Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies is thrilled to announce the hire of two new faculty, joining our ranks for Fall 2022. Bringing with them decades of experience in human-technology relations and human information behavior, these two additions to our faculty will add depth of expertise in our leading-edge exploration of the future of information, society and technology.
Jaime Banks (Ph.D., Colorado State University) is a scholar of human-technology relations, from how people interact with on-screen characters or mobile devices to online bots and embodied robots. This work is animated by questions about how peoples’ interactions with machines influence their self-perceptions and their understandings of humankind more broadly.
Dr. Banks has published more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, along with multiple book chapters and edited volumes, and delivered more than 100 research presentations at regional, national, and international venues and invited talks.
She joins Syracuse University after holding assistant professor positions at the University of Toronto and West Virginia University and associate professor at Texas Tech University. She brings with her 11 years’ teaching experience in interactive media and tech, pop culture studies, qualitative research methods, and social media strategy.
She was the founding chair of the National Communication Association Game Studies Division and serves on editorial boards of the journals Human-Machine Communication, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Journal of Media Psychology, and Technology, Mind, & Behavior. When not researching or teaching, Dr. Banks enjoys playing videogames, creating comic-book collage, hanging out with her three rescue mutts, and can be found on Twitter at @amperjay.
“I’m thrilled to join a school that is focused on the intersection of technology and society,” remarks Banks. “Not only does this align with my personal research interests, there are also so many potential synergies between my work on machine agents and other work being done in the iSchool around smart cities, future of work, natural language processing, machine learning, public understanding of science and tech, and social justice and tech. I look forward to collaborating with my new iSchool colleagues in the years to come.”
Dr. Renate Chancellor’s research and teaching interests include human information behavior, critical cultural information studies, and social justice in the Information Professions. Dr. Chancellor is an equity, diversity, and inclusion thought leader who has provided lectures, consultations, workshops and keynotes to LIS professionals, architectects, educators, and communities on issues of race and cultural competency.
Dr. Chancellor is the author of numerous publications and the success of her book, E.J. Josey: Transformational Leader in the Modern Library Profession was the cover of the February 2020 issue of Library Journal. Her forthcoming book, Breaking Glass Ceilings: Clara Stanton Jones and the Detroit Public Library will be released next year.
She is a recipient of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Leadership Award and the ALISE Excellence in Teaching Award.
Dr. Chancellor received her Ph.D. and her Masters in Information Studies (with distinction) from the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA). Before joining Syracuse University she was an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Library and Information Science at The Catholic University of America.
“I am thrilled to be joining Syracuse University and the iSchool,” says Chancellor. “I was attracted to the iSchool not only because of its reputation for being a top-ranked program, but also because of its commitment to justice and equity which aligns with my research agenda.
It’s wonderful to be a part of such a diverse and vibrant research and learning community.”
“Dr. Banks brings cutting-edge scholarship on robot-human interaction and how we humans perceive robots,” explained Senior Associate Dean Jennifer Stromer-Galley. “Dr Chancellor’s in-depth scholarship to restore the history of black women librarians and leaders in their communities is especially important at today’s conversations as we grapple with racism in society and in librarianship. In short, Dr. Chancellor and Dr. Banks are rock stars in their respective fields, and we are delighted to have them join us.”