 On July 13, 2006, Library & Information Science
(LIS) Program Chair Dr. Richard Cox held his first “Town
Hall Meeting.” More than 65 students were in attendance
as Dean Larsen, Associate Dean Biagini, and Dr. Cox provided
an overview of the School of Information Sciences (SIS)
new restructuring plan.
In the broadest sense, SIS hopes to implement a policy
of integration between the four degree programs in Information
Science, Telecommunications, and Library and Information
Science. The result of this integration will allow for
a freer and open exchange of dialogue and information.
This will not only benefit the school’s students,
but the faculty and staff as well, as academic and administrative
responsibilities are addressed in a balanced and equally
weighted manner. Thus, the overall strength of the department
will be enhanced by the links built between programs. Dr.
Larsen stressed the need for patience during this time
of change, and noted “It
will be five or ten years from now that this (the benefits
of the restructuring) will be more apparent.”
After Dean Larsen’s comments Dr. Biagini spoke briefly
about the LIS Program’s recent re-accreditation by
the American Library Association’s Committee on Accreditation.
Among the areas examined by the Committee were: the LIS
program’s mission and goals; the curriculum offered;
the quality of faculty and student research; program budget
and administrative performance; and the quality of technology
and physical resources available for faculty and student
research.
As the new program Chair, Dr. Cox will lead the curricular
and research efforts of the LIS program. He hopes to (in
addition to re-examining the existing LIS tracks) eventually
add new specialization options for students. |
