Interim Dean Ken Fleischmann was recently featured in a KXAN news story examining Austin's emergence as a national hub for artificial intelligence and the growing tension between innovation and responsible development.

The iSchool congratulates professor Andrew Dillon and recent MSIS graduates Mrunmai Abhyankar and Anajana Menon on winning the 2025 Stanley Caplan User-Centered Product Design Category Excellence Award. The recognition comes via their work redesigning the website of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS).

Two members of the UT Austin School of Information community have been named among the recipients of the UT President's 2026 Outstanding Staff Awards: current student Elista Street and double alumna Katie Pierce Meyer. They join a select group of 30 non-teaching university employees recognized this year for making outstanding contributions to the continuing success of the university. Recipients received a certificate and a $1,500 honorarium.

Fiona Romanoschi, a junior in the UT Austin School of Information's Informatics Program, has been named a Barry Goldwater Scholar for the 2026–2027 academic year. The Goldwater Scholarship is one of the most prestigious undergraduate awards in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, with just 454 students selected nationwide from a pool of more than 5,000 applicants this year.

Each year, the president of the University of Texas at Austin selects a Student Employee of the Year out of a set of finalists nominated by faculty and high-level staff. This year, iSchool graduate student Ishwari Garge reached the finalist stage. Although the top prize was eventually claimed by University Housing and Dining human resources student associate Sahithi Alla, we take this moment to salute Garge’s contributions to our school and her accomplishment in making finalist.