Ray von Dran passes

I was out of the country when I learned the sad news of Ray’s death from colleagues. It’s impossible to convey in words the sadness one feels at the loss of a colleague and friend. Ray was a founding figure in the iSchool movement, urging us ever onwards to recognize the emergence of a new field that transcended the divisions of the last century. More than this, he was a lifeforce, seemingly boundlessly energized, always talking, laughing and connecting. I got to know him as a person over the last five years and always enjoyed dinner and drinks with him at conferences or meetings where we discussed travel, politics, music, and life beyond the normal matters of college business. Ray had opinions, and he was not shy about sharing them. There are many in the iSchool community who owe a dept to Ray, he was constantly concerned with the field, with developing new leaders, with ensuring the development of information as a legitimate discipline beyond his own career and his own school. That is the mark of the man, and that is his legacy to our field. You can read more about Ray’s life and leave a message of remembrance at: http://ischool.syr.edu/ray/about.aspx