School of Information Sciences

Leanne Bowler promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure

6/5/2014

The School of Information Sciences (iSchool) is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Leanne Bowler to Associate Professor with tenure, effective September 1, 2014. Bowler joined the iSchool in 2008, having earned her doctorate in Library and Information Science from McGill University. Bowler also holds two master’s degrees, one in Education and the other in Library and Information Science.

Dr. Bowler’s teaching and research focuses on young people and their experiences interacting with information and communications technologies. Her work is boundary crossing, traversing the disciplinary worlds of communication and media studies, socio-technical studies, and the learning sciences.  Bowler, along with doctoral student Eleanor Mattern and Dr. Cory Knobel (UC Irvine), have been investigating young people’s perspectives on mean and cruel online behavior through the lens of design, with the goal of developing positive technologies for youth. A paper reporting on the project was presented at the 2014 iConference in Berlin and received the Lee Dirks Best Paper prize, an award sponsored by Microsoft Research and selected for its outstanding quality by conference judges. Other research includes the “Mindful Making” project, supported by a Remake Learning Fellowship from Pittsburgh’s Sprout Foundation, and the “Teen Health Information” project, in collaboration with iSchool colleagues Drs. Jung Sun Oh and Daqing He, which explores teen’s use of Social Q&A to answer health questions.

Dr. Bowler leads the Children’s and Youth specialization at the School of Information Sciences, teaching courses that explore how people, especially children and youth, interact with media and technology. Her course, Technology in the Lives of Children and Youth, received the 2012 ALISE-Pratt-Severn Award, a national award for innovation in incorporating evolving information technologies in the curricula of accredited Master degree programs in library and information studies.

The iSchool community congratulates Dr. Bowler on her accomplishments and is excited for the future of her teaching and research! Learn more about Dr. Bowler and her research interests.