As of August 18, 2008, I will be an Assistant Professor at SOIS, with teaching responsibilities focusing on its undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Information Resources, and my research will be aligned with the Information Policy concentration of its new Ph.D. in Information Studies. I also will be affiliated with the Center for Information Policy Research.

On a personal note, it is hard for me to express/contain my excitement about joining SOIS. Here are just a few of the reasons for my euphoria:

• SOIS has an informal slogan referred to as I³ — “Information is our focus; International is our scope; Interdisciplinary is our mindset” I couldn’t think of a better framing of my own intellectual work. SOIS’s mission and goals are equally on par with my personal aspirations for my work.
• I look forward to helping SOIS ensure it meets the high standards within its research philosophy: We at SOIS understand that at the heart of our research lies curiosity, tenacity, commitment and creativity – all traits of our faculty members. By doing research we contribute to the international body of knowledge that can make a difference in the lives of people. We therefore firmly believe that our research: helps to provide solutions to problems; creates opportunities for people; and brings hope for the future.
• SOIS is committed to a rich research profile that compliments my own broad research interests, including information law & policy, information ethics, history of information technology and systems, Internet information search & utilization, and the information society.
• SOIS has a world class faculty, and recently has been ranked No. 1 nationally among schools of library and information science for contributions to its university’s overall research output. This prestigious honor marks the second time in two years that a national publication has ranked SOIS as a leading school of library and information science: SOIS was also ranked among the top library and information science schools in the U.S. in scholarly productivity.
• SOIS is home to the Center for Information Policy Research, directed by Elizabeth Buchanan. CIPR’s research agenda revolves around social, ethical, economic, legal, and technical aspects of information and information technologies with a focus on such key information policy issues as intellectual property (copyright, patents, etc.), privacy, equity of access to information, ethics of information use and service, censorship, cyberlaw, and government, corporate, and international information policies. CIPR also has close affiliations with the International Society for Ethics and Information Technology, the International Center for Information Ethics, ASIS&T’s special interest group in Information Policy, and AoIR’s ethics working group.
• Finally, joining SOIS means not only will I be returning to where I started my graduate education (working with Prof. David Pritchard in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication), but that I’m also returning home. After 7 years in New York City, it will be nice to come back to Wisconsin, actually purchase a home, have ready access to Leinenkugels at bratwurst (both almost impossible to find in NYC), and be closer to family (Ethan’s grandparents are perhaps more excited that I am).

I have been lucky throughout my (young) academic career to have benefited from associations with amazing faculty, colleagues, and friends at the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU (especially Helen Nissenbaum), and more recently at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. I honestly can’t think of a better place to continue my academic adventures than at SOIS.

(ps – for those who want a taste of the kind of work SOIS/CIPR is committed to, check out its upcoming conference: Thinking Critically: Alternative Perspectives and Methods in Information Studies. Hope to see you there!)

Thanks to everyone for their help and support.

(blogging will be light for the next week…)

Also on the summer agenda are two exciting workshops. First, I’ll be attending the “Surveillance Summer Seminar” hosted by the Surveillance Project at Queens University:

The Surveillance Summer Seminar provides an intensive, multi-disciplinary learning experience that addresses key issues of surveillance studies, and in ways that would enhance the participants’ own research projects as well as providing a unique national and international networking opportunity.

The core of the seminar is group work, each facilitated by a member of seminar faculty. Groups will grapple with key issues in surveillance studies, including issues such as “The researcher as surveillance agent,” “Gaining entry into surveillance sites,” “Making international comparisons,” “Connecting social science with policy and legal fields” and so on. Participants are encouraged to comment, in their statement of interest, on what areas are of particular interest. The rest of the programme is devoted to theoretical, methodological and professional issues, and to open interaction with established scholars in the field. The idea is to “go behind” conference and book performances to discover how and why surveillance researchers do what they do. There will also be discussion of surveillance films, novels, art, music and drama and a look at counter-surveillance movements and activities.

And I’ve also been accepted to participate in the Oxford Internet Institutes’s annual “Summer Doctoral Programme,” which is held in conjunction with the The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School:

The 2007 Summer Doctoral Programme will maintain the high standard for rigorous intellectual interaction, inter-disciplinary exchange and novel research methods and goals, while introducing new approaches. The Cambridge edition will draw substantially upon the OII’s work and faculty, integrating it with the Berkman Center’s research and community, and also injecting participation by a diverse and accomplished group of colleagues and friends.

The course structure will be broadly similar to previous years’ Programmes with daily research seminars and discussions led by leading academics, practitioners and entrepreneurs. All students will be asked to present their research to their peers in informal seminars and we will request abstracts for these seminars before the start of the Programme (details to follow). Seminars and other teaching should average approximately five hours contact time per day, leaving students with plenty of opportunity to meet informally with faculty and fellow students, work on their own research, and possibly even develop new projects.

Should be an exciting and stimulating summer…

UPDATE: Forgot to mention that I’ll also be attending and presenting a paper at CEPE 2007…

Assuming the defense goes well (/knocking on wood), I’m also thrilled to announce that I will be joining the Information Society Project at Yale Law School as the Microsoft Fellow for the 2007-2008 academic year. While at ISP, I hope to continue to explore the social, cultural, and ethical implications of web search engines, as well as support ISP’s larger efforts in the crucial Access to Knowledge initiative (there is an A2K conference next weekend, for those interested).

Exciting times ahead.

Some have ascribed his serious expression to being the child of a lawyer and an academic; others think he is disgruntled because the hospital posted his personal information on the card above his head without his consent.

We’re just happy he’s here!

(as you might suspect, blogging will be extremely light for the next, oh, 18 years)

~ Thanks to everyone who have sent their congratulations and best wishes, both online and off.