Alumni Class Notes
Find out what's happening in the lives of your friends from days gone by. Publications, awards, marriages, retirements, moves, promotions, birth announcements—you're sure to come across news from someone you remember.
While you're here, don't forget to submit a Class Note and let old friends know what you've been up to. Don't be a stranger—we'd love to hear from you!
Alumni Class Notes will remain posted online for at least six months, and will be published in the next possible print alumni newsletter.
Decade: 2010s
Natalie Bazan (MS '10) writes, "Shortly after graduation I was awarded a director's position of a small rural library in Michigan. We are currently making the move to become a district library and just found out that we won a Libri Foundation Books for Children grant!"
Melinda (Mindy) Beyer (MS '11) had been selected been selected for the Presidential Management Fellowship in Washington, DC. She writes, "I'm incredibly excited about this opportunity, and I know that I have the outstanding reputation of GSLIS and its professionals to thank for making it possible."
Linde M. Brocato (MS '07, CAS '11) has been been granted two awards for further work on her project, "Reading Juan de Mena: Production, Use, and Context of Editions of His Works (15th-19th Centuries)." The first is from the Program for Cultural Cooperation, part of Spain's Ministry of Culture; the second is a short-term fellowship from the American Bibliographical Society. Brocato previously received a scholarship from the Caxton Club for her initial work on the same project in May 2010.
Tiffany Bui (MS '12) writes, "I would like to thank all of my instructors, colleagues, and the entire GSLIS community for a truly wonderful learning experience. I would not be the person I am today without each and every one of you. I wish you all the best in the years ahead!"
Sarah Burnside (MS '11) has been employed at the Elmhurst Public Library for six years and will begin her full-time position as the preschool services librarian in January 2012. She writes, "I'd love to be in touch with my fellow GSLIS alums. Please stop by if you're in the area!"
Anna Coats (MS '11) is the children's librarian at East Rutherford Memorial Library in New Jersey, a newly formed position.
Ann Heinrichs (MS '11) writes, "My lifelong passion for grammar and punctuation has finally paid off big-time! I am a winner in National Punctuation Day's prestigious [just kidding] punctuation contest. Now I'm eagerly awaiting my prize—-a 'box of punctuation goodies.'" Check out the Chicago Reader for more details. Heinrichs also has written Punctuation: Language Rules!, a children's book about grammar.
Shannon Evonne Little (MS '11) began her new position as the library director at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield, Illinois in August. She writes, "I am thoroughly enjoying the transition from teacher to librarian, and I absolutely love the variety of work—everything from all the administrative aspects of the library to teaching information literacy workshops to starting a new student book club!"
Julie Swierczek (MS '12) has been appointed interim university archivist and special collections cataloger for Salve Regina University, effective February 1. She currently holds the position of collection services associate, serving as the library's solo cataloger and print serials manager.
Cindy Taylor (MS '10) received an Award of Merit in the Illinois State Board of Education's 2011 Those Who Excel education awards program. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) annually sponsors the Those Who Excel awards to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the state's public and nonpublic schools. Those Who Excel award recipients were honored by ISBE at a banquet on Saturday, October 22, 2011, in Bloomington, Illinois. Cindy is a librarian at Hoffman Estates High School in Township District 211.
Richard Urban (PhD '12, MS '06) will join the faculty at the School of Library & Information Studies (SLIS) at The Florida State University as a visiting assistant professor beginning in the spring of 2012. Urban is a researcher on knowledge representation for cultural heritage materials and collections and on the use and users of cultural heritage information.
Decade: 2000s
Siobhan Champ-Blackwell (MS '02) started working for Aquilent, Inc, in September 2011. She is a contractor working on site at the National Library of Medicine Disaster Information Management Research Center. The center collects and disseminates information for all stages of disasters, and works with federal, state, and local and community organizations. She writes, "I am excited to be continuing my working relationship with the National Library of Medicine after nine years with the MidContinental Regional Medical Library."
Robert Craig (MS '04) is the youth services supervisor at the Freeport Public Library in Illinois.
Christina M. Desai (MS '00) published the following: Desai, C.M. (2011). "The world as presented to U.S. children: Building bridges or confirming expectations?" Bookbird. 49(1), 41-50. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/bookbird/v049/49.1.ommundsen.html; Desai, C.M., Daniels, E., Welch, I.& Sung, Y.K. (2010). "A dozen great books: Dealing with disaster: Ways of coping, healing, and fighting back." Journal of Childrens Literature 36(2), 80-84; Desai, C.M.& Sung, Y.K. (2011). "Getting into place: Author Lois Ruby talks about setting." VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates 35(5), 454-456.
Charles Fisher (MS '04) writes, "I began serving as head of access service for the University of Akron's University Libraries in December 2011. My wife Cherie and I are expecting our first child in May 2012."
