According to Library Journal “if you ask Lance Werner, executive director of the Kent District Library (KDL), MI, what makes him a strong leader, an effective legislative advocate, and a champion of access for his patrons, his answer is simple: it’s all about forming relationships—with his staff, legislators, local business owners and CEOs, county commissioners, Michigan Library Association (MLA) administrators, LIS educators, patrons, and anyone else in a 100-mile radius. Ask him again, and he’ll bring up words such as kindness and empathy and that he loves his job.
Underneath those soft skills lie persistence and passion. Werner gets the job done, whether that involves convincing KDL trustees to invest $400,000 in ebooks, testifying before the Michigan Senate and House committees to win tax capture amnesty for libraries, securing health care for part-time KDL employees, spearheading a countywide literacy initiative, or securing grant money to bring back the library’s bookmobile after a 30-year hiatus. It’s no surprise that he was named a 2016 LJ Mover & Shaker and the 2017 MLA Librarian of the Year. Add to those accolades the 2018 Library Journal Librarian of the Year, sponsored by Baker & Taylor. Ask Werner why, and he’ll tell you it’s just a matter of being a regular guy who cares about his constituents. Ask his constituents, and they’ll tell you there’s more to the story…”
According to the Information School at the University of Washington “… Anind Dey, who took over as dean of the iSchool on Jan. 2, served for the past three years as director and chair of Carnegie Mellon’s prestigious Human-Computer Interaction Institute, where he had been a member of the faculty since 2005. Dey found a home in HCI after earning his master’s degree in aerospace engineering in 1995 and his Ph.D. in computer science in 2000, both at Georgia Tech. His earned his undergraduate degree in computer engineering at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, and it was an experience as an undergrad that launched his career in applied science…
Dey hopes to continue his research at the iSchool after he settles in as dean. He is part of a wave of HCI talent the UW has attracted in the past year, including Dey’s wife, Jennifer Mankoff, who joined the faculty in the UW’s Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering in the fall. Other recent additions to the UW faculty include Alexis Hiniker at the iSchool, Jon Froehlich in CSE, and Leah Findlater in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering. The cluster of hires across departments illustrates the strength HCI draws from a variety of disciplines…”
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