Welcome to UMSI WIRE, a quarterly compendium of news and research from the University of Michigan School of Information for educators and information professionals.

Open positions in data science, digital curation, social media and more

UMSI is currently seeking faculty for tenure-track positions at the assistant, associate and full professor levels in the broad field of data science; in digital curation/archival studies/scientific data use and reuse; and social media. 

Six new faculty join UMSI in Fall 2018

UMSI welcomed six new faculty and Presidential Post-doctoral Fellows at the start of the academic year. Meet the new faces.

First UMSI online degree draws 25,000+ inquiries 

The University of Michigan Board of Regents officially approved a new online graduate degree to be offered by the School of Information: a Master of Applied Data Science. Pending approval of the Michigan Association of State Universities, the program begins in Fall 2019 on the Coursera platform. 

New website promotes digital citizenship

U-M Social and UMSI’s Center for Social Media Responsibility have partnered to launch Social Integrity, a new website designed to promote digital citizenship and offer resources to help the campus community and general public protect their privacy, spot fake news and deal with bad behavior on social sites. More.

Some online harassment deserves retaliation

In a two-part study, UMSI researchers have discovered that people generally believe online harassment is deserved and justified when the recipient has committed an offense, even when participants disapprove in principle of harassing behavior, and that bystander intervention may change the perception that online harassment is justifiable. 

More female faces in online technical courses

Replacing men with women in online courses – even in background shots – can help female students to engage more with technical subjects, according to a new UMSI study presented at the London Festival of Learning. 

Toward a more perfect password 

In honor of World Password Day in May, UMSI assistant professor Florian Schaub shared three online security tips and an accompanying video. View.

People trump technology for these entrepreneurs

In a study about entrepreneurship, UMSI researchers learned that while in more prosperous areas, crowdfunding, websites, blogs, social media and other technological tools are routinely used,  in low income areas, the human touch is far more important. More.

Taking it to the streets

Kentaro Toyama, WK Kellogg Professor of Community Information, was awarded one of three NAKFI grants of $500,000 to address maternal and infant mortality rates using digital street theater, a new vehicle for delivering educational material through locally specific digital channels. 

Leadership appointments and elections

UMSI Dean Thomas A. Finholt has been elected to a two-year term as a Member of the Board of Directors for the iSchools consortium, which consists of more than 70 information schools and departments around the globe. More.

UMSI professor Cliff Lampe was elected Executive Vice President of the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI), the premier, international society for professionals, academics and students interested in human-technology and human-computer interaction. More.

Melissa Levine, Lead Copyright Officer and Librarian at the University of Michigan Library, has been accepted to the UCLA Library Senior Fellows program. More.

Professor Margaret Hedstrom has accepted a one-year appointment to serve as the director of the University of Michigan Museum Studies Program. More.