What keeps us together

Dean’s Welcome Message – Fall 2026 

This September marks an important transition for the Faculty of Information. As work begins to revitalize the Bissell Building, our community will be spread across different spaces on the St. George campus. A change like this invariably brings disruption, but it also offers opportunities. With our physical home under construction, the connections that define our Faculty become more important than ever. 

Periods of change also encourage reflection. Having completed three years of my term as Dean of the Faculty, I have had a chance to take stock of the past while pondering the year ahead.  To build on what we have achieved together so far, three catalyzing ideas stand out for me. I call them our three C’s: community, courage and compassion. 

Community begins with connectedness. Our Faculty has always been strengthened by the relationships we build with one another and with the wider world. We collaborate across disciplines and work with libraries, museums, industry, government, universities and community organizations in Canada and internationally. Our connections expand the reach of our teaching and research, and will help ensure that, even during rapid change and situated in different buildings, we continue to feel like one Faculty.  

We will also have an opportunity to strengthen our community as we plan and celebrate our upcoming centennial in 2028. I am optimistic that this milestone, which follows on the heels of U of T’s 200^th birthday next year, will bring us together and help shape the Faculty’s next century. 

Courage, which is the second C, means remaining true to the values that define our field. In a world where information is increasingly commercialized, commoditized and exploited, we have a responsibility to champion equitable and open access to knowledge and to continue exploring new ways to serve society. Progress depends on a willingness to test new ideas, adapt to change, and shape the future especially in a fast-changing world.  

Finally, compassion is how we need to work together in both turbulent and more tranquil times. Universities are places where ideas are questioned, challenged and debated. Those conversations are most productive when they are grounded in kindness, respect and a genuine willingness to understand different perspectives. It is often through thoughtful disagreements that our best ideas emerge. 

This year will ask all of us to adapt, but it also gives us the chance to strengthen our community, prepare for an important milestone in our history, and lay the foundation for the Faculty’s future. I look forward to working with all of you over the coming year as we build toward our centennial in 2028. 

Javed Mostafa
Professor and Dean