The iSchool Inclusion Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Jorge Reina Schement will deliver the commencement address at the 2016 i3 Graduate and Recognition Ceremony on July 8 at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences. The ceremony will recognize the new 2016 i3 Scholars as they embark on their yearlong research projects, as well as celebrate the accomplishments of our returning 2015 i3 Scholars. The Graduate and Recognition Ceremony will serve as the culminating event in this year’s alumni reunion, which will include professional development and networking events.
About Dr. Jorge Schement
Dr. Schement serves as Vice Chancellor directing the Office of Diversity and Inclusion for Rutgers University New Brunswick and for Rutgers Biological and Health Sciences. He is Distinguished Professor of Communication Policy, and Latino Studies. He also chaired the Executive Planning Committee for Rutgers’ 250th Anniversary Commemoration, and previously served as Dean of the School of Communication and Information. Dr. Schement is author of over 250 books, papers, and articles. Prior to Rutgers, he was a distinguished professor at Penn State University, where he co-founded the Institute for Information Policy. He has served on faculties at the University of Texas-Austin, the University of Southern California, UCLA, Penn State, and Rutgers University. He holds a PhD from Stanford University in Communication and an MS in Marketing from the University of Illinois.
A Latino from South Texas, his research focuses on the social and policy implications of the production and consumption of information, especially as they relate to ethnic minorities. He conducted the first study of the impact of minority ownership in broadcasting, and conducted the original research that led to recognition of the Digital Divide. He introduced the idea of Universal Service as an evolving concept, a view adopted in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. His studies of minority ownership contributed to the Supreme Court’s decision in Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. F.C.C. et al.
As Dean, he raised the numbers of women and minority faculty to their highest numbers in the history of his school. As Vice Chancellor, he organized the first Diversity Forum and organized the President’s Diversity Council. He authored the telecommunications policy agenda for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He is a founding member of the FCC Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age, and a member of the FCC Transition Team for the Obama administration.
Schement has served on advisory boards for the U.S. President’s Technology Advisory Council, United States Commission on Civil Rights, Centers for Disease Control, National Academy of Sciences, National Science Foundation, National Research Council, National Endowment for the Humanities, Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, American Library Association, Minority Media Telecommunications Council, Open Society Institute, Advertising Council, Libraries for the Future, American Library Association, Aspen Institute, Benton Foundation, Harwood Institution, MCI, Verizon, and Pew Project on Internet and American Life.