UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A Penn State faculty member with expertise in information and communication technology use in humanitarian and international development organizations has been named co-director of the Institute for Information Policy (IIP) at the University.
Carleen Maitland is an associate professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and an affiliate professor with the School of International Affairs. She’s also associated with Information Communication Technology for Development Consortium, housed in the College of Communications.
“I was happy to learn Dr. Maitland would be serving as co-director for the institute. Her research, teaching and service shed light on the ways international policy and organizational contexts influence the use of information and communication technologies,” said Andrew Sears, dean of the College of IST. “The international and humanitarian aspects of her work will be great assets in her role, and will further enhance the partnership between the College of Communications and the College of Information Sciences and Technology.”
Maitland joins Krishna Jayakar, an associate professor in the Department of Telecommunications, and Amit Schejter, a visiting professor in the Department of Telecommunications, as an IIP co-director. The institute, co-housed in the College of Communications and the College of Information Sciences and Technology, examines the social implications of information technology, with an emphasis on the potential of information and communication technologies and the policies by which their use is governed for improving democratic discourse, social responsibility and quality of life.
“I am excited about the strengths Dr. Maitland brings to the IIP. The institute already has an outstanding international reputation, and her interests and experience will enable the IIP to expand into new areas,” said Marie Hardin, dean of the College of Communications.
Maitland’s expertise includes empirical analyses of international organizations’ use of information and communication technologies to advance their goals of humanitarian relief as well as economic and social development. Her work generates organizational and national policy recommendations that balance organizational and social goals.
Her work has been carried out in the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, while working with diverse organizations such as the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Save the Children and the U.S. State Department, to name a few. Outcomes from her work, including more than 50 journal articles, book chapters and refereed conference proceedings, have appeared in outlets such as the Journal of Information Technology, The Information Society, Telecommunications Policy and Information Systems Frontiers. Maitland’s research has been supported by the European Commission, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. National Science Foundation and IBM, among others.