Lauren Mandel Departs the Information Institute

Lauren H. Mandel, PhD, Research Coordinator is departing the Information Use Management & Policy Institute (Information Institute) at the Florida State University College of Communication and Information, School of Library and Information Studies.  Dr. Mandel has worked at the Information Institute for over three years, coordinating a variety of research projects.  She leaves us to become an Assistant Professor at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Studies.

Mandel won the Outstanding Doctoral Student Award at the School of Library and Information Studies for her scholarship in the field of library and information studies and her service to SLIS.  Her dissertation, Lost in the Labyrinthine Library: A Multi-Method Case Study Investigating Public Library User Wayfinding Behavior, was honored as the Best Dissertation for 2011-2012 for its overall importance, rigorous methodology, innovative approach, significance of findings, and potential impact on the field.  The SLIS Doctoral Program Team selected Mandel for both awards.

Dr. Charles R. McClure, Director and Francis Eppes Professor, said, “The Information Institute has been lucky to have Lauren on its staff for the past three years and we wish her the best in all her future endeavors.  Lauren is simply an outstanding professional and has great capacity to be an exceptional leader both in a faculty and in research productivity and we will miss her terribly.”