Rate My Professor John Gathegi

John N. Gathegi is a Professor in the School of Information at the University of South Florida, with research and teaching focused on information law and policy. Originally from Nairobi, Kenya, he holds a B.A. in Psychology from the U.S. International University in Nairobi, and M.A. in Political Science, Ph.D. in Information Studies, J.D. from Berkeley School of Law, and M.L.S. from the University of California, Berkeley. Gathegi practiced law in California for four years before entering academia. He served as a professor in the College of Information at Florida State University and as an adjunct professor at numerous universities in California. In 2007, he joined USF as Director of the School of Information, later transitioning to full-time teaching. He previously held Dean of Instruction positions, including Dean of the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Division at Merritt College in Oakland, California.

Gathegi's research specializations include information law and policy, intellectual property rights and emerging information technologies, media law, First Amendment freedom of speech issues, access to legal information for justice and government transparency, information security, and Internet Governance. He has been a visiting professor at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and a guest lecturer at Shih Hsin University in Taipei, Taiwan, and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. As a Fulbright Senior Specialist to Chile, he contributed to international academic exchanges. Gathegi has traveled to more than 40 countries and delivered lectures and workshops in more than 15. Key publications include "Organisational Culture, Procedural Countermeasures, and Employee Security Behaviour: A Qualitative Study" (2017, with Connolly, Lang, Tygar), "Clouding Big Data: Information Privacy Considerations" (2014), "Challenges of Information Management Beyond the Cloud" (2014, with Tonta et al.), and articles in Government Information Quarterly, Library Quarterly, International Review of Information Ethics, and others. He has authored multiple books and book chapters. As a courtesy professor in the School of Mass Communications at USF, he teaches Media Law and the First Amendment.