Three faculty members achieved a career milestone when they were granted tenure at the rank of Associate Professor: Fiorella Foscarini, Sara Grimes, and Cara Krmpotich were recognized recently for continuing to demonstrate their passion with fascinating new research as well as research methods.
Dean of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information, Seamus Ross, says “The achievement of tenure is a huge benchmark in any field, and we are proud to add these professors’ achievements to the ranks of the Faculty complement. While each is honored by her latest tenure triumph, it should be viewed not simply as reflection of past success, but as a sign of brilliant work to come.”
Professor Grimes, also a Visiting Professor in Book and Media Studies course at the University of St. Michael’s College, says her most recent research includes the growing phenomenon of child-generated digital content in digital games and online environments. Furthermore, she focuses on what this development means for children’s cultural rights, existing regulatory frameworks and industry standards of practice.
Professor Foscarini (currently on leave) has been teaching in the Archival Studies program within the Department of Media studies at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for the past 1.5 years. Besides her regular archival courses, she has developed new teaching modules for the UvA bachelor program in Media and Information.
Fiorella continues to be interested in the relationship between information management and organizational cultures. Her co-authored book, Records Management and Information Culture: Tackling the People Problem (Facet, 2014) is the basis of a three-year research project sponsored by the International Council on Archives (ICA), whose purpose is to develop information culture profiles for organizations around the world. She has just completed her analysis of the information culture of the Dutch National Archives.
For her appointment, Fiorella says she is grateful to the University of Toronto for recognizing her past achievements and believing in her future research and teaching potential. “The news about my tenure reached me concurrently with the notification that I was awarded the 2015 Archivaria Hugh A. Taylor Prize for my article, “A Genre-Based Investigation of Workplace Communities”, Archivaria 78 (fall 2014). Both awards are strong motivators for me to continue looking for ways to innovate in the area of records management. They also keep me enthusiastic about my job and the archival community to which I belong.”
Professor Krmpotich is partnering with the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto as well as Professors Lynne Howarth and Heather Howard, and a team of student researchers on a SSHRC and Canadian Heritage-funded initiative, called “Memory, Meaning-Making and Collections.” She also teaches Collections Management, and Museums and Indigenous Communities at the iSchool, and an undergraduate course on Cultural Property in U of T’s Anthropology Department.
“Being awarded tenure for research that has been intensively community-based helps strengthen and recognize this model of research within the university,” Dr. Krmpotich says.
Her future career plans include partnering with the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto and First Story Toronto (with Professor Howarth). “I will ensure we continue to provide cultural and historical programming to aboriginal seniors. We are exploring the sustainability of such programs, and also what it means to transition from material culture to intangible culture within the program.”
Congratulations to each of these professors on her outstanding achievements.
