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News from the Department of Information Science (formerly SIM)

Category: Faculty

DIS Faculty Win Awards at 2025 CAIS Conference

Congrats to Dr. Bertrum MacDonald (Professor Emeritus) and Dr. Philippe Mongeon (Associate Professor and Department Chair) on their awards!

Thank you to all those who came to the Faculty of Management last week for the 53th annual Conference of the Canadian Association of Information Science (CAIS). We hope there were many compelling conversations, and guests to Halifax, got a taste of what we have to offer. Join us in congratulating two of our faculty, Dr. Philippe Mongeon, who received the Emerging Lead Award and Dr. Bertrum MacDonald who was presented with the Career Achievement Award for 2025.

Dr. Mongeon + Emily Drabinksi

Dr. MacDonald + Nafiz Zaman Shuva

Alumna/Instructor Wins Teaching Excellence Award

Alison Brown (left) and Rowan Moore, MI student (right). Credit: Sandra Toze

Congrats to Alison Brown – instructor and alumna (MLIS ’17) on winning a Faculty of Management Teaching Excellence Award!

These awards encourage and celebrate superior teaching and learning, recognizing those who provide rich and productive learning environments for graduate and undergraduate management students, inspiring them to excel in their personal, academic and professional lives.

The awards are presented annually to faculty members in the Faculty of Management who, in the opinion of their students and peers, display the qualities of superior teaching, excellent understanding of the subject area, and interest in the needs of the students.

 

Dr. Mike Smit appointed Dean, Faculty of Management

Click here to read the full announcement. Congrats Mike!

Photo: Cody Turner

Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management appointed Dr. Mike Smit (Professor, Department of Information Science) to the role of dean this summer for a five-year term following an international search.

Dr. Smit, an Information Science professor and researcher at Dal for 11 years, is uniquely positioned to guide the future of management education at Atlantic Canada’s largest university. In addition to his impressive list of credentials and awards, he has demonstrated his commitment to, and passion for, the university, the students, the region, and his colleagues.

He has also served as acting dean of the Faculty for the past 18 months.

“It is a privilege and an honour to continue to serve this Faculty,” says Dr. Smit. “I first came to Dalhousie because I wanted to do cool things with smart people, and it’s a privilege to do that every day. I look forward to continuing to spend time connecting beyond our walls: with alumni, businesses, government and public institutions, and friends.”

Dr. Kim Brooks, Dal’s vice-chancellor and president, preceded Dr. Smit in the role. She says she is “excited to see the Faculty of Management’s trajectory during its next chapter.”

“Through the pandemic, leadership transitions, and a recent restructuring of the Faculty, Dr. Smit’s leadership has brought a welcome sense of stability,” she says. “Even more important than his intellect and institutional knowledge, Dr. Smit has excelled in this role because of his ability to connect with those around him and to lead with levity, joy, and straight-talk, even in the most challenging situations.”

Dr. Stacy Allison-Cassin receives Research Impact Award

Read full story here: https://www.dal.ca/faculty/management/news-events/news/2024/07/09/dana_kabat_farr_and_stacy_allison_cassin_win_research_impact_awards.html

Stacy Allison-Cassin (L) with Associate Dean W. Dominika Wranik (C) and Chair, Dept of Information Science Sandra Toze

Assistant Professor Stacy Allison-Cassin
Research Impact Award (Emerging Scholar)

Dr. Allison-Cassin’s research and applied work is aimed at creating structural change to overhaul terminology used in information management away from colonized and otherwise culturally inappropriate language. The potential impact of this work on organizations outside academia is evident through the active engagement of many external partners and their commitment to enacting change in the terminologies used by libraries, archives, and governments. She received strong financial support from both granting organizations and research partners. Learn more about Dr. Allison-Cassin.

Dal Libraries edit‑a‑thon fills gaps on Wikipedia about Mi’kmaw people and places

Click here to read full story.

Dal Libraries hosted a Wikipedia edit-a-thon in the Ko’jua Okuom at the Killam Library last month focused on improving Wikipedia and Wikidata content related to Mi’kmaw people and Mi’kmaki.

Dr. Stacy Allison-Cassin, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Management, guided participants in learning the basics of Wikipedia article creation and editing. She then led the group in a collaborative effort to enhance entries on notable Mi’kmaw people and organizations.

A total of 19 Wikipedia articles were edited, 50 references added, and more than 3,300 words contributed during the event, sponsored by the Department of Information Science and supported by a grant from Wikimedia Canada.

Edits and additions were made to articles about fiddler Lee Cremo, artist Ursula Johnson, activist Anna Mae Aquash, the first Mi’kmaq elected as Grand Chief, Gabriel Sylliboy, and more.

Participants also learned about Wikidata and the importance of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit representation in the knowledge base, which provides structured data to support Wikipedia and the Wikimedia movement.

