Student Awards
The School of Information Sciences is pleased to offer the following awards to students within the School. These awards, funded through the generosity of alumni, friends, foundations and corporations, are offered to those students who demonstrate academic accomplishments and leadership skills.
If you have any questions about the Awards listed below, please contact Wesley Lipschultz at wlipschultz@sis.pitt.edu.
Undergraduate Information Science Program
The Ida M. Flynn Memorial Award
The Ida M. Flynn Memorial Award is given to students in recognition of excellence and outstanding contributions to the BSIS Program. Awardees selected by faculty committee.
Winner/Recipient: Kelly Aderhold
Previous Winners: Christina Savinell (2006), Courtney Machi (2007), Jolie Good (2008)The Jennifer & Eric Spiegel Technology and Communications Essay Award
The Jennifer & Eric Spiegel Technology and Communications Essay Award is used to support a full-time student in the BSIS Program. Student must have 3.00 or higher GPA. Students in INFSCI 1044 are invited to submit an essay. Awardees are selected by Jennifer & Eric Spiegel.
Winner/Recipient: Eric Anderson
Previous Winners: Jesse Hicks (2004), Christopher Flyer (2005), Kate Foster (2006), Mitchell Soso (2007), William Robb (2008)The Alcoa Ambassador Scholarship Program
Through the generosity of Alcoa Inc., the iSchool is pleased to announce that we offer a number of significant scholarships to students who will improve the population of diversity within the iSchool. the iSchool is one of a select number of institutions to participate in this Scholarship Program, which aims to increase the diversity of the Information Science profession.
Winners/Recipients: Lauren Mazzotta, Nina Musser, Piti Sinkantarakorn, Melissa SzymanskiThe Eli Lilly IT Scholarship Award
The Eli Lily IT Scholarship Award provides scholarship support to outstanding undergraduate students nominated by BSIS faculty members.
Graduate Information Science & Technology Program
Catherine Ofiesh Orner Paper Award
This award established by Dr. Gerald Orner in memory of his wife, an alumna of the School, recognizes an iSchool student who writes the most original and innovative paper in the field of information science as judged by a faculty committee. Three awards will be granted for the 2009-2010 academic year. First place receives an award of $2,500; second place receives $1,500; and third place receives $1,000.
Winners/Recipients: Sue Yeon Syn, Jon Walker, Tingting Jiang
Previous Winners: Denis Nkweteyim (2004), Stephen Hughes (2005), Peerapon Siripongwutikorn (2005), Adam Zagorecki (2006), Mark Voortman (2006), Rachel Masilamani (2007)
Robert R. Korfhage Paper Award
This award of $500 recognizes a student who submits the best scholarly paper co-authored with a faculty member. The intent of this award is to encourage more student-faculty collaborative research in the information sciences, something Dr. Korfhage had done so effectively throughout his career.
Winner/Recipient: Mark Voortman
Previous Winners: Xiaobing Hou (2004&2006), Adam Zagorecki (2004&2005), Chih-Kuang Lin (2007&2008)James G. Williams Scholarship
The James G. Williams Scholarship was created in honor of Distinguished Professor Emeritus, James G. Williams, Ph.D. The scholarship supports an outstanding student enrolled in the MSIS Program. Recipients are nominated by the faculty.
Graduate Library and Information Science Program
Lancour, Immroth, Brewster Award
This award of $200 recognizes a LIS student whose achievement in the field of international and comparative studies is judged outstanding by the dean and/or faculty committee.
Previous Winners: France Alvarado-Albertorio (2004), Essam Mansour (2005), Hea Lim Rhee (2006), Abdulnasir Abdulla (2007), James "Kip" Currier (2008)Margaret Mary Corbett Memorial Award
This award of $500 is offered to the student presenting the best LIS dissertation proposal. The Fund was established by friends, graduates, colleagues, and relatives in memory of Margaret “Peg” Corbett.
Previous Winners: Eylem Ozkaramanli (2004), Donghee Sinn (2005), Daniel Joudrey (2005), Fei Yu (2007), Mary Jo Dorsey (2008)The School Library Certification Program Student Award
The SLCP Student Award is given to students nominated by LIS SLCP faculty who exemplify academic excellence and professional promise as school librarians. Awardees selected by a faculty committee.
