By: Diane Stirling
(315) 443-8975
Four School of Information Studies faculty members will provide insights about their career experiences and academic progressions at a Faculty Speaker Series next week, a new event organized by the Information School Graduate Student Organization (ISGO).
Faculty members Art Thomas, Jill Hurst-Wahl, Barbara Kwansik and Robert Brenner will speak about their backgrounds and professional experiences during four mid-day sessions during the week that students return for the spring semester.
The faculty series is the first event of its kind programmed by the ISGO, noted Jessica Santana, the student organization’s president, who invited the iSchool and campus community to participate to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of the faculty members. Refreshments will be served at the sessions. Distance students and others who cannot attend the sessions will be able to view the talks on live-streamed feeds and also can review them online following the events.
The schedule for next week’s four days of talks is:
Monday, January 14:
1:00 p.m., Room 347 Hinds Hall
Arthur Thomas
Professor of Practice and Director, Master’s IM, TMN, and IM for Executives programs
As Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Counterpoint Holdings, L.L.C., Thomas has managed many IT projects involving long-range planning, procurement, implementation and support. With 3M Corporation he co-founded LightYear Institute, Inc. to develop and offer beginner-level 3M certification classes in fiber-optic data network technology. His career has included IT positions ranging from programmer to CIO, and he has held positions in corporate training ranging from training specialist to chief learning officer. Thomas has served organizations in the manufacturing, banking, insurance, education and government sectors. His work has taken him from North America to Europe and the Middle East, where he led two projects for the Ministry of Education in the Sultanate of Oman.
Tuesday, January 15:
12:30 p.m., Innovation Studio, lower level, Hinds Hall
Jill Hurst-Wahl
Director, Master’s in Library Information Science program
Hurst-Wahl is an associate professor of practice in Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies and the director of its library and information science program. She is a member of SLA’s Board of Directors, Regents Advisory Council on Libraries, and the USNY Technology Policy and Practices Council. A former corporate librarian, she has always been an advocate for expanding the career opportunities for LIS graduates.
Wednesday, January 16:
11:30 a.m., 111 Hinds Hall
Barbara Kwansik
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor
Professor Kwansik teaches in the areas of organization of information, theory of classification and information science. She is especially interested in how classifications are translated from one culture or application to another to help support increasingly diverse contexts. Additionally, her ongoing research includes investigating whether genre information can help in searching. In another area, she is focusing on a project regarding the nature of documents and documenting work.
Thursday, January 17:
Noon, Room 347 Hinds Hall
Robert Brenner
Adjunct faculty member, and program manager, Lockheed Martin Corporation
As a defense industry professional for 23 years, Brenner began teaching at Columbia College in the mid-1990s and joined the iSchool in 2009. He has worked as a software engineer and has computer science and MBA degrees. Brenner is program manager of Lockheed Martin’s MEADS international radar program. His work involves people and technology in Italy, Germany and the United States, and the integration and development of hardware, software, and the intercultural human dynamics. Brenner often teaches from overseas, finding that the distance education format and the international nature of the MEADS/NATO program add dimensions to his teaching.