Was it just yesterday that it was late September 1999 and we were welcoming 425 students to a brave new academic adventure called the Penn State School of Information Sciences? It certainly seems that way.
But, no, that was three and a half years ago, and much has changed. For one thing, this newsletter is no longer published on paper, it is coming to you for the first time via the Internet. We truly hope you like the new format and would welcome your thoughts on how to improve it.
But a more important milestone is that a number of the students from our first full graduating class of bachelor’s degree students will begin receiving their diplomas this month—a dozen of them at University Park led by Bill Them, our first official student marshal, and nearly 80 at campuses across the Commonwealth. Add to that more than 60 associate degree students, and this is truly a proud moment for everyone who has made this school what it is today.
In another article in this edition of the Networker, our marshal Bill Them turns the spotlight from himself as an honoree and speaks instead about how much he has learned from his fellow students. It is this sense of shared accomplishment, of community, of team, that has marked IST from the very beginning. It has made us strong and it has given us the edge to be innovative.
That is why we can look across Pennsylvania and see IST programs at 19 campuses, drawing in 2,592 students at all degree levels. Our undergraduate students truly recognize the value of what our school is doing—fostering the new thinking and new leadership the digital age demands. Our 25 doctoral students are pursuing critical issues arising from the integration of information, technology, and people, and they are preparing themselves to become next-generation faculty members in the information sciences. (We soon will be diversifying our graduate offerings with the creation of a new master of science program. News of that will be forthcoming.)
Through our innovative Online IST, we have delivered courses to more than 5,000 learners, on-campus and off, traditional students and returning adults, across Pennsylvania, the U.S., and overseas. But, the incredible work done by our Solutions Institute does not stop there. Innovations developed for the learning realm—new courseware, the Expert Exchange, and the Problem Library—are continuously being rolled out while planning moves ahead to assure that our information sciences school is, as they say, walking the talk.
The Solutions Institute is also taking a lead role in professional and economic development. IST students, particularly at University Park, are supported with internship and career services. Initiatives, such as the proposed Pennsylvania Leadership Summit, are being undertaken to look at ways information technology can be leveraged to give the Commonwealth a new competitive edge. And, ways are constantly being sought to build IST’s linkages with business, education, and government. These linkages enrich our classrooms and assure that we are in synch with emerging issues of the day.
The growth and diversification of our faculty across the state has been phenomenal. In the beginning it was a little reminiscent of the old slogan, "the few, the proud." Now IST boasts more than 100 top-notch instructors across Pennsylvania, more than 30 of whom are at University Park. Our tenure-track professors are developing a unique interdisciplinary academic culture, and a critical mass of scholarship that is rapidly earning respect from institutions across the country. One measure of the intellectual power here is that fact over the past two years alone, the faculty of our young school has been granted nearly $8 million in research funding. In this year alone, three of our professors have received significant grants from the prestigious National Science Foundation.
Much of what IST has achieved has been made possible by our friends and supporters. Over the last three years, they have contributed nearly $10 million—funds that have assured that deserving students can get the kind of education they need, funds that have made it possible for IST to recruit and retain the very best and brightest faculty members, and funds that are making it possible for us to craft the special and innovative programs expected of a leading university like Penn State.
Support from our friends is also playing a major role in turning plans for the Information Sciences and Technology Building into a reality of brick and steel. The opening of the building next November will symbolically mark the culmination of IST’s first phase of development. It also marks the beginning of a whole new phase for us, one in which I am confident we will take new and even more exciting steps. My confidence comes from the strength our community has demonstrated over the past three and half years. I believe our prospects are bright and that is all thanks to you.
Good wishes for the holiday and all of my best to you and your families.
