On Saturday, June 13, the College of Computing & Informatics (CCI) will graduate its first class of more than 420 undergraduate and graduate students at Drexel University’s 128th Commencement Ceremonies, held at the John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center on the University City Campus.
Students participating in Commencement will graduate with bachelor’s degrees in computer science, software engineering, information systems, information technology and computing & security technology; and master’s degrees in library and information science, computer science, health informatics, information systems and software engineering. Additionally, 10 doctoral students will graduate from the College’s doctoral programs in information studies and in computer science.
CCI is also hosting a Commencement reception in the Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building, where parents, family and friends of CCI graduates will gather to celebrate.
Drexel University will present Ted Hoff, co-inventor of the world’s first microprocessor, with an honorary degree at the 12 p.m. ceremony for bachelor's graduates in CCI, the College of Engineering and the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems. Jonathan Fielding, former director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and professor of health policy and management, and pediatrics at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, will be speaking at the graduate Commencement ceremony at 8:30 a.m., while Dan Shechtman—winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in chemistry, Philip Tobias Professor of Materials Science at the Technion -Israel Institute of Technology and professor of materials science at Iowa State University—will be speaking at the undergraduate Commencement ceremony at 12 p.m. Click here for a complete list of this year’s speakers and honorary degree recipients
As the academic year comes to a close, the College would like to recognize David Fenske, PhD upon the conclusion of his 16 years of service as dean. Fenske, who became dean emeritus and professor on June 2, will take a year’s sabbatical and then return to his work extending his entrepreneurial leadership on subjects including digital library development, new contract research development and knowledge management tools. Click here to read the Office of the Provost’s official announcement and to learn more about Fenske’s service to Drexel
The College also would like to recognize two faculty members, Teaching Professor Toni Carbo (PhD, ’77) and Teaching Professor and Director of Academic Outreach Trudi Bellardo Hahn (PhD, ’84) upon their retirement.
Carbo graduated from Drexel’s former College of Information Studies with a master of science in library and information science in 1973, and then with a doctorate in 1977—the first doctoral degree from the College. Prior to joining the faculty at Drexel’s former College of Information Science and Technology (iSchool) in 2009, Carbo served as dean and professor of the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences, from which she retired and became professor emerita in 2009. Previously, she was executive director of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services (now National Federation of Advanced Information Services). She also served as special consultant to the Institution of Electrical Engineers in London, and worked with database development and public services in academic and special libraries. She has served on numerous advisory groups related to information ethics and policy, including the U.S. National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council. She is a past president of ASIS&T and ALISE, and she chaired the ALISE Task Force to Develop a Code of Ethics for LIS Education and co-chaired the SLA Information Ethics Advisory Council. At Drexel, Carbo taught courses in areas such as information ethics, social context of the information professions, managing information organizations, academic library service and information policy. She also served as iSchool program leader at Drexel’s former Center for Graduate Studies in Sacramento, Ca. In 1992, Carbo received the Drexel 100 Award, which recognizes the 100 most distinguished Drexel graduates. She was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania in 2004. She was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1980. She currently serves on the Brown University President's Library Advisory Council and as the ASIS&T representative to the AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition, and she chairs the ALISE Norman Horrocks Leadership Award Committee.
A Drexel faculty member since 2012, Hahn earned her doctorate in information systems from Drexel University in 1984, and a master of science in library science from the University of Kentucky in 1976. Within her many years of experience in the library and information science field, Hahn served as professor of the practice at the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland; as associate professor at the School of Library and Information Science at the Catholic University of America; and as assistant professor at the University of Kentucky College of Library and Information Science. In 2007, Hahn received the Drexel Alumni Association’s Service to Profession Award, which recognizes a Drexel graduate for his/her professional achievements or whose work has contributed to advancements within his/her chosen field. In 2003 Hahn served as president of the American Society for Information Science & Technology. (ASIS&T) and received the 2006 Watson Davis Award from ASIS&T. In addition to her hundreds of publications in books, journals, and conferences, her book (co-authored with C.P. Bourne), A History of Online Information Services, 1963-1976 (MIT Press), received ASIS&T’s Best Information Science Book Award in 2003. Hahn’s research and teaching interests include the history of information science, scholarly communication (specifically open access and author rights); development needs and education of students and faculty in the information profession, and information literacy. In her role as director of academic outreach, Hahn was instrumental in establishing and building connections through Drexel’s Washington, D.C. Office, which serves as a multifunctional academic and outreach center for the University and its online course offerings. She is affiliated with CCI’s Center of the Study of Libraries, Information, & Society.
In 2012, Carbo and Hahn co-authored a book titled International Perspectives on the History of Information Science and Technology: Proceedings of the ASIS&T 2012 Pre-conference on the History of Information Science and Technology (Information Today).
For more information about Drexel’s 128th Commencement Ceremonies, please visit drexel.edu/commencement