York U announces new dean of Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and university librarian

York University announces the appointment of Professor Ananya Mukherjee –Reed as dean of the Faculty ofLiberal Arts & Professional Studies, and Joy Kirchner to the role of university librarian, commencing July 15, 2015.

“This is an important time in the development of York’s largest Faculty, as it builds on its strengths and accomplishments and explores new directions in academic excellence,” says Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor, upon making the announcement. “The appointment of Professor Mukherjee-Reed as its new Dean is of great significance for both the Faculty and the University.”

Awell-known member of the York U community and a highly respected commentator on and contributor to current public debates, Mukherjee-Reed has held the position of Associate Vice-President Research (AVP) since November 2014, withresponsibility for leading York U’s 27 organized research units.

Mukherjee-Reed,whose research specialization includes human development, poverty, gender justice, and policy and legislation gaps, joined the Department of Political Science in the (former) Faculty of Arts in 1995 as Assistant Professor. After serving in progressively senior positions, she served as Chair of the department from 2011 to 2014.

Mukherjee-Reedholds a BA and an MA in Economics from Jadavpur University, Kolkota, India, and a PhD (1995) in Political Economy & Public Policy from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Theother appointee, Joy Kirchner, joins York U from the University of Minnesota Libraries in Minneapolis, where she has held the position of AssociateUniversity Librarian for Content & Collections and Interim Associate University Librarian for Research & Learning.   She also previously held the position ofNetworked Electronic Resources Coordinator at the Columbia University Library in New York.

“I look forward to working with Ms. Kirchner as she undertakes this important leadership role at York University,” President Shoukri says. “She brings a breadth and depth of experience and perspectives gained from positions in university libraries in Canada and the US over the past twenty years.”

Kirchner holds a BA degree in English Literature and a Masters of Library and Information Studies from the University of British Columbia.  At her alma mater, she has also been the head of the UBC Scholarly Communications and CopyrightOffice based in the UBC Library, where she established service models for digital scholarship, scholarly communications, and copyright services, and was responsible for campus-wide discussion and education in relation to these issues.