Nell Fleming (MS '08) is the librarian at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf. She writes, "My classes and training at the University of Illinois were incredibly practical and relevant in preparing me for the job. I was very pleased by this. If I could have done anything more with technology, I would have learned to use Apple/IPAD technology. Otherwise I hit the ground running! Thanks so much!"
Diane Foote (MS '06) was appointed assistant dean at Dominican University's Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) on November 30, 2011, with primary responsibility for marketing, communications, and recruiting. Foote has previously been the executive director of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, and an associate editor for Book Links magazine.
Chris Hagar (PhD '05) will be joining the full-time faculty at the San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science (SJSU SLIS) in Fall 2012.
Kevin Knott (MS '05) writes, "I've worked in Institutional Research (IR) for over 12 years. I've found the skills I learned in GSLIS to be quite applicable in IR by way of technology, research, and information organization. The MS degree is quite versatile outside the realm of traditional librarianship. My wife is also a GSLIS (2001) graduate and is a K-5 school librarian."
In November 2011, Liz Muller (MS '08) became curator of digital and media collections and head of archival technical services in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections in the Cornell University Library.
Jomichele Seidl (MS '05) is the current assistant chief librarian at the Powell River Public Library. She writes, "Doing my graduate studies in Library Science at GSLIS is one of the best things I've ever done. I'm enjoying a 'portable' career, a much higher standard of living, and work that is challenging and engaging. The LEEP program is the BEST distance learning program, bar none!"
Emily Frieda Shaw (MS '08) is the new digital preservation librarian at the University of Iowa Libraries. She began her work in this newly created position in January 2012.
Decade: 1990s
Paul Blobaum (MS '90) was promoted to full professor on the library faculty at Governors State University, University Park, Illinois, as of June 2011. He serves as the liaison librarian for the College of Health and Human Services.
Holly Crawford (PhD '97) is the dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Southern Connecticut State University, one of the largest graduate schools in New England.
David Hamilton (MS '99) writes, "After 16 years with the University of Illinois, the last 8 years with the CARLI consortium, as of August 2011 I am now employed by the world's largest academic STM publisher, Springer."
Kara Malenfant (MS '99) has been awarded a PhD from Antioch University. Dr. Malenfant’s dissertation is entitled, "Understanding Faculty Perceptions of the Future: Action Research for Academic Librarians." She is currently the scholarly communications and government relations specialist at the Association of College and Research Libraries in Chicago, Illinois.
Steven Witt (MS '95) is the new director of the International and Area Studies Library at the University of Illinois.
Decade: 1980s
Deborah Beckel (MS '83) is the author of Radical Reform: Interracial Politics in Post-Emancipation North Carolina (The American South Series, University of Virginia Press, 2011). In North Carolina Libraries, C. William Gee states that Beckel successfully "advances her ... argument that in the years following the Civil War an interracially-led, pro-democratic Republican Party grew to significant power in North Carolina by creating a coalition across race and class lines that predated the Populist Fusion of the 1890s."
George E. Ferguson (MS '85) writes "Though retired since 2003, I still maintain an active interest in libraries. Since 2002, I have sponsored an essay and speech contest in memory of a librarian who had a great influence upon me as a child. The contest is held every October, and youngsters in grades 6-12 in the West End write essays and deliver speeches on the subject WHAT THE LIBRARY MEANS TO ME. Prizes in cash and other things of value are awarded. The West End is where I first saw life and spent my first 14 years there as a child. The contest is always staged at the West Branch Library and is normally packed with contestants and their family /friends. Almost all of those who participated have gone on to college and are doing well."
"Cheryl L. Niemeier (MS '86) is currently the director of library services at the law firm of Bose McKinney & Evans and served as faculty for the National Business Institute Seminar, “Find it Free and Fast on the Net: Strategies for Legal Research on the Web" held on December 14, 2011.
Edwin C. Schroeder (MS '89) has been named librarian of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and associate university librarian at Yale University. Schroeder, who has worked as a catalog librarian at Sterling Memorial Library since his arrival at Yale in 1989, will serve a five-year term effective January 1, 2011.
Nicole Wedemeyer Miller (MS '89) worked for many years in Adult Services at the Champaign Public Library. Now she teaches Genealogy at Parkland College in Champaign.
Decade: 1970s
Ana Grandfield (MS '77) was recently appointed by the Lake County Public Library Board of Trustees as director for the library district effective January 1, 2012. She had served as the assistant director for the Lake County Public Library since 2000, working on several major projects such as the construction of three new library branch buildings and four library building renovations. She is currently overseeing the major remodeling project of the Central Library in Merrillville. In her twenty-five-year long library career she has served in areas of periodicals, reference, genealogy, and local history.
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