School of Information
Deborah Hicks has been hired as an Assistant Professor and is the course coordinator and instructor for INFO 204: Information Professions. She is originally from Nova Scotia, Canada and has come to SJSU from Alberta, Canada.
Deborah’s research focuses on the professional identity of information professionals and how this informs the work they do, the organizations they run, and the relationships and communities they build. “I’m currently working on a couple of projects” says Deborah. “The first is exploring how public libraries use Twitter to build community online. This project is focused on exploring how libraries interact online, how these interactions lead to relationships, and how these relationships can be characterized. I’m also working on a project that will explore the ethical decision-making practices of librarians. This project will provide librarians with an evidence-based approach to making ethically challenging decisions.”
Michele Villagran has been hired as an Assistant Professor and is teaching two sections of INFO 200, Information Communities.
“I reside in the Greater Los Angeles area, and formerly was a Lecturer and MLS Coordinator with the University of North Texas,” says Michele. “I also have a consulting firm, CulturalCo, where we focus on areas of cultural competency, diversity & inclusion, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence.”
Michele’s research plans focus on cultural diversity with emphasis on cultural intelligence, faculty of color, and marginalized groups. Her research and scholarship focus are on cultural diversity with the main area of focus on diversity and social justice in library and information science (LIS) and cultural intelligence phenomena within librarians, libraries and information centers.
The following are Michele’s specific areas of research interest:
- Cultural Intelligence (CQ)
- Diversity, Inclusion, Community and Equity (DICE)
- Serving Disabled Populations
- Serving Multicultural Populations
- Social justice in library and information science
- Implicit bias and microaggressions
- Faculty of color