Extension of Professor Wendy Duff as Dean, Faculty of Information (PDAD&C #68)

From: Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President & Provost
Date: May 10, 2021
Re:  Extension of Professor Wendy Duff as Dean, Faculty of Information (PDAD&C #68)

As noted in PDAD&C #66 (2020-21), the President and I have been in discussions with regards to next steps for the search process for the Dean of the Faculty of Information. We have elected to put the search process on hiatus for a period of time, and Professor Wendy Duff has agreed to extend her appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Information. Her appointment has been approved by the Agenda Committee of Academic board for a two-year term, from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023.

Over the past 5 years, Professor Duff has made substantial progress and improvements to the Faculty’s operating budget, enrolment targets, program reviews, and space considerations. Professor Duff has also overseen the development of the Faculty’s one-of-kind Bachelor of Information (BI) program, which launched last year with its first cohort beginning in the program in the Fall.

Professor Duff first joined the Faculty of Information in 1997 and was promoted to Full Professor in 2011. She has held many academic and leadership positions including terms as the Director of the Digital Curation Institute, Interim Director of the Museum Studies program, and the Director of Graduate Studies. Professor Duff also has an impressive history of participation in University boards and committees; she served as a member of Academic Board from 2008-2012 and 2014-2015, and the Planning and Budget Committee in 2014-2015.

Professor Duff teaches archives and records management with a focus on access to archival materials. Her current research focuses on archival users, access to archival material, community archives, and the traumatic potentialities of archives. She currently holds a SSHRC Insight Grant titled “Emotional Responses to Archives” and published a co-edited book last year on Archives, Recordkeeping, and Social Justice with Routledge Press.

Please join me in thanking Professor Duff for her willingness to take on this extension.