There is much going on at SLIS and all of it is very exciting and the result of the efforts of so many of our dedicated students, faculty, and alumni. As we enter the holiday season, let me thank each of you for your contributions on behalf of SLIS and express my appreciation for all that you do for SLIS.

The Program Presentation draft for the American Library Association (ALA) is due on Friday the 21st of November. Once it is safely winging its way to ALA, I will work with the faculty to put it up on the SLIS accreditation Web site so all members of our outstanding community have an opportunity to review and read it (it is quite long, however, so be forewarned). We have spent countless hours to obtain the data necessary to tell our story, be self reflective, and improve our program. I hope you will see that our efforts have paid off and that SLIS is meeting stakeholder needs through self-improvement.

Further, we are preparing for several upcoming events that I want to invite you to participate in and join us as we provide venues for our community to foster collaboration and mutual understanding:
1. The SLIS Holiday Party is scheduled for December 2, 2008 from 6 - 9 PM. Please join us and share in the spirit of the season.
2. The SLIS Symposium, Bridging the Spectrum: A Symposium on Scholarship and Practice in Library and Information Science is scheduled for January 30, 2009 from 10. Please join us as we share our research, foster discussion, and seek new ways to contribute to the field. We had over 40 submissions for presentations and poster sessions and James Rettig, ALA President is our guest speaker. It will be an exciting and rejuvenating event. I hope to see you there.
3. The ALA accreditation visiting team arrives on the 22nd of March and departs on the 24th of March, 2009. This is a call for alumni, students, and part-time faculty to join us and help us tell our story to demonstrate our contribution to the students, faculty, university and field. I will likely put out a call for alumni and part-time faculty to join us, I hope I can count on you to be there and show support for SLIS.

SLIS recently hosted its fall faculty meeting at the Mullen Library, May Gallery. The event included a presentation by Ms. Karen O'Brien, the ALA Director of the Office of Accreditation. We had some excellent conversations about the curriclum and the needs of the program. I encourage you to view the video of the event available at: http://slis.cua.edu/about/Accreditation page.

When we released the spring schedule of classes, we reviewed and analyzed the needs of students, based on their feedback, and made over five changes to the spring schedule to meet your needs. Be on the lookout for the summer schedule, we are working on it now.

As we enter into the season of thanksgiving and joy, may I wish you and your loved ones joy, health and well being this holiday season. If you have been touched by the recent economic woes our country is experiencing, please accept my heartfelt sympathy. I know that the situation will eventually improve. I know that we will survive and thrive and be the stronger for the experience. I also know the mood is anxious for us all. With the coming of the holiday season, let us take comfort in the knowledge that we are loved and that each day is a new opportunity.

My best wishes
Dean Kelley