SCILS dean, faculty call for school name change

Students in the School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies often affectionately brag, “SCILS students have skills.” But no matter how skilled these students are, the phrase may become obsolete, due to a proposed change of the school’s name.
The motion was carried with a 30 to 10 vote to change the name to the School of Communication and Information during the Feb. 4 SCILS faculty meeting, and a proposal must now be approved by the University’s Board of Governors.
“It’s a name change that’s been bouncing around for about 20 years,” SCILS Dean Jorge Reina Schement said. “We had an opportunity to turn some pages and start some new chapters since this is my first year as dean, and this was one of the issues to be addressed.”
Schement said there are a number of reasons for the name change. While a simpler name is easier to remember and connect with, the main reason for the change is to be fair to all of the school’s programs, he said.
“Success in the 21st century requires us to reposition ourselves within the University and across the country,” Schement said. “The proposed change of name offers a cohesive identity to the diverse faculty and student groups who make up our community.”
The professional school offers six degree programs, three of which are undergraduate programs that offer studies in communication, journalism and media studies, and information technology and informatics.
There are master’s programs in communication and information studies and library and information science as well as a doctoral program in communication and information studies.
“Shortening the name and concentrating on communication and information spotlights the two phenomena all of us are engaged in,” Schement said.
SCILS prepares students for a range of professions, all of which incorporate communication and information skills.
“We serve professions ranging from librarianship to public relations, to advertising, to journalism,” Schement said in a letter to the SCILS community. “And scholarly communities are at the forefront of their foci — a spectrum that embraces the practical and the theoretical.”
Schement emphasized that no degree programs or department codes will be affected by the change.
“By changing the name, we do not — nor will we — eliminate any focus areas, but rather, broaden the context of those areas we embrace and include in our research and teaching agendas,” he said in the letter.
But library science students and alumni are concerned about losing their spotlight in the school’s name.
On a SCILS online discussion list, confused faculty, students and alumni were among those posting feedback upon hearing the news of the potential change.
Many were outraged and offended by the removal of library studies from the name, viewing it as an effort to shy away from the department as a whole.
President of the New Jersey Chapter of the Special Libraries Association Eric Schwarz, a SCILS alumnus, said it is important to differentiate between the types of studies offered by the school.
“If you just say SCI, it doesn’t convey the study of information and organization of information,” he said. “Some might confuse it with the study of technological and computer-based forms of information organization.”
Others believe prospective students will bypass the program because they will not know it exists, and some question the expenses that will come with changing the name.
“One thing we don’t want to do is waste money making changes,” Schement said. “We will be as prudent and economical as possible.”
Schement said the name change would be an umbrella to all of the programs the school offers, so prospective students will not be confused by the name.
Current SCILS students will be sad to see their favorite acronym go.
“It makes more sense, but it’s harder to refer to SCI then it is to SCILS,” said School of Arts and Sciences junior Jason Davis.
In a Feb. 9 message on the online discussion board, Schement incorrectly claimed to have consulted with the president and executive director of the New Jersey Library Association prior to the vote.
President of the NJLA Heidi Cramer, a SCILS alumna, responded with a post on the Web site.
“I am alarmed that there is reference to the president and executive director of NJLA in this notification with implied endorsement of this change,” she wrote. “I personally do not support the change and I will bring this issue to the executive board for their response.”
Department Chair of Library and Information Science Claire McInerney addressed much of the concern on the discussion list.
“The LIS faculty voted for the name change — nothing is being forced on us,” she said. “We wanted a name that would reflect all of our disciplines within a growing college or school context. We’re all about building knowledge through communication and information.”
The library science program has maintained excellence since the undergraduate program in librarianship was started in 1927 in Douglass College.
The master’s degree program, established in 1953, currently ranks sixth in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report.
“The Department of Library and Information Science is … stronger than ever,” McInerney wrote in a letter posted on the Web site. “We plan to keep moving forward in quality, to maintain our number one status in the school library/media field, and our goal is to maintain our high standards in all areas.”
While the name change will not affect department curriculums, it serves as a symbol for the change to come as SCILS works to enhance its faculty, students and programs.

4 comments

Pat Meyer, MLS 1988

Wed Feb 11 2009 18:00

Thirty-six years ago the University forced a merger of the Library School with the other departments to create SCILS. Back in the late 1980's when I was a student, there was still an element of feeling disrespected and not valued by persons in the Library Studies program. Now we are loosing even more. Prof. McInerney says the faculty voted for the change, but which faculty, the LIS faculty or the SCILS faculty as a whole? She also says this will not dilute the program, but if prospective students and employers of the sutdents cannot find the program, it cannot help by dilute it. I have a difficult time believing much of what Dean Schement says, since he did not accurately represent his discussions with NJLA and other library leaders in New Jersey or at ALA. Rutgers University and the Library School were very involved in the certification requirements for School Media Specialists and Professional Librarians in NJ. Now where will the next generation of librarians go when such influence is needed or desired. Credibility once lost is difficult to recover, and we may very well loose credibility with this name change. "Information" as a business concept has been claimed by Information Technology, and is understood by the public at large as referring to the computer people, not librarians. I certainly hope the Board of Governors refuses to accept this change.

Michele M. Dupey

Wed Feb 11 2009 12:20

Communicators long to be understood. So... How is removing "Library" from the school name *clear* communication??? SCILS is an acronym that can be said, and played with, to communicate ALL of the facets of our School. / SCILS Grads have *FILL IN THE BLANK* SCILS / "SCI" is NOT clear... In fact, I automatically said "CSI" to someone... / Yes! This is what the name change communicates: Library = Dead Body / RIP, Library!

Your name

Wed Feb 11 2009 11:35

"...the main reason for the change is to be fair to all of the school’s programs, he said."

Yes, it is incredibly fair to the 560 students in the library science program to drop "library studies" from the school's name.

Michele M. Dupey

Wed Feb 11 2009 10:53

Reporter Kaitlyn Calabro contacted me for comment, but unfortunately I was in class and responded too late for publication. My background reflects the cross-section of this argument: I have over 20 years in governmental communications, nearly six of which is at the Jersey City Free Public Library. At the encouragement of Library Director Priscilla Gardner, I applied for the IMLS Laura Bush grant and was accepted. While these studies have given me the insight I was looking for, to promote my library better, along the way I've become excited about the prospect of being a Librarian, concentrating on Reference. I've even volunteered already, as a Virtual Librarian for the Internet Public Library. NOW... RE: School Name Change. I would rather risk the appearance of stopping progress than agree. This is why I do NOT AGREE: *Advocacy* on behalf of libraries -- their functions (old & new), their place in society, their giving to individual citizens, their *funding* -- is in the forefront of where I can best put my communications skills to practice within the library profession. By removing "Library" from the Rutgers school name, from where I'm getting this valuable information, effectively *removes* the effectiveness of advocacy endeavors. In a financial climate where the League of Municipalities lobbies for HALVING the legally mandated library mil and when local governments' allocations remain stagnant, it will become even *more difficult* to *explain* and *lobby* for the VALUE of libraries to their communities. At this critical time, I CANNOT fathom why the *technical* aspects of communication are being chosen to overshadow the *intrinsic* and perhaps, not as blatant, aspects of communication, of which being a Librarian -- with that capital "L" -- represents, and which I will represent proudly when I graduate in December 2009.

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above:

log out