Lasting Legacies

Coming to IST

Carroll: During the late 1990s, computer science departments were rapidly expanding in various areas of HCI. After 10 years at Virginia Tech—as a computer science professor and department head—I was looking for a new opportunity to keep promoting the HCI vision of human engagement, empowerment, and dignity. I found it at IST.

Graham: I was planning to interview for a position with Penn State Athletics when I met IST’s HR director. After discussing the new emerging SRA degree, he asked me to share my resume with IST. Soon after, I was offered a professor of practice position. I accepted, and the rest is history.

Haynes: I was excited about the prospect of being part of an academic start-up and its interdisciplinary mission. Over the years, I have enjoyed the variety of work, including teaching courses across the curriculum and research projects in diverse areas.

Parquette: While I was in the government working intelligence, I used to give guest lectures at IST for a former student of mine at the National Intelligence University who had left the intelligence community to teach at IST. On one of these visits, I was invited by other faculty to lecture. That led to my being recruited by Jake Graham for the college's Security and Risk Analysis degree program.

Shemanski: While I was serving as a U.S. foreign service officer, David Reese—one of my lifelong best friends and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board—told me about the recently created SRA major, which he thought would fit nicely with my background. I met with the Penn State president and IST dean, was offered a position as a professor of practice, and readily accepted.

Stever: I came to IST as a program manager for the World Campus portfolio of degree programs, promoting our existing undergrad programs and the newly created Master of Professional Studies in Information Science. It was an exciting time for the college, as we were leading the industry in online programs, with faculty in IST and across the state who supported the initiative. Once I found IST, I knew I didn't want to work anywhere else at Penn State.

Favorite Classes to Teach

Carroll: Usability Engineering and Information, People, and Technology

Graham: Deception and Counter-Deception

Haynes: Introduction to Application Development, Foundations of Human-Centered Design and Development, and Design Practice in Human-Centered Design and Development

Parquette: Introduction to Security and Risk Analysis and The Intelligence Environment

Shemanski: The Threat of Terrorism and Crime

Hopes for IST’s Future

Carroll: In IST, we each have a substantive opportunity to change the world. I hope that, in the future, every member of the college will see themself as a key to human innovation, from their interview visit to their retirement.

Graham: IST has enjoyed a small college feel in a large university setting, promoting close bonds and a sense of belonging among staff, faculty, and students. My hope is that IST never outgrows its commitment to our students and the traditions of being a Nittany Lion.

Haynes: I hope and expect that the college will continue to grow and become even more of a leader in information sciences and technology scholarship. I especially hope to see the HCDD undergraduate program become a touchstone for user experience design and evaluation education.

Parquette: I would like to see a well-established series of classes developed on the intelligence discipline. It is a very important topic for private industry and for students pursuing a career with the government.

Stever: My hope is for IST to continue to attract well-rounded students who share the same passion for people and technology and for being responsible technology citizens who use it for good and build solid policies that impact the industry! I also hope more alumni and friends donate to the college to create more scholarships that make the opportunity to attend IST possible.

Fond Memories

Carroll: My longest-lived fond memory is the "Conversations for Vision" project in which we enabled collaboration between sighted and visually impaired people. We took a perfectly reasonable job for computer vision and turned into a human coproduction. Our team evolved over time, learned how to investigate collaborative visual prosthetics, and published many papers (the newest includes ChatGPT as part of the prosthetic team).

Graham: I was fortunate to have my daughter, Meghan, in the classroom for three different courses (permitted because I was the only faculty member teaching those courses at the time). We were very careful not to draw attention to our relationship, and Meghan’s work was always graded by a learning assistant. One day, Meg walked in, approached me at the podium, and asked, “Is Mom planning…” That’s as far as the conversation got because several students said, “Wait, Mom … Graham. Professor Graham. Meghan Graham … WHAT?”

Haynes: There are many. But I do remember how excited we all were when we finally moved into Westgate Building (then called the IST Building).

Parquette: I’ve had many students who were with me every semester of their IST journey as either a student or a learning assistant or both. I’ll miss the students. They’ve taught me quite a lot—and I hope they learned something from me along the way.

Shemanski: My fondest memory is probably that of having been selected as "Professor of the Year" for the first time in 2009. I went on to win the award five more times.

Stever: When I joined IST, I was welcomed by a real community of caring people and felt I had finally found my work home. Oh, if only this college and our majors had existed 45 years ago! Truly, I love what we are doing and the impact we make to students, industry, and in our communities.