SLIS NEWS: Graduation and a recap of 2010 at SLIS (Dec 13, 2010)

December 13, 2010

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Our weather is so cold! No snow but cold, cold, cold. Of course, we still have our beautiful, perfect blue Carolina skies so we can’t really complain! I hope you have some holiday plans that make you smile and keep you warm.

Everything is good here at Davis College. We had a wonderful graduation today with many happy graduates and proud families. And, the welcome brunch was great! LISSA president BriAnne Baxley, her officers (Jenny Goulden, Kayla Burns and Sara Mason), and our faculty and staff put together a lovely menu of special treats and we toasted with coffee and orange juice before heading to Rutledge Chapel for the hooding ceremony. Thank you each and all for helping to make this day so memorable for our graduates.

It is always emotional to see our graduating students and the scores of family and friends that helped them get to such a good part of their lives. It makes me think about truth and beauty and justice and the potential that each graduate brings to us – the potential to change the world. Because of the high caliber of our SLIS graduates, I am convinced that the world will be a much better place with them on the front lines of libraries, leading and lighting the way, taking each challenge in stride.

This has been a most exciting year at the School of Library and Information Science. Among many projects and collaborations, there are three initiatives that are near and dear to my heart. First, our undergraduate degree in Information Science continues to grow! We have the very best of students in this new program and we can see a bright and successful future. Second, our doctoral students continue to grow into scholars and shining stars. They have done posters and papers at several conferences including SCLA, SCASL, ALA, ASIS&T, and ALISE this coming January. Having these unique and talented students in Davis College has energized everyone. They bring a sense of adventure and exploration of new frontiers, engaging our masters’ students and faculty in research collaborations and hallway conversations. We are getting ready to admit our CHIL fellows with the federal IMLS funding. Third, we continue to be the nexus for major research initiatives in literacy and children’s services. We are currently searching for our endowed chair in childhood literacy named for Augusta Baker and look forward to finding the perfect scholar to lead us in new adventures.

We are ready to bring in a new year with new challenges and opportunities. We remain grateful for our friends and each of you that support our projects and desires to eliminate illiteracy. We also appreciate all of the help to increase our scholarship funds.

Let me know if you need anything and in the meantime, I hope your holidays are wonderful!

Best wishes to you and yours,

Dr. Sam