Ed Cortez, professor and former director of the School of Information Sciences (SIS) in the College of Communication and Information, has been appointed chair of the American Libraries Association (ALA) Committee on Education.
Cortez will take office in June 2016 after the ALA annual conference.
Before coming to UT, Cortez served as a professor and administrator at the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
During his eleven years at UT, Cortez has been instrumental in developing collaborative international education opportunities for SIS, including partnerships with universities in Spain, Africa, and the Caribbean. He has served on more than a dozen accreditation review panels, three of which he chaired.
“As a school director, Ed Cortez developed relationships and communication channels with UT SIS alumni and Library Information Science professionals to keep informed of the educational competencies and skills needed by our graduates to be successful in their field,” said Mike Wirth, dean of the college. “We congratulate him on this appointment and know that he will do an excellent job of chairing ALA’s Committee on Education.”
The committee develops and recommends policies related to the full spectrum of education for all library and information studies personnel.
“Ed Cortez has a rare combination of depth of understanding of information science and automation, and a love for imparting that knowledge to others,” said Julie Todaro, president-elect of ALA.
Cortez is also part of an expert panel established by Todaro to help with the professional preparation of librarians and library workers, especially in communicating their value to the communities they serve.
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CONTACT:
Donna Silvey (865-974-6727, dsilvey@utk.edu)