Le Moyne College Interim Provost Thomas Brockelman (left) and Syracuse University Interim Provost Liz Liddy sign the agreement.
Officials with the School of Information Studies and Le Moyne College today celebrated an agreement that reaffirms and expands the academic collaboration that has existed between the schools since 2011.
The plans for the new Fast Track graduate education path permits Le Moyne College students from all majors to earn information management and library science master’s degrees on an accelerated basis through the School of Information Studies (iSchool).
The schools signed the initial agreement in 2011. It provided that Le Moyne students studying information systems or computer science could enter the iSchool’s information management master’s program in their senior year of undergraduate studies. Today’s signing ceremony extends that partnership to the entire student body at Le Moyne, and adds a second iSchool master’s degree program option.
Previously, the agreement permitted students in Le Moyne’s Madden School of Business to earn accelerated master’s degrees at the iSchool in information management.
Now, any Le Moyne student, in any major, is eligible for the Fast Track program. Before, the program was only for those who wanted to earn a master’s degree in information management at the iSchool. Now, an additional graduate program—the master’s in library and information science and the library master’s degree with school media specialization—are included.
The agreement provides that:
Unlike other accelerated or 4+1 programs, the Fast Track program offers students the option of entering the workforce after completing their four-year Le Moyne undergraduate program—because students can complete their second graduate year of studies through the iSchool’s online and part-time study paths.
Jeffrey Stanton, interim dean of the iSchool, notes that since the initial agreement in 2011, 15 Le Moyne graduates have enrolled in the iSchool’s master’s program in information management. He said the school anticipates strong interest in this expanded program, particularly the library degree offerings. He suggested that students in Le Moyne’s Fine Arts and Science and Education programs, in particular, may find that a library and information science degree enhances their knowledge, skill sets and marketability.
“We have greatly valued our Le Moyne students for the academic and professional preparation that they have brought to their graduate studies here at the iSchool,” says Stanton. “The expansion of our partnership with LeMoyne will now make this affordable graduate school option available to Le Moyne students from the full range of undergraduate majors. We are particularly pleased that both our library science and our information management master’s degree programs will be available to Le Moyne students.”
Syracuse’s Interim Vice Chancellor and Provost Liz Liddy noted how students are able to combine almost any passion with technology today.
“Through this partnership, we hope to attract students from various disciplines to learn to address the information opportunities and challenges in their defined fields,” says Liddy. “There are an infinite number of professions that a student can succeed in by combining an undergraduate program with an information degree. And as a former librarian, I am delighted that this partnership has also been expanded to offer a pathway to librarianship combined with specific subject specialties. We look forward to attracting many strong Le Moyne students with diverse interests to these graduate programs.”
“This agreement opens up a world of new possibilities for any Le Moyne student interested in continuing their studies at the graduate level within the iSchool,” says Tom Brockelman, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Le Moyne. “We are very excited about furthering our collaboration with Syracuse University in such a meaningful way, and we anticipate that this new partnership will benefit an increasing number of individuals who are interested in professions that are expected to grow significantly in the coming years,” Brockelman says.
“The master’s of library science degree reflects an exciting new direction for the College of Arts and Sciences; it also presents an opportunity that many Le Moyne students, particularly in the humanities, have requested,” says Kate Costello-Sullivan, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Le Moyne. “In addition, the cultural heritage certification option and the technical training this graduate degree provides illustrate the kind of flexibility that liberal arts undergraduates from fields as diverse as English, history, sociology, anthropology or computer science can employ. The M.L.I.S. will serve to affordably marry the adaptability and personal attention of a Le Moyne education with the excellent training and superior placement record of the iSchool. We are delighted by this opportunity for our students, and by the chance to collaborate again with our colleagues at Syracuse.”
For more information about enrollment in the program, students can contact Sue Corieri, assistant dean for enrollment management at the iSchool, at iGrad@syr.edu.