Winners/Finalists: Richard Mistretta, Maureen Staub, Kate Bednar, Valerie Cummings, Patrick Hickey, Paula Lestini, Benoni Outerbridge
Previous Winners: Amy Eidenshink, Denise Medwick, Rebecca Morris, Mary Kelleher - (2004), Mary Grace Kelly, Erika Frank, Leslie Poston, Kipp Dawson - (2005), Elizabeth Fisher, Wade Burtch, Sue Dobson, Loretta Jackson, Heidi Culp, Karen Fornari - (2006), Bridget Belardi, Karin Kugel, Elizabeth Koch, Tina Tomczak, Lynn Smokovich, Micah Weglinski - (2007), Joseph Prince, Joan Trimble, Merle Vanterpool, Courtney Anderson, Marcia Eisner,
Tim Johnson - (2008)The Sarah C. Cohen Award
In honor of his late wife, Sara Cohen (MLIS ’95), Ed Cohen established this endowment for the School Library Practicum Experience (SLCP) to provide awards to outstanding students in the School Library Certification Program (SLCP). Awards are granted to students completing the Practicum, course number LIS 2922. Awardees are selected by a SLCP committee.
Winner/Recipient: Kathleen Simms
Previous Winners: Timothy Howard (2007), Richard Mistretta (2008)____________________________________________________________________________________________
Nina C. Brotherton Scholarship
The Brotherton Scholarship was established by the Carnegie Library School Class of 1925 to provide financial assistance to students in the LIS program. Awardees selected by faculty committee.Dr. Joan Brest Friedberg Scholarship
To provide scholarship support to a part-time, in-state student enrolled in the MLIS program. The scholarship was established to honor Dr. Joan Brest Friedberg, co-founder of Beginning with Books. Students may apply using the link above.Margaret Hodges Quasi-Endowed Scholarship
In honor of the late Margaret Hodges, Professor Emeritus, this fund provides a $1,500 one-time scholarship for a MLIS student who is pursuing a career in children’s librarianship. Students may apply using the link above.E. J. Josey Scholarship for Minorities in Library Science
In memory of E. J. Josey, Professor Emeritus. Dr. Josey was a pioneer in the field of library and information science, working tirelessly to integrate libraries and the library workforce. This is a one-time $3,000 tuition scholarship for a MLIS student with potential for academic excellence and leadership in the profession. Students may apply using the link above.Frank B. and Anne J. Sessa Scholarship
This endowed scholarship is to be used for MLIS students interested in working in Public Libraries and is awarded by a faculty committee. The usual amount of the award is $1,200.Elva S. Smith Endowed Scholarship
The iSchool may award either a partial or full scholarship to students interested in the Children & Youth Services specializations. Awardees selected by faculty committee.Elva S. Smith Scholarship in Children's Library Services
The Elva S. Smith Scholarship is a full-tuition scholarship for three terms of study leading to the MLIS degree. It is awarded to an individual who exhibits potential for contributing to Children & Young Adult services in a public library. Students may apply using the link above.K. Subramanyam Scholarship
This scholarship is offered to a LIS student as a reward for academic excellence. Awardees selected by faculty committee.H.W. Wilson Scholarship
This scholarship supports students enrolled in the LIS program. Awardees selected by faculty committee.E. Blanche Woolls Endowed Scholarship
This may be a full or partial scholarship for a student enrolled in the LIS doctoral program. Awardees selected by faculty committee.Tung-Li and Hui-Hsi Yuan Family Scholarship
This award provides scholarship support for students in the MLIS and LIS PhD programs, as determined by the LIS program chair. The intent of the Award is to advance leadership in the field of library and informatrion science in China.
Graduate Telecommunications & Networking Program
Fritz Froehlich Award
The Fritz Froehlich Award is presented to a student for outstanding contributions to the graduate program in Telecommunications. Recipients are nominated by the faculty. The award is presented annually at spring graduation.
Winner/Recipient: Aylin Aksu
Previous Winners: Shuju Wu (2004), Natthapol Pongthaipat (2005), Arnon Tonmakayakul (2006), Kuang-Chiu (Kevin) Huang (2007), Ryan Fleming (2008)K. Leon Montgomery Scholarship
This scholarship provides support to a full-time student enrolled in the MST program. Preference is given to students who achieve academic excellence through coursework, research, international focus, and leadership. Students may apply using the link above.
Schoolwide Scholarship at PhD level
Casimir Borkowski Scholarship
This tuition support is for students studying natural language processing, information retrieval, and/or linguistics in any degree program at the graduate level. Students receiving less than 50% financial aid are eligible. The scholarship is named for Casmir Borkowski, former iSchool faculty member who was dedicated to the field of natural language processing and linguistics. This scholarship is offered at the discretion of the financial aid committee.