Dr. Seamus Ross, director of Humanities Computing and Information Management at the University of Glasgow, has been selected as the commencement speaker for the 2003 spring ceremony at UNC’s School of Information and Library Science (SILS). The ceremony will be held May 18 from 1-3 p.m. in Carroll Hall.

“We are very fortunate that Dr. Ross is our 2003 commencement speaker,” said SILS Dean Joanne Gard Marshall. “He brings a wealth of experience in information and library science in both the public and private sectors, and has been instrumental in developing the digital tools and techniques that make all this possible.”

Ross is the principal director of the Electronic Resource Preservation and Network (ERPANET), a European Commission-funded activity to enhance the preservation of cultural heritage and scientific digital objects. He is also a lead partner in “The Digital Culture Forum,” which works to improve the take-up of cutting-edge research and technology by the cultural heritage sector.

He directs the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (HATII), which provides an academic undergraduate and postgraduate program and carries out research in application of advanced technologies to arts, humanities and heritage sectors. Ross also previously served as an assistant secretary for information technology at the British Academy.

Since 1991, Ross has co-edited four books, including “Electronic Information Resources and Historians: European Perspectives.” He also acts as an ICT advisor to the Heritage Lottery Fund and is a monitor for a number of large ICT-based projects in the United Kingdom.

The School of Information and Library Science is home to approximately 247 master's degree students, six certificate of advanced study students, 44 doctoral students, 17 undergraduate majors, 67 minors and 20 full-time faculty members. The school offers master's degrees in information science and library science, a certificate of advanced study, a doctor of philosophy in information and library science and an undergraduate minor in information systems. A new major in information science was introduced last fall.