“The School ought to be a prototype, test-bed and model of innovative thinking and leading-edge practice in information.”

Harry Bruce, who became Dean of the Information School on Jan. 1, takes over at the pinnacle of its recent transformation. One of the first things previous Dean Mike Eisenberg did when he began his tenure in 1998 was recruiting Bruce from Australia. Since then, the iSchool has quadrupled its enrollment, secured more than $7 million in funded research, established its first endowed faculty position, added degree programs in informatics, information science and information management, introduced the University of Washington’s first distance-learning master’s degree and launched a doctoral program that last year granted its first Ph.D. Bruce had a lot to do with all of that.

Dean Bruce joined UW as associate director for research and program development for what was then the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. In that role, he led the School’s development as a research center and community resource and planned and constructed its doctoral program in Information Science.

“Harry was a leader in the school’s transformation, so he is well prepared to take the helm,” UW Provost Phyllis Wise said in announcing Bruce’s appointment, which was recommended by a search committee convened after Eisenberg announced he was stepping down as Dean to continue as a full-time faculty member. “Harry is a catalyst for new research ideas and an involved partner in the process,” Eisenberg said in a 2002 Seattle Magazine article. “Everybody who works with Harry is better for it.”

Bruce, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Australia’s Macquarie University and a master of librarianship and doctorate from the University of New South Wales, taught at the University of Technology, Sydney, before joining the UW. His research specialties include human information behavior, information seeking and use and personal information management in networked information environments, including a National Science Foundation-funded project called Keeping Found Things Found.

“The overall purpose of this research is to develop a deeper understanding of how people need, seek and use information in their professional and everyday lives,” Bruce writes on his personal website, http://www.ischool.washington.edu/harryb/default.htm. “Ultimately the new knowledge generated by this research is used to inform the development or enhancement of resources, services and technologies that facilitate information access and use.”

UW President Mark Emmert is confident that Bruce will build upon the iSchool’s recent success. “Mike, Harry and the faculty and staff have literally transformed what it means to engage in library work and information science,” he said. “They are a model for what we are trying to do throughout the university, in terms of being highly interdisciplinary, highly inclusive, and having very high expectations.”

In lieu of the usual Dean’s Corner column, iNews interviewed the new Dean.

Q: How do you see your role as Dean?

A: I value this position very highly, and I take my responsibility for service to the School in this capacity very seriously. I see it as an opportunity to build, lead, advance and enhance Information education and research locally and to participate in setting the agenda for advancement of the Information field nationally and internationally.

I am a builder: My work in the Information School has been centered on building. I am also a manager with a focus on people--on finding out what people want to achieve, and then helping them to focus and apply their unique talents and expertise. I give my attention to people. I consult broadly and wisely, and I negotiate effectively. I am a good consensus builder, I have vision, and I like to lead.

Q: That said, what is your vision for the Information School?

A: I sum up my vision as a harmonious community where individuals achieve professional fulfillment, serve the academic and scientific community, and pursue work that benefits society. My motivation for academic leadership extends from my desire to work with others to create and evolve the type of community with which I want to be associated and in which I want to work. For me, this means an intellectual and professional community based on a culture of creativity. A community that is collegial, critical, sensitive to real needs, innovative, and sets high standards of quality. A community that is upbeat and optimistic because challenges are met head on, problems are solved, and the job gets done.

Q: What are the School’s current strengths?

A: The faculty, staff and students are the best. The School has well-established community values and a “can-do” approach to opportunities and challenges. It is building a sustainable infrastructure. The School has a broad base of academic programs attracting a competitive pool of students, and its research is visible and defining in a range of scientific communities.

The School’s current approach to program and curriculum development works well. Its ability to create and launch so many new programs in such a short period of time is evidence of this. The ongoing process of strengthening and growing the degree programs of the School should continue to follow the leadership and initiative of program chairs and program committees, involve all faculty, and be responsive to student needs and professional direction. The ongoing success of all the School’s academic programs will rely upon wide recognition, high demand, strong competition and high standards of academic excellence. High-quality graduates emerging from each of the School’s programs become the best advocates in the professional community for what an Information School is all about.

Q: Are you planning any major changes?

A: An intellectual community must always be considered a work in progress, and the Information School will continue to evolve as new faculty and staff are hired and the community responds to the needs of new cohorts of students, professional practices and contexts, and research challenges. The future is bright for the School because, although newly formed, it has a culture that is inclusive. Its members know that they are empowered to grow and evolve this community through collaboration, shared purpose, and consensus building. The leadership of the School must be attentive to the ongoing dynamic of this community’s needs and goals to ensure that faculty, staff and students continue to see the School as a place where their work is facilitated, recognized, rewarded and directed towards scientific, professional and public service.

