Latest News
A ‘feminist firebrand’ plots her post-retirement future
After decades of putting her stamp on policy matters related to communications and emerging technologies, Professor Leslie Regan Shade is officially retiring from the Faculty of Information, effective June 30. But given the number of students she mentored along the way and her extensive network, Shade’s academic legacy is sure to continue to thrive. Shade’s retirement […]
Smart cities, aging populations
Aging is not just personal, it is also societal. On June 10, Faculty of Information Dean Javed Mostafa and Professor Matt Ratto explored one of the most trending interdisciplinary topics: aging in cities hosted by the School of Cities. Through flash presentations, they shared recent research on health data and how urban environments affect aging […]
iSchool Institute brings industry leaders together to advance Canada’s AI readiness
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the global economy, the iSchool Institute is helping Canadian business and technology leaders strategically position themselves for the future. The iSchool Institute, which is the Faculty of Information’s professional education arm, recently convened senior leaders from across sectors for a one-day, in-person course: Operationalizing Generative AI: Executive Insights […]
Museum Studies students take capstone work from classroom to the world
As the 2025 capstone season concludes, students in the Master of Museum Studies (MMSt) program are showcasing the results of year-long collaborations with cultural and heritage sector partners. Ten project teams worked with museums, archives, and related organizations to develop and implement public-facing initiatives grounded in real-world needs. The students are mentored by Professors Irina […]
Class of ’25 celebrates spring convocation!
Congratulations to the Class of 2025! On Thursday, June 5, the Faculty of Information welcomed graduates and their families to a Convocation and Awards Celebration in the Learning Hub, right after the Spring Convocation ceremony. It was a joyful gathering filled with conversation, celebration, and plenty of photo-worthy moments. View photos from the ceremony and […]
Victoria Owen receives top research librarianship award
The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) presented its 2025 CARL Award for Distinguished Service to Research Librarianship to Victoria Owen, Information Policy Scholar-Practitioner at the Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, and Special Advisor to the VP Dean on Information Accessibility at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Owen’s extraordinary career is defined by her […]
Obituary: Dean and Professor Adele Fasick (1930 – 2025)
Adele Fasick, a scholar of children’s libraries and literature and former Dean of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information, died last month in California. She was 95 years old. Fasick, who was born in New York City, was a significant figure in the field of library and information science, who arrived at the University […]
PhD grad, folk star, artist, etc – Camille Intson’s ‘multi-hyphenate’ life
Camille Intson jokingly refers to herself as Hannah Montana, but an even more apt comparison would be Hannah Montana on steroids. The fictional Disney character, after all, has only two personas – rockstar Hannah and regular high school student, Miley Stewart. Intson, in contrast, takes on multiple roles – recent PhD graduate, newly minted professor, […]
New scholarship supports BI students interested in public service
If the Bachelor of Information (BI) program had existed when Karla Weys was beginning her university studies back in the eighties, she is certain she would have applied. And now, with the benefit of hindsight and a long successful career working in government, Weys thinks a bachelor’s program in her field is more important than […]
Multiple professors receive Urban Challenge Grants
Several Faculty of Information professors have received Urban Challenge research grants from U of T’s School of Cities, whose focus for 2025-2026 is on inequality, data and democracy. This grant program enables faculty members from the humanities, social and natural sciences, and engineering to undertake timely research, knowledge dissemination, and community engagement; address emerging research questions; and […]
Expert on ‘AI for social good’ to speak at convocation
Faculty of Information graduates will hear from a leading expert on using AI for social good at their convocation ceremony on Thursday, June 5. Harvard Professor Milind Tambe has a foot in both academia and industry. As well as being Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science and Director of Center for Research in Computation and […]
LLMs learn the language of political transparency
While governments in Canada generate a wealth of data that could prove helpful to citizens, policymakers and journalists alike, accessing this information has proven to be a major challenge, sometimes even an impossibility. Now, an important new project, headed by Faculty of Information Assistant Professor Rohan Alexander, seeks to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence […]
BI student thrives as gaming influencer
In the competitive realm of online influencers and content creation, success demands a mix of creativity, business acumen, and the ability to constantly evolve. Twenty-two-year-old Evan Hao – a Bachelor of Information graduate, who has become a famous influencer in the world of Chinese gaming fans – has demonstrated all those qualities and more over […]
New Bachelor of Information degree approved
Applications will open in fall 2026 for the new program with students beginning their studies in September 2027 The Faculty of Information has received official approval to launch a Bachelor of Information (BI) degree from the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance. This brand new four-year professional degree program explores the relationships between people, information […]
BI student projects take centre stage
Final year students in the Faculty of Information’s Bachelor of Information program recently presented their capstone projects, showing how they apply creativity and technical insight to real-world challenges. The six projects on display showcased the program’s interdisciplinary approach and its focus on solving sociotechnical projects. They were: • AI-Enabled Plastic and Underwater Pollution Monitoring System […]
Archives as Data: Envisioning the Future
A project led by Assistant Professor Jessica Lapp has been chosen as one of four initiatives to receive funding from a new institutional partnership between the University of Toronto and the University of Illinois System. Entitled “Envisioning Critical Futures for Archives as Data,” the project will be co-led by an Assistant Professor Emily Maemura of […]
Zooming in with alumni: Taj-Rae Oliver
Taj-Rae Oliver is a 2023 grad in the Faculty’s newest concentration, Human-Centred Data Science (HCDS). She now works in one of today’s most exciting, constantly changing and fast-paced fields as an analyst on an AI Policy team at Public Services and Procurement Canada. What originally inspired you to pursue your degree in information? After undergrad, […]
Announcing the 2025 I.P. Sharp Lecture
As artificial intelligence becomes more deeply embedded in our lives, urgent questions arise about whose knowledge systems shape its design and whose are excluded. The Faculty of Information’s 2025 Ian P. Sharp Lecture will bring together two distinguished speakers to explore how AI can be shaped with respect, relationality, and responsibility, rooted in Indigenous ethical frameworks.