January 3, 2005 - Brookville, NY–Raymond Rhoden wants to make sure that young students succeed. A member of the Board of Education in the Hempstead School District and a doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. program in Information Studies at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, Rhoden is examining how K-12 educational institutions can apply the performance-related information they gather on students to create curriculum and instructional changes that will benefit those students.

"Teachers routinely collect academic performance data as part of the process of grading students but the information is isolated in a grade book, within a department, within a building," Rhoden said. "Unless this data is globalized, researched and shared with others, we can’t get a really good sense of what weaknesses students have and what they need."

Information sources and information technologies must be designed and managed for effective use by those who need accurate, timely information in the most appropriate formats. The C.W. Post Information Studies doctoral program, which is in its seventh year, prepares students to effectively and efficiently access, manage and utilize the vast amounts of information available today. "I like the program’s multidisciplinary approach," Rhoden said. "Also, the program offers a great deal of convenience, allowing significant amounts of work to be done on weekends. Someone with a full-fledged career can squeeze out the time to get it done."

Although he has not yet graduated with his doctorate, Rhoden is already putting his education to good use. By re-analyzing the student data available, the Hempstead School Board was able to identify 128 students who were at significant statistical risk of failing 9th grade even though they had successfully completed the 8th grade. As a result, the board convened a special summer session for the students to correct any weaknesses.

Rhoden, who resides in Hempstead is one of 54 students studying in the program–the only one of its kind in the New York Metropolitan area. Alumni are now working as faculty in higher education and as information management consultants in various fields. Current students plan to apply their expertise to health care administration, art history, information systems design, governmental policy development and more.

Rhoden is the Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development for the Town of Hempstead. He has served the town in a number of capacities, including as a confidential community research assistant doing research on liability cases, and as the Assistant Commissioner for Parks and Recreation. He ran for state office twice, and earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from C.W. Post.

For more information about the Ph.D. in Information Studies at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science, contact Dr. Charles Hildreth, director of the doctoral program, at (516) 299-2178, e-mail hildreth@liu.edu, or visit the Ph.D. Program web page at http://palmer.cwpost.liu.edu/PhD/PhD.html.