Greetings from the University of Washington Information School. Since becoming Dean of the iSchool last January, I have had the opportunity to meet many of our alumni and friends and I am eager to share our successes with you. 2006 has been an exciting year for the Information School and the University.

Let me start by saluting the 187 newly minted iSchool alums who tossed their mortarboards in the air this past June and began the next chapter in their lives as information professionals. Their iSchool education will play a vital role as they continue their life's journey and their iSchool degrees will empower them to help individuals and organizations acquire the information needed to solve timely and crucial problems.

Uniquely positioned to build an outstanding library and information science program, the UW Information School celebrates being ranked No. 4 in Library and Information Studies by US News & World Report . We were ranked No. 1 in Law Librarianship and six of our programs were ranked in the top 10. With a 90-year history of accreditation, the iSchool also welcomes the American Library Association Committee on Accreditation (COA) External Review Panel as they review our prestigious MLIS program. In celebration of UW Homecoming Week, we are inviting all members of the iSchool community, faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends to help us kick-off our accreditation review at a reception on October 22, 2006 at 3 pm in Mary Gates Hall Commons. We hope you can join us.

As a proud member of a 21st century major research university, the iSchool is great not just because it has successful students and award-winning faculty but also because it changes the lives of people across the street, across the state, and across the world. We continue to deliver on this mission by working hard to attract the best and brightest students who are eager to pursue study in library science, informatics, information management and information science. The iSchool offered 19 scholarships to admitted Masters students this year -- 15 of those offers have been accepted to date!

The iSchool is about changing lives for the better and we continue to make changes within our programs and within our school to ensure we offer a place where the best work is facilitated, rewarded, promoted and directed towards scientific, professional and public service. We have hired several new faculty and staff members including academic advisors, information technology professionals and our first communications officer.

We are also on track to meet our fundraising goal as part of Campaign UW: Creating Futures. The iSchool has reached 85% of its $5 million goal. As we look to the future, new and continued support from our alumni and friends is increasingly important. I thank you for your past support of the iSchool.

Thank you,

Harry Bruce
Dean and Professor