinguished Research Scholar), Jessie Chin (Advanced Research Scholar), and Emily Maemura (Early Career Scholar) are the first recipients of the iSchool's Research and Scholarship Awards.

Carl Volkmann served as a mentor to many librarians throughout his 12-year tenure as director of Lincoln Library in Springfield, Illinois. Volkmann passed away in 2013, but his commitment to helping future public librarians lives on through the Volkmann Scholarship he and his family established at the iSchool.

"Silencing Stories: Challenges to Diverse Books," originally published by Interim Dean and Professor Emily Knox in 2019, has been selected for the 10th anniversary issue of the International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion. 

Doctoral candidate Siyao Cheng was awarded a 2026 Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from Beta Phi Mu, the international honor society for library and information studies. The amount awarded for the fellowship is $3,000.

Professor Emeritus Donald W. Krummel passed away on June 25, 2026, in Urbana, Illinois, at the age of 96.