Welcome to the 2024-2025 academic year

Welcome to the new academic year. While I always love this time of year, this fall is an especially exciting time to be at the Faculty of Information. Not only do we have our largest incoming Master’s class ever, we are also welcoming several new professors. Moreover, we are actively working on several important initiatives that will allow us to further strengthen and develop our community ties.

In the coming months, you will be hearing much more about these initiatives and, in some cases, we will be actively asking for your input. For now, however, I would like to provide a glimpse of what’s in store: 

• We are moving full speed ahead with the drafting of our strategic plan, which will guide us in the years ahead. At the same time, we are laying the groundwork for several projects that will allow us to implement our strategic plan. 

• We have selected Alison Brooks Architects for the revitalization of our Claude T. Bissell Building. The firm’s mandate is to reimagine our social, teaching and research spaces, to create a new front door to the St. George Campus, and to modernize the identity of the Faculty of Information. 

• We are revamping the iSchool Institute as a portal to connect us to our broader community, including our alumni and our partners in other organizations, be they business or non-profit. The plan is for our scholars and researchers to develop different types of learning and engagements suitable for information professionals and executives. Various events scheduled for this fall – including the international Dublin Core Data Insititute conference of which the Faculty of Information is the official host this year – will give a taste of what’s to come.  

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like to know more about any of these new initiatives. Whether you are just starting at the Faculty of Information or looking to return by participating in a professional event or social activity, I hope that the beginning of fall marks the start of a successful new endeavor, and perhaps the beginning of an exciting new journey, for all of you in our community.