Members of the Department of Information Science Board of Advisors serve for a period of three years renewable once upon recommendation by the chair and approval of the faculty. Members can return to the board for a new three-year period after a three-year break.  The purpose of this Board is to: 

  • Provide advice to the department chair and faculty on strategy, issues, and trends affecting the future of the IS Programs in general and the accreditation process in particular; 
  • Assist in public relations and strengthen relationships with libraries, archives, industry, and other key information and knowledge agencies; 
  • Provide input for assessing the quality of the IS programs, faculty, and students; 
  • Assist in identifying skills and competencies as well as performance levels for target professions; 
  • Act as a vital link to the community of practice for faculty and students to facilitate research, teaching, and service; and 
  • Act as an advocate for the department and support fundraising efforts of IS programs.
     
  • DIS Board of Advisors Bylaws
  • Minutes of October 2022 BOA meeting
  • Minutes of October 2023 BOA meeting

Current Board Members

  • Edward Melton, Library Director, Harris County Public Library
  • Jim Ashley, VP & CIO , Ben E. Keith Company
  • Bridget Barry-Thias, Manager, Medical Library, Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas
  • Sahar Behpour, Data Scientist, Deloitte
  • Jennifer Bekker, Director, Denton Public Libraries
  • Sian Brannon, Dean, UNT Libraries
  • Lamoya Burks (Chair), Director, Young Adult Library Services Association
  • Aamer Charania, Director, Capital One
  • Hsinliang (Oliver) Chen, Chief Library Services Officer, Faculty Librarian and Professor, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Dianne Connery, Director, Pottsboro Library
  • Morgan Davis-Gieringer, Head of Special Collections, UNT Libraries System
  • Rohini Devabhaktuni, Researcher, PTC Pharmaceuticals
  • Mark Hopkins, Director of Data Science, Mercy System
  • Athena Jackson, Dean, University Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell Chair, University of Houston
  • Janette Klein, Collection Management Coordinator, University of Central Missouri
  • Rhea Lawson. Director, Houston Public Library
  • Tuan Nguyen, Sales Consultant, Mackin Educational Resources
  • Mark Phillips, Associate Dean, UNT Libraries
  • Melissa Rethlefsen, Director, Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center, New Mexico Health Sciences Center
  • Shirley Robinson, Director, Texas Library Association
  • Ramiro Salazar, Director, San Antonio Public Library
  • Lynne Simpson, Director, Library Service at Langston University
  • James Spence, Manager, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Pharmacy Quality Improvement and Analytics
  • Nigel Thurlow, Chief of Agile, Toyota Connected
  • Roosevelt Weeks, Director, Fort Bend County Library System
  • Donghui Wu, Lead Data Scientist, Texas Health Resources
  • Karthik Yerra, CEO, SKD Technosol