Participants discussed what kinds of content is appropriate for Wikipedia and what is not. For example, Wikipedia authors should stick to public figures, clear public information, and avoid Indigenous traditional knowledges or sensitive and sacred community information.

The edit-a-thon, held during National Indingeous History Month, aimed to increase Indigenous representation, improve accuracy, and contribute to a more equitable and inclusive internet.

The initiative not only enriched Wikipedia with Indigenous content but also equipped participants with the skills to continue contributing to the platform.

The event underscored the importance of accessible and accurate information, highlighting the role of digital platforms in honouring, preserving, and promoting Indigenous histories and peoples.

‘Passionate, tenacious, and generous’ Dr. Vivian Howard retires

Read the full story here: https://www.dal.ca/faculty/management/news-events/news/2024/05/17/dr__vivian_howard_retirement.html

After 30 years in the classroom, Dr. Vivian Howard thinks she’s taught her final course — and it was extra special. Anna Jacquart, her daughter, was a student in that final class. Anna was born in 1994 when her mother was completing the Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS). It seems fitting that Dr. Howard, who recently retired, share her passion with her daughter as she works toward the same degree.

After moving to Halifax in the early 1990s so her husband could take a position at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), Dr. Howard wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. A friend had completed a Master of Library Science at the University of British Columbia and she liked the idea of a flexible, professional designation that built on her experience.

It was an exciting time to be studying library science, she explains. Computers were new and discussions about the internet were just beginning. “I knew these were going to be big things. Things that were going to shift how we learn and navigate in the world,” says Dr. Howard.

‘The Meryl Streep of professors’

After graduation, Dr. Howard worked as a librarian at NSCAD and the Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS) and, in 1996, Dr. Bertrum MacDonald reached out. Then Director of the School of Information Management (SIM), Dr. MacDonald invited her to teach a course in Information Sources in the Humanities and Social Sciences. As she explains, “I was learning at the same time [the students] were learning. It was a real pleasure.”

“Vivian stood out in her very first class, and quickly demonstrated both academic prowess and a suite of management capabilities,” says Dr. MacDonald, now a professor emeritus in the faculty. “Her thoughtful, caring, outgoing personality is an important factor in her numerous successes as a teacher and colleague.”

Her students agree. “The teaching and research of Dr. Howard is what first drew me as a student to the MLIS and she is among the top reasons I remain here,” says Alison Brown, an instructor in the Department of Information Science, and an Interdisciplinary PhD candidate. “Our cohort referred to Vivian as ‘the Meryl Streep of professors’ — fiercely bright, unflappable, versatile, unwaveringly committed, graceful, and elegant. I have had the enormous privilege of learning from Vivian as her student, supervisee, mentee, colleague, and friend.”

Dr. Philippe Mongeon receives teaching award

Read full story here: https://www.dal.ca/faculty/management/news-events/news/2024/02/12/students_speak_with_passion_about_recipients_of_teaching_excellence_award.html

Dr. Mongeon & Poppy Riddle

A room full of professors, staff, students, and guests heard a long and detailed list of reasons why the recipients of this year’s Teaching Excellence Awards were chosen. The event, sponsored by the Black Family Foundation, is in its 20th year and the three students introducing faculty spent little time on the usual accolades.

Poppy Riddle (MI’22), who went from her master’s into a PhD, talks about her thesis supervisor, Philippe Mongeon, this way: “He encourages us as students to embrace the role of scholar, which I think was always seen as this other sort of identity.” (Pictured right: Phillipe Mongeon and Poppy Riddle)

Riddle continues with comments from students who could not be present. Reading Jordan’s email she says, “he helped me and others navigate the treacherous world of grant applications,” adding, “his enthusiasm was infectious, transforming my feelings of doubt into feelings of excitement. It seems to me there is nothing else he would like to be doing other than helping a student engage and experiment with their ideas in their research.”

Alison Brown Featured in 2023 Dalhousie ‘Open Think’ Initiative

Dalhousie’s Open Think Initiative highlights PhD researchers each month from across Dalhousie University. They draw on their studies to publish articles that provide context for the world’s toughest challenges, highlight thorny issues we’ve not even begun to contemplate, and open up fascinating worlds to inspire our spirits.

Alison Brown is an Interdisciplinary PhD student, and Lecturer in SIM.

Click here to learn more about her research. Click here to read her first post. Keep an eye on the website here for future posts.

From the Open Think website:

Alison Brown studies how bringing people together to read aloud and discuss compelling literature can strengthen wellbeing and build social inclusion in our diverse communities.

“For many, reading is deeply personal. We read to make sense of our lives, escape into the unknown, find companionship in the familiar, discover what we and others are capable of. All of this can be amplified when we read aloud together.”
 @QuillAndSpade

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