Dr. Virginia Tucker will begin a new role this summer at the San José State University School of Information. She is now an assistant professor with a specialization in information systems and knowledge structures. Congratulations!

She is a familiar face at the San José State University School of Information (iSchool), but her title will be changing this summer. Dr. Virginia Tucker, who has been a lecturer at the iSchool since 2005 and completed her doctorate through the iSchool’s San José Gateway PhD program in 2013, has accepted a new position as assistant professor with a specialization in information systems and knowledge structures. 

iSchool Director Dr. Sandra Hirsh stated, “Virginia is already an extremely valued member of the iSchool community, and we are very excited to have her join our faculty in a tenure track position.” Tucker received the iSchool Outstanding Lecturer award in 2011 and worked with other faculty members on the revision of the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) core classes in 2014. She teaches INFO 202 Information Retrieval System Design, INFO 244 Online Searching, and INFO 246 Information Technology Tools and Applications—Advanced: Information Architecture in the iSchool’s MLIS program.

Tucker echoed Hirsh’s excitement. “I am thrilled to join the iSchool faculty in this new role and contribute to both research and instruction in information retrieval systems design,” she said. “With so many new and evolving directions for students in the MLIS and San José Gateway PhD programs—branching off in areas of information structures, search design, and professional practice—I look forward to continuing to create opportunities for students in research collaborations and exploration of new studies.”

Tucker has had a great deal of success creating research and learning opportunities for students already. In fall 2015, she wrapped up a year and half-long taxonomy project for Silicon Valley startup RedLink that gave valuable industry experience to three of Tucker’s former students. Vaughn Egge, Ellie Fullman, and Jonathan Dale worked with Tucker to develop a taxonomy of academic disciplines that would be used by the company to develop products for analyzing academic journals and gathering information for publishers.

The RedLink project is also the basis for an article Tucker is working on with her former students. “The article will be about taxonomy validation methodologies and best practices,” she explained. Tucker also has two forthcoming publications about learning experiences in higher education, which was the topic of her dissertation. She is also heading to Nova Scotia in June to present a conference paper about redesigning curriculum for learning about advanced search at the 6th Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference.

Congratulations on your new position, Dr. Tucker!