North Carolina Central University News August 4, 2016 NCCU School of Library & Information Sciences Dean Named In his new role, Gant will build on the vital foundation and heritage of NCCU's SLIS programs to teach and engage future generations of leaders and information pioneers. Known as an innovative and compassionate scholar, award-winning educator, and successful administrator, his deep lifelong passion has been to improve digital inclusion in ways that help individuals, communities, public libraries and others to help close the digital divide. Gant has conducted groundbreaking research in the areas of Internet access and use, broadband adoption, and new models for delivering digital literacy training in public libraries and community anchor institutions. He was formerly a faculty member at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he had been employed since 2007. In 2009, he founded the Center for Digital Inclusion at the University of Illinois. Gant also served as board chair and senior executive officer at Urbana-Champaign Big Broadband, a University of Illinois-led public/private partnership funded by the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program to build one of the first municipal gigabit fiber broadband networks in the U.S. Gant also serves as principal investigator for the US Ignite/National Science Foundation Smart Gigabit Community initiative that is building a nationwide test bed to develop applications for gigabit broadband networks. He established the Illinois Digital Innovation Leadership Program developing a scalable university-community public engagement model using community makerspaces and Fab Labs, public libraries, schools and museums to improve digital literacy skills statewide in digital fabrication, digital media production and data analytics. Funding for his research has come from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, American Library Association, the Organization for Economic Coordination and Development, the International Telecommunication Union, the National Science Foundation, US Ignite, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, IBM, State Farm Insurance and others. Gant received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan. He previously held faculty positions at Syracuse University and Indiana University. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) 404-577-5158 (fax) Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/ 7th Biennial Membership Meeting: Register here http://hbculibraries.org/2016meeting-form.html for the October 10,11 Membership Meeting in Atlanta. Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30314-4207 www.auctr.edu<http://www.auctr.edu/> We will always provide service that exceeds the customer's expectation...Because We Care!