Q: What will be your first priorities as Dean?

A: There are a number of next steps for the School. They involve strengthening and growing our academic programs, maturing the intellectual culture, advocating and leading the scientific and professional communities of the Information field, consolidating infrastructure and expanding fundraising. Overall, these steps are aimed at moving the School through its transformation and expansion stage towards stability, strategic growth, and maturity.

Q: What are the biggest challenges ahead?

A: Student recruitment for all programs is critical. Recruiting the best students into all academic programs will mean that the School can promote these high-quality individuals into internship and professional placement opportunities, strengthening industry relationships and expanding opportunities for fundraising. The most compelling reason for supporting the School, for many, is the opportunity to encourage the next generation of Information professionals and researchers.

Within this general purpose, the School should place particular emphasis on Ph.D. student recruitment and support. It is essential that the School continue its efforts to establish a reliable and sustainable base of doctoral student support. Doctoral students are a vital component of the intellectual and research culture of any school. Attracting and retaining the very best doctoral students is an important measure of the vitality of an academic unit, particularly in a top-level research institution such as this.

Q: Where do you see potential for future endeavors?

A: The distance Master of Library and Information Science program provides an excellent opportunity for the Information School to critically examine the pedagogical implications of distance learning and the potential for distance-learning applications in professional education. The School should explore more deeply the needs of the educator as well as the learner in distance pedagogies and how distance students and full-time students can be more closely integrated as a learning community. There is enormous potential for the Information School to lead in its application of blended instruction that applies technology to facilitate, mediate and enhance learning in communities of scholarship.

Q: How does faculty research fit into your vision?

A: The Information School has an active and vibrant research culture. The School’s identity is a composite, resulting from the collection, elaboration, synthesis and definition of the research interests and expertise of the faculty. Faculty have been challenged to express their individual identity and how it relates to the composite identity of the research community, and to contribute to re-envisioning the inclusive, collective identity so that it satisfactorily defines what constitutes an Information field.

The Information School is leading intellectual discourse, setting direction, and framing the research space in a number of areas.  The School must build upon the ground-breaking work of its individual researchers and research partnerships that are setting direction for the field in areas such as information literacy, digital reference, value-sensitive design, information and the quality of life, information evaluation, information behavior, digital government, personal information management, cognitive work analysis, Internet credibility, metadata standards and information assurance and security. The School should also continue in its efforts to enhance the level of intellectual engagement between faculty and students, and the levels of involvement of Information School students with research.

Q: How will you expand fundraising for academic programs and research?

A: The School must develop a broader base of support for its academic and research programs. In terms of research support, the School has been successful in obtaining funding from external sources such as the National Science Foundation and the Institute for Museum and Library Services. We must now examine opportunities to expand the funding base for its research community in areas such as homeland security, endowments for the social sciences and humanities, lobbying for legislative appropriations (in collaboration with other information schools) and gifts from industry partners. The School must also work with foundations to obtain support for its mission to enhance the lives of people through information.

The School must continue to grow its development activities. Much has been achieved in the work of relationship-building and in the setting up of a founding board for the School and advisory boards for each of its academic programs. The School has many influential friends and advocates who are spreading the message and recruiting partners and potential donors. As Dean, I hope to build on this solid foundation.

Q: What goals do you have for the Information School during your tenure as Dean?

A: The Information School ought to be a prototype, test-bed and model of innovative thinking and leading-edge practice in information. It is important for the School to infuse selected outcomes from information research, scholarship and creative work into its regular operations. This is not an easy goal, but it will become more feasible as the School transitions from its current stage of intense transformation.

There are many possibilities. For example, if Information School researchers develop new techniques for personal information and document management, these techniques should be adopted and demonstrated by members of the Information School community--faculty, staff and students. If methods for representing, organizing and managing information are developed by Information School researchers, these new methods should be tried out and showcased by those who manage information in the School (in student services or personnel management or the management of School policies, for example). Information School researchers may develop new approaches to digital reference service that could be used for technology help desk services in the school.

Establishing a strong Information School is about creating a context and a model for leadership and advocacy, in terms of intellectual leadership and also as a model for the Information School movement. This is very important. The School is setting direction for information education and research that others want to follow. This model should include increased attention to issues of diversity and alternative cultural and ethnic views of information. The School should work towards achieving a diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural orientation to the study of information and technology. Support for minority students and international collaborations should be fostered and encouraged.

To sum up, as Dean, I will move the Information School towards maturity and a sustainable momentum of strategic growth and development, visibility and influence. The School will be established as an academic community that leads, advocates and demonstrates the value of the Information field; a community that others turn to on the University campus and in the scientific and professional community, nationally and internationally.