News from around FIMS - December 2014

News & Announcements


In Memoriam: Susan Getchell
FIMS was very sad to announce the passing of Susan Getchell, long-time part-time instructor, and esteemed member of the London library community, on August 29, 2014. Along with being a PT instructor in FIMS, Susan was also an enthusiastic storyteller, often giving readings and conducting story-telling workshops.  She had a passion for children's librarianship and spent 40 years in the field. Most recently she taught courses in live storytelling, and the place of folktale and myth collections in public, school, and academic libraries. Susan will be sadly missed in FIMS, particularly by the Library & Information Science community.  Sincere condolences are extended to her many friends and family.

In Memoriam: Shirley Sharzer
FIMS was also saddened to hear of the passing of Shirley Sharzer, former Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism.  She died on August 20, 2014. Sharzer, who was a prominent figure in journalism throughout her career, and who was a recipient of the Order of Canada, began serving as Assistant Dean in 1974.  She returned to professional journalism in 1979.

FIMS on Facebook and Twitter
FIMS has several social media accounts that you may be interested in following.  There is a main FIMS Facebook account, where news and announcements are posted regularly.  There is also a Western Journalism Facebook page, where alumni and current students can share information.  FIMS recently launched an official Twitter feed, which provides academic information aimed at undergraduate and graduate students.  Finally, the FIMS LIS JobWeb is also available on Twitter.

Jim Handman lectures at FIMS
Jim Handman, Executive Producer of CBC’s Quirks & Quarks, and the 2013/14 CanWest Global Fellow, spoke at Western on October 27.  His talk was titled “Why the media can’t tell their asteroid from their Ebola: Top 10 reasons media get the science wrong.”

Awards & Accomplishments


Pam MacKenzie, Associate Dean, has been promoted to full Professor.  Heather Hill and Lu Xiao, both Assistant Professors, have been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor.  The promotions are effective as of July 1, 2015.

Patrick Gavin, LIS PhD student, won the Award for Ongoing Doctoral Dissertation Research in the Philosophy of Information in 2014 for his dissertation proposal, titled, "On Informationalized Borderzones: A Study in the Politics and Ethics of Emerging Border Architectures."  Patrick was also was awarded the 2014 Litwin Books award for the same research.

The Institute of International Education (IIE), Washington DC, awarded Associate Professor Isola Ajiferuke a 3-month fellowship under its Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program. He is scheduled to visit the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Ilorin, Nigeria, in January 2015.

The FIMS Dean's Awards for Excellence were presented to five faculty members at Faculty Council on October 15.  Full-time faculty members Norma Coates, Mark Rayner and Paulette Rothbauer, and part-time faculty members Selma Purac and Warren Steele, were named as recipients.

Christine Pinkney, MLIS grad and outgoing student council president, was the recipient of the Shelagh Mikulak Scholarship in Library Sciences.  The scholarship is for library sciences students who demonstrate a passion for the library sciences field.  

Samuel Trosow, Associate Professor, was named a Distinguished Scholar for the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta in October.  He spent several days on the U of A campus, participating in panels, speaking, and teaching.

Stephanie Ritter, Media Studies MA student, received a grant from the University of Waterloo. The grant and training program is called the CIHR Training Grant in Population Intervention for Chronic Disease Prevention: A Pan Canadian Program (PICDP).  Stephanie is one of 13 students across Canada who received the grant and entrance into the program for the 2014/2015 academic year.

Sarah T. Roberts, Assistant Professor, recently received a SSHRB Seed Research Grant for a project entitled: "Filipino CCM Work and Workers in the Global Internet Economy Content Production Cycle." The grant will allow for HQP grad student support for nine months. The grant will also support PI and grad HQP to travel to the Philippines for data collection among CCM workers and related people there, and for data analysis upon return. The SSHRB Seed Research Grant is targeted to eligible Early Career Researchers, who are within three years of the start date of their first eligible academic research appointment at Western.

Svitlana Maluzynsky, MLIS student, won the Mark & Dorothy Danzker Scholarship for Excellence, courtesy of Folklorama (which is out of Winnipeg).  It was awarded in October.

Thesis Defenses


Clara Madrenas, MA Media Studies. Media Literacy and the English as a Second Language Curriculum: A Curricular Critique & Dreams for the Future. November.

Daniel Mumba, PhD LIS. Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Africa: Investigating Information Access and the Use of ICTs by Women-Owned Enterprises in Zambia. 25 September.

Christine Garinger, MHIS. The clinic narrative: a beacon toward equity-oriented primary health care. 14 August.

Jeff Preston, PhD Media Studies. Fantasizing Disability: Representation of Loss and Limitation in Popular Television and Film. 19 August.

Alanna Bayer, MA Media Studies. Evangelizing the "Gallery Of the Future”: A Critical Analysis of the Google Art Project Narrative and its Political, Cultural and Technological Contradictions. 20 August.

Gemma Richardson, PhD Media Studies. (Un)covering Suicide: The Changing Ethical Norms in Canadian Journalism.  21 August.

Jennifer Spence, MA Media Studies. Labours of love: Fan labour, cultural products, and the monetization of fandom.  22 August

Andrea Benoit, PhD Media Studies. Face Value: Beyond the Surface of Brand Philanthropy through the Cultural Production of the MAC AIDS Fund.  26 August.