Welcoming new faculty members to the School of Information Science

We are thrilled to welcome three exceptional new faculty members to the School of Information Science this fall: Dr. Yvonne Eadon, Dr. America Edwards, and Dr. Jessica Barfield. The diverse research interests, experience, and passion that these faculty bring to the School of Information Science promises to enrich our academic community and inspire our students. We would like to take a moment to introduce each of them to you:

Dr. Yvonne Eadon (LIS Assistant Professor)

Dr. Yvonne Eadon joins us with an academic and research background in information studies. They earned both their MLIS and PhD from UCLA and previously worked as a Senior Doctoral Researcher at UCLA's Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2). Most recently, Dr. Eadon was a Postdoctoral       Research Fellow at the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP) at UNC - Chapel   Hill from 2022 to 2024.

Dr. Eadon's interdisciplinary research explores the relationships between mis- and disinformation and generative AI, the political economy of conspirituality, and participatory knowledge production within online feminized conspiracy theory communities.

Outside of work, Dr. Eadon enjoys sewing, knitting, and collaging. We are excited to have Dr. Eadon on board!

Dr. America Edwards (ICR Assistant Professor)

Born in Texas and raised in the Midwest, Dr. America Edwards is an expert in communication studies, having completed her bachelor’s at Western Michigan University, her master’s in communication at the University of Central Florida, and her PhD in communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2024. Her dissertation focused on the dynamics of mothers and college-attending daughters maintaining relationships through technology.

Dr. Edwards recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Michigan State University, where she researched how family communication influences first-generation students' experiences, as well as how family communication plays a role in whether women pursue, and persist in, STEM or non-STEM careers. Her passion lies in conducting research with real-world applications, such as providing parents with practical tips on maintaining strong relationships with their children via smartphones, or providing college students with resources that their families might not have access to.

In her free time, Dr. Edwards enjoys crafting, thrifting, and spending time with her poodle, Biscuit. Welcome, Dr. Edwards! 

Dr. Jessica Barfield (ICT Assistant Professor)

Dr. Jessica Barfield brings a unique blend of expertise in environmental earth science, business, and information sciences. She completed her undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College, where she majored in environmental earth science modified with business from the Tuck School of Business. During this time, she took several elective courses in sociology, which sparked her interest in the design and use of information technologies.

Dr. Barfield’s academic journey led her to Duke University, where she studied management, followed by a master’s degree in business with a focus on marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her doctoral work in information sciences was completed at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where she conducted groundbreaking research in human-computer interaction (HCI) and human-robot interaction (HRI). Her work investigates how voice interfaces should be designed to accommodate different user groups and the ethical treatment of robots based on perceived social characteristics like gender, race, and ethnicity.

An active participant in conferences and professional societies dedicated to robotics from a human perspective, Dr. Barfield also played Division I field hockey for four seasons at Dartmouth. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Barfield and look forward to the innovative research and insights she will bring to SIS.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Yvonne Eadon, Dr. America Edwards, and Dr. Jessica Barfield to the University of Kentucky’s School of Information Science. We are so happy to have them join us, and we look forward to the exciting contributions they will make in the coming years.