iFaire festival to promote school, connect faculty with students

By: Dwiveck Custodio

Posted: 4/11/08

The SU School of Information Studies is branching out with a new method of expressing itself.

It's making a quilt.

Constructing an iQuilt will be part of iFaire, an 11-day event starting Friday and culminating on Mayfest, April 22. Students, alumni, faculty and administrators are joining to promote the culture of the iSchool. Events including gaming, karaoke and a performance by iBand - a group of iSchool faculty - will fill up the celebration.

The idea for iFaire was created when faculty members at iSchool decided to find a way to expose students' abilities as well as the new resources available in the school, said David Dischiave, director of Information Management. This event will also celebrate iSchool's new renovations and its new dean, Elizabeth Liddy.

Jeffrey Stanton, the associate dean, said this event is all about, "trying to get our students more involved in the life of the school. There are a lot of opportunities."

Many people have been involved in planning iFaire in hopes of making it a success. Dischiave said Anne Marie Patterson, an iSchool graduate student, has been the driving force behind this event, organizing almost everything.

"I've been in the school for six years, and I love it," Patterson said. "I try to explain to people what the school is, but it's hard to put into words. To anyone who isn't in it, it just seems abstract. This is a good way to showcase our school."

Dischiave has been doing work for about a year to secure a grant with JP Morgan Chase.

"Rather than coming for a career fair and leaving again, JPMC will be coming to participate in the life of the college," Dischiave said.

Monil Sundesha, the comptroller and business chair for the iSchool Graduate Organization (iSGO), has assisted the organization by planning iSGO events for iFaire, such as the Multiculutral Fiesta and the Case Competition.

In the Multicultural Fiesta, the participants wear their country's traditional attire and bring a sample of their country's food.

"Anyone who shows up will enjoy it," Stanton said about the iFaire's events.

Jeffrey Stanton, David Dischiave, Dave Molta and Paul Brenner, all faculty members at the iSchool, make up the iBand, which will play today.

Ashley Nelson, an iSchool sophomore, said she is most looking forward to the band, "because it will be pretty funny watching four iSchool professors I respect for their brilliance inside the classroom jam."

Mike Librizzi, a 2005 graduate from iSchool and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, will also participate. Librizzi gave up his career as a Morgan Stanley employee to follow his aspirations of helping small businesses by launching Briz.com.

Librizzi said he will talk today, "about what it's like to start a dot-com on your own." He'll give some insight from his own experiences and will be available to answer any questions students may have.

"When someone who graduated and has done something comes and speaks about it, the impact is a lot greater," Patterson said.

The faculty and administration will also be amused. Dischiave and Stanton said they are not only excited about the iBand's performance, but also for interaction with the students.

"We're here to help the students, and the only way we can do that is by hearing what they have to say," Stanton said.

Despite the time constraints as finals approach, students at the iSchool are hoping to fit iFaire into their schedule.

"I am definitely planning to attend as many iFaire events as possible," sophomore Nelson said. "It's really exciting to see the iSchool faculty step up and work toward improving school unity."

Members of the iSchool hope that iFaire will be a uniting force and also raise awareness about their school's value.

"We're a fun school," said Dischiave. "We get the job done, but we like to have fun doing it. A lot of people don't know that about us."

dmcustod@syr.edu