The Future of iSchool Doctoral Education

Keynote Talk: (slides)

iSchools, iCaucus, iField, iFaculty, iStudents - i..i..i. What Gives?
Mike Eisenberg, University of Washington

They're popping up everywhere. From Berkeley to Maryland to Wuhan, China, there are now 22 official "iSchools" and many more academic units aspiring, striving, and changing to create iSchools. Is all this just clever rebranding of library science? Or computer science- lite? Or, is there really something unique and transformational taking place? It's easy to know where Mike Eisenberg stands on this. He is the founding dean of the University of Washington's iSchool, one of the initiators of the iSchool Caucus, and a champion of iSchools and the information field. In this keynote address, Mike will talk about looking at the world through information-colored glasses and what it means for research, for academic programs (especially doctoral), and most importantly for making the world a better place. 

Bio:

Mike Eisenberg is the “founding dean” of the Information School at the University of Washington, serving from 1998 to 2006. During his tenure, Mike transformed the school from a single graduate degree program into a broad-based information school with a wide range of research and academic programs, including an undergraduate degree in informatics, masters degrees in information management and library and information science (adding a distance learning program and doubling enrollment), and a doctorate degree in information science. Mike’s current work focuses on information literacy, information problem-solving in virtual environments, and information science education K-20. His “Big6 approach to information problem-solving” is the most widely used information literacy program in the world. Mike is a prolific author (9 books and dozens of articles and papers) and has worked with thousands of students—pre-K through higher education—as well as people in business, government, and communities to improve their information and technology skills.