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 The School of Information Sciences
has reorganized itself to better represent the modern
information professions. For more than 100 years, SIS
has been educating students for the information professions,
including library, information science, and telecommunications
disciplines. The distinctions among these disciplines
that were so clear in the 20th century have blurred
in the 21st century –librarians, for example, now
need to master information technology, while systems
designers need to understand how to organize information
for efficient access and retrieval.
As of July 2006, the School of Information Sciences
has undergone a change in governance style – how
the School and the various degree programs will be
administered -- in order to reflect these changes and
to foster a more dynamic, fluid organization. Instead
of discipline-centric departments, the School is now
organized around the degree programs offered by the
School and the research interests of our faculty. This
reorganization reflects the ever-increasing integration
of the disciplines. As a result, certain
aspects of the School – the faculty, research
activities, and support efforts are being elevated
to the School level.
“The ongoing educational programs of the School
will, in essence, remain the same,” explains
Ronald Larsen, Dean of the School. “Classes,
degrees, and registration will operate largely as they
have in the past. The difference is in the way
the School is administered. Instead of departments
implicitly constrained by disciplinary boundaries,
rules and processes, we are moving to a governance
structure based on the degree programs that encourages
collaboration across the disciplines.”
In the past, faculty and research were affiliated
with departments and departments offered the degree
programs. Now, faculty are more clearly associated
with the School and the breadth of its degree programs – the
School offers a BSIS degree; MSIS, MLIS, and MST degrees;
and Ph.D. degrees in Library and Information Science
as well as in Information Science. Faculty are
encouraged to form Research Interest Groups that engage
members from other degree programs. Such cross-pollination
of expertise will increase opportunities for multi-disciplinary
research projects and courses of study. The newly-introduced
Digital Libraries specialization offers such an example. Even
though the specialization is offered in the Library
and Information Science program, the courses and faculty
reflect expertise from information science, library
science, and telecommunications disciplines.
A newly-formed SIS Council is the principal forum
for shared governance. It will assume oversight of
traditional academic responsibilities such as the maintenance
of appropriate academic standards in instruction, the
development of educational programs and degree requirements,
and the recommendation of policies in such areas as
resource allocation, faculty and staff development,
student affairs, research and service programs, and
the School of Information Sciences’ relations
with local, regional, national, and international communities. The
Council’s membership is representative of the
School: it includes faculty members, staff, and
students from across the degree programs. The
Council will meet on a regular basis to ensure that
the School functions effectively and efficiently.
The School undertook this new governance structure
in order to better align the degree programs with the
evolving demands of our fields – a melding of
traditional principles of information organization,
management and utilization with advances in networking
and information technology. It is increasingly
rare that an information professional can succeed with
a limited set of skills. They need the combination
of disciplinary skills and experiences that a school
like SIS provides to advance in today’s ever-more
complex and challenging society.
So, what does this mean for the students at SIS?
1. Degrees offered at SIS will remain the same. Diplomas/certificates
will continue to reflect the degree program – BSIS,
MLIS, MSIS, MST, or PhD in Information Science or Library
and Information Science.
2. Courses will evolve as they have in the past,
but will increasingly involve inter-disciplinary content. Courses
will continue to be associated with a specific degree
program (i.e. BSIS or MSIS). It is likely that
over time, courses will increasingly be blended across
the programs.
3. Registration will operate as it has. As
in the past, students will meet with their advisor
and register for their classes here at the School of
Information Sciences.
4. How can I participate in the new governance
structure? Students will be invited to elect
representatives to the SIS Council after the beginning
of the Fall 2006 semester. Two student representatives
will serve on the Council, with full voting rights,
for a year. If you’re interested in serving
on the Council, please contact Molly Murphy at mmurphy@mail.sis.pitt.edu.
5. How will I know what’s going on? All
matters addressed at the SIS Council will be posted
on a website, www.sis.pitt.edu/~scouncil/. Minutes,
actions, discussions will all be posted on this site.
6. Will I notice any differences? In your
day-to-day life here at the School, you will notice
very few changes. Classes will be offered, research
will be done, etc. However, you will see some
differences in the way the School functions on the
macro level. The intent of this reorganization
is to permit the School to be more responsive to changes
in the disciplines and industry. It is intended
to create a more effective environment for teaching,
research, and learning. Students should find
the School to be a more accessible and multi-disciplinary
organization that benefits them both during their time
here and in their subsequent careers.
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