In 25 years, the Information School has grown from 150 students in one librarianship program to more than 2,000 students across five academic programs. Our research and teaching extends to topics we wouldn’t have dreamed of in 2001, including data sovereignty, digital youth, and ethical applications of artificial intelligence. Our size and scope are a lot bigger now, but this is still the same tight-knit Information School community I found when I arrived in 2018. And it still depends on you.
At the Information School, we are the ones who take on the hard questions that new technologies raise — questions about how best to use AI in education, the workplace and our lives. In an increasingly challenging information environment, we promote information literacy and give people the tools to tell fact from fiction. As teens face information overload, we help parents navigate questions around whether to allow their kids to use social media and how much screen time is too much.
Our school has grown rapidly in recent years in response to the need for professionals who know how to manage information and technology ethically. Our undergraduate Informatics program graduated more than 350 students this academic year, and our Master of Science in Information Management program is twice as large as it was just five years ago, in part because we now offer it both residentially and online. In 2023, the UW’s Museology program joined the school, and this fall we’re adding a graduate certificate in AI for organizations designed for professionals who need to guide AI adoption or decide when it’s best to not employ AI solutions to problems.
All of that growth comes with advantages for our growing community of alumni and partners. Our teaching and research now reach a much broader audience. Employers and organizations want to engage with our community because they see the value of what an information school provides. More of our alumni go out and make an impact on their organizations and communities, and as our alumni network grows, it includes a diversity of professionals working in a variety of fields all over the world. You and your fellow graduates are working in every sector and field, across Washington and around the world, to lead organizations that impact education, public health, information access, technology products and services and everything in between.
Our faculty and staff make the school work every day, our students are the reason we are here, and our alumni are the engine who make this more than just a place where you earn a degree to help you land a job. When you give your time to support a fellow alum, student or applicant as an advisor, mentor, guest lecturer or portfolio reviewer, you provide the spark that keeps our community engaged and thriving. When you come to one of our alumni events — anywhere in the world — you build an ever-growing network of people who can help one another succeed. When you participate in our alumni passport program, each stamp marks an engagement with our community and signifies your contribution to a bigger idea.
This fall, we’re celebrating 25 years of that big idea. We’re throwing a party on Oct. 29 and a weekend-long reunion to celebrate the school’s anniversary. Alumni, students, faculty, staff and partners will be invited to the UW campus for food, music, interactive activities, and chances to reconnect with old friends. I hope you’ll mark your calendar to join us for a toast to our first quarter-century and to all that lies ahead.