On Wednesday, January 12, 2011, Dean Blaise Cronin announced that, for  
personal reasons, he is stepping down as Dean of the School of Library  
and Information Science at Indiana University. He will continue in his  
role as a full-time faculty member, as the Rudy Professor of  
Information Science.

An outstanding scholar, Dr. Cronin is one of the most widely  
published, highly cited, and nationally and internationally visible  
individuals in the field of information science. Currently, he serves  
as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Society for  
Information Science and Technology. His prolific scholarship-- he has  
written or edited more than 300 books, reports, peer-reviewed  
articles, book chapters, conference proceedings and other materials--  
is all the more impressive given the fact that he has also been a  
university administrator for more than 20 years. He plans to devote  
more of his time to his scholarly pursuits and interests.

Dr. Karen Hanson, Provost and Executive Vice President of Indiana  
University has appointed Professor Debora Shaw interim Dean of the  
School.  Professor Shaw has been a faculty member in the SLIS since  
1988 and was for many years Associate Dean of the school. She has also  
served previously as interim Dean. Provost Hanson said that Professor  
Shaw's unstinting commitment to SLIS, her years of experience, and her  
excellent administrative judgment and skills will help the School move  
forward during this time of transition.

In an email to the faculty, Provost Hanson, Provost Hanson wrote:

"We extend heartfelt thanks to Dean Cronin for the many years of truly  
superb service he has dedicated to the school. A recently concluded  
review of his tenure as Dean produced overwhelmingly positive  
feedback. Since assuming the deanship, he has helped to transform the  
school's organizational structure, curricula, and its research  
orientation. The school is now a recognized research leader in a  
number of areas.

We are indeed grateful for his long and exceptional service as Dean. I  
wish him every success in his future endeavors.

IU's School of Library and Information Science is widely regarded as  
one of the best of its kind in the world.  I am confident interim Dean  
Shaw and the faculty and staff of the school will partner together to  
build upon Dean Cronin's good work and to continue the School's  
tradition of excellence."

-Howard Rosenbaum, Associate Dean
  SLIS@IU