The Latest from SLIS

There have been several recent events of note this spring semester. In this blog posting I'd like to share information on our progress with accreditation, discuss the Stone Lecture, seek your support, and mention the passing of an important member of our community.

Accreditation

We have passed two major milestones this semester. First, the official Program Plan, was due March 23, 2008, exactly one year before we go through the re-accreditation process. We have submitted that document and it is also available on the SLIS web site at: http://slis.cua.edu/about/Accreditation/. The Program Plan received very high marks from the Executive Director of the Office of Accreditation at ALA and our External Review Panel Chair, Dr. Jean Donham. We are extremely pleased to have achieved this milestone and to have received such positive comments on our efforts by the individuals who are leading our review process and provide formal feedback on our efforts.

Second, We had a faculty meeting with the entire SLIS faculty on April 26, 2008, and this was also very informative and extremely helpful as we review the core courses in SLIS and revise and develop formal outcomes measures for the courses in SLIS. The current slides on the State of SLIS are now available on the SLIS accreditation site also.

We also had another meeting of the SLIS Advisory Committee and are continually seeking stakeholder feedback through many avenues to make SLIS's program a better place for all.

The Annual Elizabeth Stone Lecture

The annual Elizabeth Stone lecture was also well attended and Mr. Andrew Pace, the guest speaker gave a lively presentation enjoyed by everyone in attendance. We were particularly pleased to have Dr. Stone's daughter, Ms. Anne Cole Stone Crow, joining us for the event. Her remarks about her mother, her mother's dedication, and the impact of her administration on the development of SLIS were heart warming and reassuring, especially for a new dean such as myself! :-) A video of the speaker's remarks for the Stone Lecture is available through the SLIS home page. For more information on the Stone Lecture series go to: http://slis.cua.edu/people/stonelecture.cfm. Or, to learn more about the many activities of our SLIS alumni, please see: http://slis.cua.edu/people/alumnigateway.cfm.

SLIS Surveys

SLIS is reviving the survey process to obtain feedback on how well we have served our alumni and our current students. We are asking for your assistance to obtain sufficient feedback to use to improve our program. Please take a moment to fill out either the alumni or student survey to help us make improvements and continually refresh the program.

Jessica Dovi

We lost an important member of the CUA community two weeks ago, on April 24, 2008, Mrs. Jessica Dovi. Mrs. Dovi was a recent graduate of SLIS and after graduation, rose to become the Head of Access Services at the Mullen Library, CUA. In her short life, she made an impact on many, many people and is survived by her husband, Damien Dovi, and her infant son, Matthew. I had the privilege of attending her funeral and seeing her life's impact on her friends, family, faculty, and co-workers. I was reminded of one of my favorite films, It's a Wonderful Life, as I observed the love, caring and sorrow in the room after the funeral. She was a brave individual who lived life to its fullest in her short time with us here on earth. We are looking forward to welcoming her family at the upcoming graduation ceremony for SLIS on May 17th in the Law School Atrium. Her husband will be accepting her diploma in her place. If you had the privilege of knowing Jessica, or seek to assist in finding a cure for melanoma, please contribute to The Jessica Dovi Foundation c/o St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 2609 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22207-3501. Jessica, we will miss you!

SLIS Graduation

On May 17th we will celebrate the degree completion of 46 SLIS graduates (and counting)! We are excited to welcome the graduates, their family, friends, and guests to celebrate the completion of their degrees and to share in the joy of success and the anticipation of life after completion. I hope to see you there! If you haven't let us know you intend to join us, please do so with Ms. Anita Coleman at colemana@cua.edu.

Have a great summer, see you in the fall (yes, I'll be here this summer, so, if you are on campus, stop by).

Dean Kelley