Information underlies virtually every interaction, is a vital social and political equalizer, and is a unifying thread throughout all human actions. Given the importance of equal access to information by all members of society, the study of information must be framed in the most inclusive terms possible.

The College of Information Studies is strongly committed to creating a diverse and inclusive community of students, faculty, and staff. Not only does the College continue to strive to build a diverse community through recruitment and retention, the College culture is inclusive of persons underrepresented as a result of race, ethnicity, gender, age, economic background, and ability.

The College of Information Studies is equally committed to representing and studying diversity and underrepresented populations in its educational, professional, and research activities. Members of the College community promote diversity through scholarship that includes:

• Designing interfaces that meet the needs of diverse user populations across many different technologies and platforms.
• Participating in an eight-school consortium to increase the diversity of students in PhD programs researching archival issues.
• Creating training programs for older adults to use computers in cooperation with public libraries.
• Using the Kids’ Lab to create technologies and interfaces that meet the needs of the youngest users.
• Developing methods for governments to make their websites accessible to and usable by all citizens.
• Assessing the information needs of diverse populations to inform the design of a wide range of information products, services, and resources.
• Studying how public libraries support the Internet access needs of people with no other access, those within insufficient access, and those who need assistance using the Internet.
• Presenting the annual James Partridge Award, celebrating the contributions of committed African Americans in the Information Professions.

The College of Information Studies prepares its graduates of all degree programs to provide equal information access to all types of users.

Along with preparing graduates in issues of diversity and inclusion, the College of Information Studies works to ensure that faculty and staff members have the education and resources necessary to promote and encourage an inclusive environment within the College through training, presentations, and speakers.