He has more than 30 years of experience in the research, design, development
and operation of information in corporate, educational and not-for-profit
organizations, as well as expertise in information-science education
and strategic planning and positioning.
In announcing his appointment, Provost Elizabeth D. Capaldi noted:
"Dave Penniman is an expert in information-related disciplines and has
demonstrated creativity and dynamism in building programs crossing disciplinary
boundaries in these areas.
"His blend of academic and executive experience in both profit and
non-profit arenas connected to information systems and communications
make him a perfect choice to lead our School of Informatics, which will
be the model for the nation in producing the next generation of information
professionals."
Penniman will succeed Thomas Jacobson, acting dean of the school since
it was founded in 1999 as the result of the merger of the former School
of Information and Library Studies and the Department of Communication,
which was then part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Jacobson will
return to his post as chair and associate professor in the new schoolÕs
Department of Communication.
The School of Informatics has more than 900 students and 20 faculty
members.
PennimanÕs responsibilities will include the management of the schoolÕs
communication department and nationally ranked Department of Library
Studies, as well as the addition of new programs in emerging informatics
areas and oversight of its current degree programs.
These include a bachelorÕs degree in communication; masterÕs degrees
in communication, library science and information and communication,
and a doctoral degree in communication. The School of Informatics also
offers a post-masterÕs degree advanced-studies program for those with
a masterÕs degree in library science, and in September will begin a
new doctoral program in communication with a cognate in library and
information studies. The school also has a cooperative doctoral program
in higher education academic librarianship with the Graduate School
of Education. The School of Informatics recently received funding from
AT&T for its innovative curriculum emphasizing the integration of information
technology into organizations.
A professional engineer and fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, Penniman has worked for the past seven years
as a consultant to the senior management of such institutions as the
World Bank, Eli Lilly and Co., BIOSIS, the Online Computer Library Center
Inc. (OCLC) Institute, Unilever, Carolina Power and Light, and TXU (formerly
Texas Utilities).
In addition, from 1995-99, Penniman was a tenured professor and director
of the Center for Information Studies at the University of Tennessee,
where he also served as interim director of the School of Information
Sciences.
He was president and CEO of the Council on Library Resources Inc. from
1991-95. The council is an operating foundation that funds and conducts
projects and programs for libraries and information services in university,
public and school settings.
Penniman previously was with AT&T Bell Laboratories as director of
the information services group (1990-91) and director of libraries and
information systems (1984-90), and the Online Computer Library Center,
where his positions included manager of the Research Department (1978-80),
director of the Systems Development Division (1980-82) and vice president
of the offices of Planning and Research (1982-84).
In 1977, he was a research scholar in the Computer Science Group with
the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg,
Austria.
Penniman holds a doctorate in communication theory from The Ohio State
University and a masterÕs degree in journalism and a bachelorÕs degree
in mechanical engineering, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He also has completed advanced studies in organizational change and
development.
He has held major advisory appointments in many institutions, including
Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Rutgers University, the National Library
of Medicine, the American Association of Engineering Societies, the
National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the National
Cancer Institute.
In 1998, Penniman served on a three-member Library Journal research
team that surveyed 29 public, academic, school and special library vendors
to see how successfully they met the challenges of integration, testing
and marketing a new generation of library and information systems.
He has published more than 60 articles and book chapters, and has presented
lectures and seminars throughout the world. He has served on the editorial
boards of Education for Information, Advances in Librarianship and The
Bottom Line.
