Dr. Bertrum MacDonald: Celebrating SIM50

This year, #DAL200 marks the beginning of Dalhousie’s third century, a profound testament to the resilience of scholarship that has been passed down from generation to generation. The festivities have gone Coast to Coast, with Ignite: Dal’s Third Century event on September 28, 2018 promising to be a sensational culmination of a year of celebration.

But there is more to come.

The year 2019 heralds another Dalhousie milestone.  The School of Information Management will commemorate its 50th anniversary.  Our sister blog, INFORM, will be featuring the event in the coming months.  We highly recommend a visit to this exciting virtual space.

“Information is what we are all about. We are passionate about data management, information literacy, accessibility, preservation, connecting communities and many more current information topics. This blog is a reflection of that passion: Stories from our community of innovative information managers who are turning their knowledge into action, within Dalhousie and beyond.” INFORM 

CEGE Connection reached out to Dr. Bertrum MacDonald, Professor, School of Information Management, to share his thoughts on reaching the 50th year mark, given the ever-increasing influence of information management within our society.

Dr. Bertrum MacDonald:

Thank you for opportunity to share my thoughts on the evolution of information management.  Indeed, we are experiencing exponential leaps in how information is applied within our daily interactions. I agree that INFORM , provides invaluable information on current research that is being conducted by Dalhousie.

I have been a faculty member in the School of Information Management for many years – more than half of the 50 that the School will celebrate in 2019! During this period, I have served as Director of the School, then Associate Dean (Research) in the wider Faculty of Management, and recently for a short term as Interim Dean of the Faculty. I have taught courses in the Master of Information Management since it was launched in 2008, beginning with the first course offered in the program: Information, People, and Society.

I head the interdisciplinary Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program (EIUI), based in the School of Information Management. My primary research area focuses on questions about information use and influence in marine management and policy development. The goal is to advance understanding of the many pathways of information (scientific, social science, and local) at the science-policy interface in marine environment contexts.

I look forward to joining the CEGE Conversation and highlighting the strength of the School of Information Management programs. The need to increase literacy in information management has reached a critical juncture.

We have come a far distance in 50 years. We have a solid foundation upon which to build for the future.

Dr. Bertrum MacDonald
Professor
July 2018