Dr. Anthony Chow

School of Information Director

A hearty, hearty congratulations. You did it. Let's give our graduates a round of applause. Give yourself a round of applause. Today is quite a celebration. This semester, the Class of Spring 2024 is a special group that marks several milestones for San Jose State School of Information.

First, your graduating class has pushed us over the 13,000 alumni mark. Let me say that again, 13,000 alumni nationally and globally. And that is one of the largest, if not the largest, iSchool networks in the country, if not the world. Second, your class also has pushed us over 3,000 students simultaneously for this semester across our four programs. MLIS, Masters in Library Information Science, Masters in Informatics, Masters in Archives and Records, and our Bachelors in Information Science and Data Analytics. We have a total of 483 students graduating this spring: 408 with MLIS, 9 with the MARA degree, 18 with the Masters in Informatics, and 48 in our Bachelors in Information Science and Data Analytics.

So again, congratulations. I want to also especially thank our incredible and hardworking staff that make our day-to-day success possible, semester by semester, year in and year out. Let's also thank our excellent faculty who join us from all around the nation for their expertise, their dedication, and providing the high quality and relevant education that we are known for. Because of all of you, the San Jose State iSchool is experiencing exponential growth in applications and admissions across all programs for Fall 2024. We are thriving and flourishing.

So I want to leave you with a few thoughts taken from a few recent transformational experiences that I've had with the Yurok Tribe that I hope can inform your own careers, lives, and priorities. First, I had the privilege of traveling by boat and bus to donate books at one of their head starts, which was nestled in the mountains of the Redwood National Forest. Because of how remote they are, they're two and a half hours away by car to the nearest town. They're completely reliant on their county library to deliver books into their local Little Free Library book-sharing box. Because of their library's efforts and a community collaboration that has built a robust and sustainable book ecosystem led by, of course, the iSchool, their young children now have increased access to books.

This reaffirms how important the work of all LIS professionals are and how we must step outside of our walls to go and help the community where they are and deliver services the way they want and can receive those services. Who wouldn't want to live on a mountaintop in the Redwood National Park, right? Most importantly, this helped me better understand what the application of LIS looks like in a community I would never have been able to envision without visiting. I continue to learn and grow every day and this experience was transformational for me in understanding our field at a much deeper level and the impact that we have. Be sure to be a lifelong learner.

The other is my renewed commitment to sustainability in the environment. So part of my goal, part of our goal is to contribute to the benefit and help the Yurok Tribe, but in many ways they have helped and given me much more. Being with them is a reminder that we are all one big system and that we need to respect and try and take care of all living things. What do I mean? Again, a lesson from the Yurok Tribe who has been around for 10,000 years. Now, a reminder that we're going to be celebrating our 247th birthday on July 4th in the United States. And part of that is how to live in direct harmony with the environment and making it, and how they make it a cultural priority for long-term survival. They don't cut redwood trees down. They use only trees that have already fallen. They don't overfish the river. They ensure they only take what they need and that what they take is sustainable.

Another example, after a 20-year legal battle, largely out of the press, they are bringing down four dams on the Klamath River, all of the dams from Oregon down into California on the Klamath River, which were placed there by utility companies who only agreed to bring them down through litigation because they're no longer profitable. The dam removal will improve water quality for everything and everyone. Most directly will help save a rapidly depleted salmon population that could not get back to their regional pastures, which in turn will protect the entire ecosystem and allow the Yurok to continue living the way they want to live.

The bald eagle and the California Condor populations, for example, are now making a comeback because of the environmental fights that the Yurok Tribe has been doing largely in silence on our behalf. It's an important lesson for all of us and speaks to the essence of equity, diversity and inclusion. That my way, that your way, that our way may not be the right way for others or even the right way at all.

Rest assured, all of you are beginning a new journey after today. We're now in a period of artificial intelligence and like the internet, it is disruptive and takes the information professions to unparalleled uncertainty and heights. I encourage you to lean into it, face the uncertainty caused by our unfamiliarity with artificial intelligence so that you can increase your own AI literacy and most importantly help others and ensure equal access to all.

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Work very hard in both your professional and personal lives. As all sustainable success must be earned and be kind to others regardless of how others may treat you. Grace and dignity is deserved by everyone. We all must give before we can receive. We're all very proud and happy for you. We're honored to be a small part of your life and academic journey. Don't forget us. We'll always be here.

And again, a hearty congratulations to all of you and be proud to call yourself a graduate of San Jose State University, Spring Class of 2024. Well done.