Louis Round Wilson Academy Formed Inaugural Meeting Held in Chapel Hill
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
$1.5 million bequest to benefit SILS technology Inside this Issue Dean’s Message ....................................... 2 Dr. William H. and Vonna K. Graves have pledged a gift of $1.5 Faculty News ............................................. 8 million to the School of Information and Library Science (SILS). The Honor Roll of Donors ........................... 13 bequest, SILS’ largest to date, is intended to enhance the School’s Student News ..........................................18 technology programs and services. See page 3. Alumni News ...........................................23 SCHOOL OF INFORMATION AND LIBRARY SCIENCE @ The SCHOOL of INFORMATION and LIBRARY SCIENCE • TheCarolina UNIVERSITY of NORTH CAROLINA at CHAPEL HILL Spring 2006 http://sils.unc.edu Number 67 Louis Round Wilson Academy Formed Inaugural meeting held in Chapel Hill Citizens around “Our faculty, and the world are becoming the faculty of every more aware that they leading University often need a trusted in the world, real- guide to help sort and izes that the role of substantiate the infor- the 21st and 22nd mation they require. century knowledge Faculty members at the professional must be School of Information carefully shaped,” and Library Science said Dr. José-Marie (SILS) agree that Griffiths, dean leading institutions are of SILS and the obliged to review and Lippert Photography Photo by Tom founding chair of design anew roles and Members of the Louis Round Wilson Academy and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School the Louis Round models for Knowledge Pro- of Information and Library Science faculty following the formal induction ceremony in the rotunda of Wilson Academy. the Rare Books Room of the Louis Round Wilson Library. fessionals who will assume “We understand larger and more pivotal roles in the 21st Century. focused on collecting, sharing and preserving the that those who pursue careers in this increasingly To consider and address topics ranging from record of human accomplishment, activity and important profession require an education that knowledge, trust, ethics and stewardship that imagination. They are charged with addressing a engenders responsibility for all knowledge that impact library and information science professions, future of constant change in which new knowledge influences change.” a newly formed academy of world leaders met in professionals—experts who can help locate, evalu- Her vision of the 21st and 22nd century Chapel Hill, N.C. on Oct. 6 and 7. ate and guide users to credible, comprehensive knowledge professional resembles a cross between The Louis Round Wilson Academy has been information that is relevant and reliable—must the Pope’s most trusted advisor and a Jedi convened by the University of North Carolina at anticipate and understand the information needs master—with every corporate, government, Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library of tomorrow’s society. academic and scientific leader relying on this Science as global thought leaders and information The founding members of the Academy individual to ensure that the information on which revolutionaries who serve as a modern-day council include presidents and chief executive officers of critical decisions are based is accurate, complete, of elders. information technology organizations, historians, unbiased and relevant. Members were selected for their broad range authors, university scholars and librarians and “Without trusted guides through the rapidly of experiences and insightful outlooks that are information scientists from around the world. accumulating volume of recorded knowledge Continued on page 5 2 Dean’s Message Dear friends and colleagues: As you will discover in the pages of this newsletter, the whirlwind of activity at SILS continues. Faculty, staff, students and alumni alike are making major contributions to our Published by the University of North professions and our disciplines, and to the communities they serve. Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Last spring I began to discuss the need to re-introduce ourselves as indispensable al- Information and Library Science for lies to users of recorded knowledge in the global information age. To shape and refine an the school’s alumni and friends. enhanced role and identity for 21st century knowledge professionals, we sought to hear from leaders who understand today’s (and tomorrow’s) issues of ethics, trust, stewardship and knowledge transfer. Last fall we convened the Louis Round Wilson Academy, a group of WANDA MONROE thought-leaders and information revolutionaries. Editor The inaugural meeting was held in Chapel Hill in October and included spirited discus- Director of Communications sion and debate on a wide range of topics including trust, ethics, knowledge, identity and openness. Academy members were fully engaged as issues of the importance of identifying, locating, accessing and preserving the world’s recorded knowledge were discussed. To commemorate the establishment of the Academy, we held a night-time induction KELLY MURPHY ceremony in the Rare Book Room of the Wilson Library. SILS faculty, in full academic rega- Design Editor lia, witnessed each inductee sign a specially designed register. The entire ceremony created Communications Assistant an almost magical memory in its place, time and formality – very Harry Potterish! Just before the end of the Academy meeting, we were delighted to receive and accept an invitation from the Spanish Embassy and the University of Granada to hold the next Academy meeting in Granada, Spain. We welcome your submissions of news One lunchtime discussion during the meeting led to the University Library and SILS in addition to your comments about this joining the Open Content Alliance (OCA). OCA is a group of organizations from around the publication. world that are building a permanent archive of digitized text and multi-media materials. The School’s role will be to collaborate with the Alliance on research and to participate on Please send submissions to: Alliance working groups. While actively participating in these global efforts, we are also preparing to celebrate SILS Newsletter CB 3360 SILS’ 75th anniversary next academic year. The first class was held on September 17th 100 Manning Hall 1931 and the first graduation was on June 7, 1932. Our watchwords for the celebration are: Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3360 rededication, redefinition and commitment: or contact: • Rededication to the high ethical and professional standards that have made this school and those entrusted to its care, among the best in the nation. [email protected] 919/843-8337 • Redefinition of our ongoing mission to educate and train the “next” generation of knowledge professionals, and, indeed, an ongoing redefinition of our profession itself. • Commitment to the highest standards of stewardship of what we believe is now, perhaps for the first time in history, a globally accessible Knowledge Trust, comprising the totality Learn more about opportunities for giving of mankind’s recorded knowledge . a trust never more accessible, never more at risk, and to the School of Information and Library never more in need of conscientious, professional, and dedicated stewardship. Science or about connecting with the SILS Alumni Association by contacting: We plan to launch the celebration of our anniversary with a week of events starting the SHAWN JACKSON afternoon of September 18th. Other events are planned during the year. Much has changed Development Director over the past 75 years, but our goal of providing excellence in education, research and public [email protected] engagement stands constant. Watch for updates on our anniversary plans on our Web site 919/962-8365 and in upcoming newsletters. Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the generosity of so many of you. Your contributions are all appreciated by us and they all do help us in our pursuit of excellence. I hope you’ll come back to SILS during the anniversary year to remember the good times and the bad times, to renew fellowship and camaraderie, and let those of us still here, shake your hand and say a The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is heartfelt “thank you.” committed to the principles of equal opportunity with regard to its students and its employees. Sincerely, José-Marie Griffiths Professor and Dean 3 $1.5 million bequest to benefit techology at SILS Dr. William H. and Vonna K. The couple envisions their gift we not only demonstrate how School’s planning efforts during the Graves have pledged a gift of $1.5 being used to “flatten” the School’s technology is altering the way mid-1990s. He says he was impressed million to the School of Information programs and services in ways organizations—both public and with the school and its people and and Library currently being discussed by readers private—gather, analyze, apply and their “can-do, roll-up-the-sleeves at- Science of the book, The World is Flat, distribute information, but also use titude” to serving their students and (SILS) at the by Thomas Friedman. The book it to open new avenues of learning improving their already top-notch Univer- describes the societal and economic and engagement for our students,” professional programs. sity of North imperatives for using information said Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, dean of “Dr. Barbara Moran, who was Carolina at technology to create new collabora- SILS. “Through this generous gift dean at the time, and colleagues Chapel Hill. tive business and organization mod- from Bill and Vonna Graves, we will such