Tuesday, October 18th, 2022 (Halifax, NS) – SIM is excited to announce two new tenure track hires: Dr. Stacy Allison-Cassin and Dr. Jamila Ghaddar.

Dr. Allison-Cassin began her appointment as Assistant Professor on July 1st, 2022. She holds a BMus Honours from Wilfrid Laurier University, MMus from Duquesne University, MMISt from University of Toronto, and a PhD in Humanities from York University. Before coming to SIM, she held a limited-term appointment of Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream in the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto; and as an Associate Librarian at York University Libraries, as Teaching and Learning Librarian, Digital Humanities Librarian, W.P. Scott Chair in E-Librarianship, and Music Cataloguer at York University Libraries; and the National Librarian at the Canadian Music Centre. She is a Citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario and Chair of the Indigenous Matters Standing Committee of IFLA. She sits on an a number of advisory roles including Library and Archives Canada’s National Union Catalogue Advisory Committee, the Researcher Council of CKRN, and recently was an advisor on OCLC’s Reimagine Descriptive Workflows project. Her research concerns the ways knowledge structures shape meaning and how we come to know and understand the world, especially as it concerns intangible culture, media, and marginalized communities.

Dr. Ghaddar will begin her appointment as Assistant Professor on January 1st, 2023, after completing a limited-term appointment. She holds a BA Honours in Anthropology with a Minor in Linguistics from McMaster University, and an MI and PhD (Information Studies) from the University of Toronto. She is currently a SSHRC-funded Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Manitoba (UofM), where she works with Raymond Frogner at the National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation and Dr. Greg Bak at the History Department. She is also an instructor in the Archival Studies stream of the University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg Join Master’s Program in History, and a Visiting Fellow at the University’s St. John’s College. Previously she was Project Coordinator of the Diversity of Design Project (PI: Dr. Nadia Caidi) at the University of Toronto; a Library Archival Fellow at the American University of Beirut; and a Senior Doctoral Fellow at the Equity Department at the University of Toronto’s New College. Dr. Ghaddar’s research explores the complex dynamics between race, class, gender, sexuality, and citizenship in archival, library, media, and digital domains.

As highlighted in their bios, Drs. Allison-Cassin and Ghaddar bring valuable experience in decolonizing curricula and collaborative research and will contribute significantly to D (equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, decolonization) initiatives in SIM and in the Faculty of Management. With these new positions, SIM and FOM can continue to build a strong foundation in all programs Faculty-wide that reflects social justice concerns within society.

From Dr. Sandra Toze (Director, School of Information Management): “As the information professions continue to respond and change, it is very exciting to be able to build capacity in the areas of social justice and decolonization. We welcome both Drs. Allison-Cassin and Ghaddar and are looking forward to supporting their important work, and collaborating with them on strengthening our programs, and providing excellent opportunities for our students to learn.”

From Dr. Kim Brooks (Dean, Faculty of Management): “It is exciting to have a new colleague with Stacy’s depth of experience joining us at the Faculty of Management.  I’m particularly fascinated by her engagement with ‘wiki’ publications and am confident that her research and teaching will help us expand our Faculty’s footprint in important ways. Jamila has already brought so much to our Faculty.  Her work with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has enhanced the experience she brings to her research and teaching.  I know that her course on Antiracism and Diversity in the Information Professions was a real inspiration and change-maker and look forward to having her talents within our community.”

When asked about their new appointments, Drs. Ghaddar and Allison-Cassin said the following:

Dr. Stacy Allison-Cassin: “I’m thrilled to join the School of Information Management and excited to build capacity in relation to research on knowledge justice and Indigenous matters in information studies. I’m also excited to have the opportunity to work with students, faculty at SIM and beyond on issues related to social justice. There’s such a need in librarianship, other information professions, and in related domains for substantive change to practice, culture, and technology.”

Dr. Jamila Ghaddar: “SIM is an incubator for new ideas, fresh thinking and critical perspectives on information, its institutions, and infrastructures. It is as exciting and dynamic as it is warm and welcoming. Here, you can aim high and find the support you need to succeed. I look forward to continuing to work with the amazing SIM team as I further expand and deepen my work for equity, decolonization and antiracism through curriculum development, partnership building, research, community engagement, and knowledge mobilization. My work begins from a strongly held belief that within our increasingly information driven and technologically mediated world, information scholars and professionals can play a crucial role in addressing the social justice issues of our time.”

Media contact:
Dr. Sandra Toze
Director, School of Information Management
Dalhousie University
Sandra.toze@dal.ca