LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE NEWS, March 2005
The School of Information Studies at Syracuse University
The Original Information School
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The Helen Benning Regnier
Summer Institute on Leadership and Change
Through the generosity of the Victor & Helen Regnier Charitable Foundation, the School of Information Studies is pleased to announce the naming of the Helen Benning Regnier Summer Institute on Leadership and Change. The Regnier endowment supports annual full-tuition scholarships for distance learning students pursuing a master's of Library and Information Science degree program. The Regnier Institute and awards focus on developing leadership and innovation in the library field.
Helen Benning Regnier-from farm girl to librarian, businesswoman and philanthropist
Helen's life began in the rural community of Lyons, New York where she attended school in a one-room schoolhouse. Her father, a farmer, discouraged Helen from working in the fields and barn, so she immersed herself in the world of books. She was salutatorian of her high school class and her academic achievements earned her a scholarship to Syracuse University. Helen graduated with a BA in Psychology and English, Magna Cum Laude in 1936 and her scholarly success led to memberships in a number of honorary societies. She continued her education at SU's Library Science program, successfully completing her degree in 1937.
Helen launched her career in librarianship as a public librarian in Great Neck, New York. She later served as the public librarian in Canandaigua, New York, the hometown of her first husband, Samuel Merrill. While Samuel served in the military during WWII she secured a civilian position as a librarian at the U.S. Naval Training Station in Sampson, New York. After Samuel's death at Normandy beach, she was promoted to serve as the naval base librarian in Gulfport, Mississippi. There, she met her future husband of 54 years, Victor Regnier. They married in 1945 and began a successful business partnership in real estate and development.
Helen, the first in her family to go to college, stated in later years that she felt indebted to Syracuse University,
as she could not have attended college without the support of the scholarship. Today, the Helen Benning Regnier scholarships enable students, like Helen, to pursue a high quality education in librarianship regardless of geographic or financial constraints.
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"Online at Midnight"
Recent School of Information Studies alumnae, Deborah Sparnon, has written an article, "Online at Midnight", on the benefits of distance learning for the September/October 2004 issue of Knowledge Quest, the online journal of the American Association of School Librarians. Deborah cites the many advantages of an online education and provides insights for students who wish to pursue a degree from the convenience of their home while keeping on top of other life obligations.
Deborah, a former distance graduate student, successfully completed the School Media program at Syracuse University and is the School Library Media Specialist at Marian E. McKeown School in Newton, New Jersey. She was named Adjunct Professor of the Year 2003-2004 by the School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies, Professional Development Studies at Rutgers University.
For more information on the School of Information Studies' online programs, please contact Kathryn Allen: 315.443.4251 or [log in to unmask]
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An IST profile: R. David Lankes
R. David Lankes, PhD, is Executive Director of the Information Institute of Syracuse (IIS) and an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. The IIS houses the Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM), the Virtual Reference Desk (VRD), the Educator's Reference Desk and several projects related to the NSF's National Science Digital Library (NSDL). Lankes received his BFA (Multimedia Design), MS in Telecommunications and Ph.D. from Syracuse University.
Lankes was director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology from 1998-2003 and co-founded the award winning AskERIC project in 1992. Lankes founded the Virtual Reference Desk project that is building a national network of expertise for education. Lankes is also one of the architects of GEM. GEM is a standards-based system for describing and finding educational materials on the Internet. Both GEM and VRD are part of the U.S. Department of Education's Education Digital Library Initiative.
Lankes' research is in education information and digital reference services. He has authored, co-authored or edited eight books, and written numerous book chapters and journal articles on the Internet and digital reference. He was a visiting scholar to Harvard's Graduate School of Education and is currently a visiting fellow at the National Library of Canada. He speaks and consults nationally on Internet issues in education, libraries and business. He has worked closely with the National Library of Education, Library of Congress, Microsoft, the American Library Association, AT&T, OCLC, NEA, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, MCI WorldCom and more.
Earlier this year, Lankes received a continuing grant for $307,640 from the National Science Foundation via the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research for AskNDSL. AskNDSL is a service which allows users to submit a question related to science, mathematics, or technology; educational resources and practices in these disciplines; or about the NSDL itself. As well, Lankes received continued funding totaling $510,000 for Education Digital Library Initiatives: The Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM), expanding educators' capability to access Internet-based lesson plans, instructional units and other educational materials, and The Virtual Reference Desk, a project dedicated to the advancement of digital reference and the successful creation and operation of human-mediated, Internet-based information services.
Lankes serves on the boards of the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education. He is a founding member and member of the executive committee of the National Education Network. He is also a member of the board for the Onondaga County Public Library.
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WISE welcomes new international and domestic members
Founding members of the Web-based Information Science Education consortium (WISE), the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, announce that five additional institutions of higher education have joined the collaborative distance education program, increasing the total number of WISE member schools to twelve and expanding the consortium to include international universities. The WISE consortium will increase the quality, access, and diversity of online educational opportunities. The initiative is part of a two-year, $713,492 grant received by SU and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
The new members join existing members, Indiana University- Indianapolis, Rutgers University, Simmons College, University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill, University of Pittsburgh and the founding members Syracuse University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The new members include:
* University of British Columbia, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (Edie Rasmussen, Director);
* University of Maryland, College of Information Studies (Jennifer Preece, Dean);
* University of Texas at Austin, School of Information (Andrew Dillon, Dean);
* University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Information & Media Studies (Catherine L. Ross, Dean); and
* Victoria University of Wellington, School of Information Management (Sid Huff, Head of School).
The WISE program is a joint effort between SU and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, focused on developing faculty training for online pedagogy; standards and metrics for high-quality online library and information science (LIS) education; and a collaborative marketplace for online LIS courses.
WISE @ SLA and ALA
Come meet the members of WISE and learn more about what the collaborative distance education consortium has to offer. WISE will launch with an exhibit at this year's SLA conference at Toronto and at ALA in Chicago. For more information about WISE go to: www.wiseeducation.org.
SLA: Booth #1139
ALA: Booth #3844
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For more information. . .
Amy Sloane-Garris
Director of Communications & Graduate Marketing
Syracuse University--School of Information Studies
Tel: 315.443.6885
Fax: 315.443.6886
[log in to unmask]
www.ist.syr.edu
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