Leadership
About the Dean
Jeffrey Bardzell joined SILS on April 1, 2024. He is a well-established interdisciplinary researcher in human-computer interaction and design, with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and an academic career that spans humanities, design computing and social science. His research has focused on creativity, criticality and design thinking; aesthetic interaction and experience design; social informatics and participatory design; and AI and more-than-human design. Additionally, Jeff has led or co-led research totaling $13 million in external grants, and he has received over a dozen awards for research, teaching and service.
As associate dean at Penn State, Bardzell worked with approximately 75 full-time faculty and supported more than 2,000 combined undergraduate and graduate students. He led projects including a 5-year curricular strategic plan, a generative AI task force and redesigned processes for doctoral student recruitment and faculty onboarding. Jeff joined Penn State in 2020 as a professor and associate dean of undergraduate and graduate studies, a role in which he served as a first responder for student needs.
Prior to his time at Penn State, Bardzell was a professor and director of human-computer interaction design in the School of Informatics at Indiana University-Bloomington. Additionally, he held visiting professorships in communications design and computer science at Shih Chien University, Taiwan, and Aarhus University, Denmark, respectively.
Leadership Team
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of the Practice
Associate Dean of Finance and Administration
Associate Dean for Development
Advisory Boards
In addition to drawing on the expertise and input of faculty, staff, students, and alumni, SILS also relies on insights from boards and committees composed of friends, alumni, and industry leaders.
SILS Alumni Inclusion and Diversity (SAID) Committee
The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee
Friends in the Field
Strong connections with practitioners in the field of information and library science provide guidance and input on a variety of matters.