Dr. Mohammed M. Aman (January 3, 1940 – May 25, 2024), was a scholar, educator, and passionate advocate for civil rights. His dedication to the field of Information Science took him to various institutions, including St. John’s University in New York, Long Island University, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he served as founding Dean and Professor of the School of Information Science. Throughout his career, he played pivotal roles in academic administration, earning recognition for his leadership and contributions to the field.
Dr. Aman had a rich academic background, holding a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.S. from Columbia University, and a B.A. with Honors from Cairo University. He began his long leadership career at St. John’s University, where he became the Division of Library Science Director after serving on
the faculty. During his tenure, the Division secured its first accreditation from the American Library Association (ALA). He served as Dean and Professor at the School of Library and Information Science at the C.W. Post Center of Long Island University from 1976 to 1979.
When Dr. Aman assumed duties as Dean of the Library School at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1979, it had an interim dean. Although ALA accredited the school in 1975, Dean Aman put the school “on the map,” transforming it into one of the nation’s top-ranked library schools. His contributions advanced the school’s national and international reputation and positively impacted the Milwaukee and Wisconsin communities. He strongly advocated for building robust connections between academia and the community. He was the longest-serving faculty member in SOIS’s history, with 40 years of service from 1979 to 2019. He also held the record as the longest-serving dean, leading the school for over 20 years.
During his tenure at SOIS, the school grew to nearly 500 students and 23 faculty and staff, grew nationally and internationally, and obtained millions of dollars in grants and contracts from local, national, and international funding organizations, including the Helen Bader Foundation and the Fullbright Program. Dr. Aman was also pivotal in expanding the school’s academic programs. Under his leadership, SOIS achieved its first ALA accreditation in 1980, developed the Bachelor of Science in Information Science and Technology (BSIST) program, and introduced the online Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program in the mid-to-late 1990s. In 1992, he led the effort to rename the school from the “School of Library Science” to the “School of Library and Information Science” (SOIS) to better reflect the school’s diverse academic offerings and the evolving field of information science. To expand and improve library services and to allow more students to achieve degrees in library and information studies in Wisconsin, Dr. Aman established degrees in the Bachelor of Science in Information Studies, a multidisciplinary PhD program, a master’s degree in information studies, and another in Archival Studies. Moreover, the School began offering five joint or double master’s degrees that enabled graduate students at UWM to pursue another degree in addition to the MLIS: History, English, Music, Modern Foreign Languages, Geography, Anthropology, and Urban Studies. In this way,
graduate students were better prepared to apply their specific subject training in libraries in Wisconsin and other states.
In addition to the new and innovative academic programs, in the 1990s, Dr. Aman introduced one of the most revolutionary and successful distance learning programs in library services, which used online instruction to reach students in many remote locations in the state. This continued his efforts to establish distance education course offerings leading to the MLIS degree. The school also began sending faculty to teach in other cities in Wisconsin and Minnesota, which had no library school. This web-based distance education program significantly increased the number and geographic diversity of students enrolled in the school’s MLIS program. This program led the UWM campus in online learning programs and was listed by the US News and World Report as one of the “Best of Web-based Programs in April 2002.”
As part of his efforts to expand UWM’s reach beyond the state, Dean Aman successfully negotiated two separate grants from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to train librarians and information professionals at UWM-SOIS. The grants covered the periods 1993-95 and 1995-97. He also secured and directed a similar training program for heads of campus libraries within the Mexican ITESM university system. Under his leadership, UWM faculty conducted comparable programs for Kuwaiti librarians in Kuwait and at UWM SOIS. Additionally, Dean Aman applied for and received grants from the U.S. State Department’s Fulbright Program to support faculty exchanges with Cairo University in Egypt, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, and the University of Tunis, among others.
As an advocate for civil rights, he co-founded several national and local organizations, including the Leader’s Forum, One Hundred Black Men, and the Arab-Jewish Dialogue, leaving a profound mark on the fight for equality and social justice. In his efforts to support minority students, Dr. Aman secured scholarships from Master Lock, Ameritech, Wisconsin Energy, and other local foundations to assist minority students at UWM. Under his leadership, the African American Faculty Council partnered with the School of Information Studies and the Milwaukee Public Library to host the Second National African American Librarians’ Conference in Milwaukee in August 1994. Dr. Aman also served on the board of America’s Black Holocaust Museum, founded by James Cameron, who survived an attempted lynching in Indiana.
For all of his accomplishments, Dr. Aman’s most significant concern was educating library school students and all others involved in improving that service and providing that service for all, especially the underserved, not only in this state but across the nation. His determination to provide library services to all, including the underserved, led to his acquiring several large grants.
His dedication to helping less privileged children led him to create the Information Technology (IT2000) Program in 2000. This initiative trained high school students from underserved families in computer skills and job readiness, receiving over half a million dollars in funding from organizations like the Helen Bader Foundation and the Private Industry Council. The program provided computer instruction to more than 2,000 Milwaukee high school students, giving them a taste of university education.
In addition to serving as Dean of SOIS, Aman accepted the appointment as Interim Dean of the School of Education (SOE) in 2000. During his two-year tenure at SOE, Dean Aman was instrumental in establishing the first one-million-dollar endowed Chair in Native American Education Studies and appointing its first Chair holder.
Beyond academia, Dr. Aman was a prolific author, with numerous articles published in leading scholarly journals and several books. He also served as an education and management consultant on national and international projects, impacting the global education landscape. Dearest to his heart, he served on the international panel of judges who selected the winning design for the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt.
Dr. Aman’s impact extended far beyond the institutions he served and the pages he penned. He touched the lives of countless individuals, leaving a legacy of excellence, compassion, and unwavering commitment to
improving the world of library service.