Gisela von Dran appointed director of SU’s School of Information Studies’ Library and Information Science master’s program

Gisela von Dran appointed director of SU’s School ofInformation Studies’ Library and Information Science master’s programJuly 28, 2004Edward Byrnesedbyrnes@syr.edu

Gisela von Dran, an assistant professor in Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, has been appointed as the director of the school’s master’s degree program in Library and Information Science (LIS).

In this position, she will be responsible for the management and leadership of the LIS program and serve as the primary contact to the professionals in the field working with current and potential students. The director leads the Faculty Program Advisory Committee meetings for LIS; works with the assistant dean for student services on admissions, student advising, and career and internship opportunities; and works with the LIS faculty and other program directors on marketing, curriculum and course offerings. The position was formerly held by Jana Bradley, who recently accepted a position as the director of the School of Information Resources and Library Science at the University of Arizona.

Von Dran, of Syracuse, received her Ph.D. in public administration from Arizona State University, her M.L.S. from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University and her M.P.A. in Public Administration from Tennessee State University. Before embarking on her academic career, she was an assistant to the dean of the Arizona State University Libraries and assistant director for administrative services as well as assistant director for personnel services at the Texas Tech University Libraries. She has published several articles and three books about library management issues, organizational change, and employee empowerment in the public and private sector. Her current research focuses on culture as a competitive strategy in information organizations.

Gisela held faculty positions in the department of management at the University of North Texas’ College of Business Administration and the department of political science and public affairs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham prior to coming to SU in 1995. From 1995-2003, she was an assistant professor in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management; she took her current position in the School of Information Studies in fall 2003.

The School of Information Studies at SU is a nationally ranked center for innovative programs in information policy, information behavior, information management, information systems, information technology and information services. The School offers an undergraduate degree, three professional master’s programs, and a Ph.D. The School of Information Studies was established in 1896 as the School of Library Science. For more information, visit the School’s web site at www.ist.syr.edu.

Officially chartered in 1870 as a private, coeducational institution of higher education, Syracuse University is a leading student-centered research university. Syracuse’s 12 schools and colleges share a common mission: to promote learning through teaching, research, scholarship, creative accomplishment and service while embracing the core values of quality, caring, diversity, innovation and service. The 938-acre campus is home to more than 18,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and 90 countries.