UT School of Information Sciences

08/28/2026

08/24/2026

Welcome to the School of Information Sciences, Professor Daily! We're looking forward to the new perspectives, collaborations, and opportunities that her work in human-centered AI, technology, and education will bring to our school and our students.

CCI is excited to welcome Professor Shani Daily to UT School of Information Sciences! Daily is one of eight outstanding scholars the university is welcoming this fall as part of UT’s preeminent hiring initiative and ongoing investment in research and innovation. A Nashville native, Daily returns to Tennessee with an interdisciplinary career focused on the intersection of technology, education, and human experience.

Her research explores human-centered artificial intelligence, affective computing, creative learning technologies, and education and workforce development. She is particularly interested in how technology and educational systems can create more pathways for students to persist and thrive in STEM.

Her academic journey includes degrees from Florida State University, Florida A&M University, and the MIT Media Lab, where she worked with influential researchers whose ideas about learning, creativity, and emotion continue to shape her work today.

At UT, Daily sees opportunities to collaborate across disciplines and with organizations including the AI Tennessee Initiative, UT Institute of Agriculture, Tickle College of Engineering, CEHHS, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and UT’s extension campuses.

Read more about Daily’s research, her journey back to Tennessee, and what she hopes to accomplish at UT: tiny.utk.edu/AlE5n

08/24/2026

Join us in celebrating our CCI faculty members who have recently earned promotions and tenure! Their accomplishments reflect their dedication to teaching, research, service, and the continued growth of our college. We’re proud to recognize their hard work and contributions to the CCI community. Congratulations!

Read more about our faculty's accomplishments: tiny.utk.edu/vOwe7

08/24/2026

07/02/2026

Our School of Information Sciences family gathered in Chicago during the American Library Association Annual Conference for an evening of reconnecting with alumni, faculty, and friends.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for great conversations, new connections, and a chance to celebrate our incredible SIS community. We loved seeing so many familiar faces!

We can't wait to do it again.

06/25/2026

REVISED EVENT TIME: SIS Alumni Reception at the 2026 ALA Annual Conference

This is an updated version of a previous invite to the SIS Alumni Reception at the 2026 ALA Annual Conference, as the time of the reception has changed.

The reception will start at 6 p.m. June 27.
See additional details and the RSVP link below!

Join the School of Information Sciences during the 2026 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago for an evening of connection, networking, and celebration with alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends of SIS.

📅 June 27, 2026
🕖 6 p.m.
📍 Apolonia Restaurant
105 E. Cermak Road
Chicago, IL 60616

Whether you're reconnecting with former classmates, expanding your professional network, or catching up with the SIS community, we hope you'll join us.

RSVP today: https://utk.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8cydrEYSY7jNte6

06/18/2026

📚🍊 Calling all SIS alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends attending ALA 2026!

Join us in Chicago for the School of Information Sciences Reception during the 2026 ALA Annual Conference. We're looking forward to an evening of great conversation, reconnecting with old friends, and celebrating our amazing SIS community.

📅 June 27, 2026
🕖 7 p.m.
📍 Apolonia Restaurant
105 E. Cermak Road, Chicago, IL 60616

We can't wait to see you there!

🔗 RSVP: https://utk.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8cydrEYSY7jNte6

06/12/2026

Congratulations to SIS alumna Jennie Mezick (MSIS) on her appointment as Associate Dean for Research, Collections, and Assessment at UT Libraries.

In her new role, Jennie will oversee library collections, research support, assessment initiatives, and special collections while helping shape the strategic direction of the university's library system.

We are proud to see our alumni making an impact across the information professions and congratulate Jennie on this well-deserved achievement.

Read more: https://volumes.lib.utk.edu/features/qa-with-the-new-associate-deans-for-ut-libraries/

Jennie Mezick serves as Associate Dean for Research, Collections, and Assessment. She oversees the Libraries’ departments of Acquisitions and Continuing Resources; Assessment Programs and Collection Strategy; Collection Management and Sharing; Cataloging; Special Collections; and Research Impact a...

05/29/2026

Congratulations to School of Information Sciences Assistant Professor Jiangen He on receiving an Amazon Research Award through the AWS Agentic AI program.

Assistant Professor He’s awarded proposal, “Beyond Walls of Text: Building UI-Native LLM Agents as the Next Gateway to the Internet,” focuses on creating more intuitive AI-driven digital experiences that go beyond traditional text interfaces.

We are excited to see his research recognized by Amazon Science and look forward to the future impact of this work.

Read more: https://www.amazon.science/research-awards/latest-news/fall-2025-amazon-research-awards-recipients-announced

Awardees represent more than 49 universities in 11 countries. Recipients have access to Amazon public datasets, along with AWS AI/ML services and tools.