The American Library Association honored iSchool Dean Harry Bruce with a tribute resolution at its annual conference in Chicago in June.

Bruce is stepping down after more than 11 years as dean and was recently honored at a celebration on the UW campus. You can read more about him and leave messages on our tribute site.

The full text of the resolution is below.

A Tribute Resolution Honoring Dr. Harry Bruce

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce has strategically led the University of Washington Information School for 11 years, growing the school to the #2 ranked MLIS program in the country (U.S. News and World Report, 2017) with more than 50 faculty and 1,100 students in four degree programs;

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce gained widespread attention in the field as the first person from Sydney’s Information Studies school to be published in the Journal of the American Society for Information Science (now known as JASIST);

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce earned a tenure-track position as senior lecturer in the School of Information Studies at the University of Technology Sydney;

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce conducted notable research with a focus on human information behavior, information seeking and use, and personal information management with funding for sixteen projects from the National Science Foundation, Microsoft, the Washington State Library and the Institute of Museum and Library Services;

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce has written or collaborated on scores of books, book chapters, refereed journal articles, and conference papers and has served as the keynote speaker at many international conferences;

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce served as the first UW iSchool Associate Director for Research and Program Development, building the research culture and establishing the Ph.D. program;

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce played a key role in the first iConference, where leading scholars in the field defined the identity of iSchools, heralding the beginning of the global iSchool movement, now numbering more than 80 colleges and universities;

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce served as president of Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) from 2013 to 2014 and chair of the iCaucus for the iSchools organization from 2010 to 2012;

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to diversity and an exemplary investment in the preservation of indigenous knowledge at the UW iSchool:

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce has admirably served the library and information profession since 1989, as a lecturer, professor, and dean;

Whereas Dr. Harry Bruce always says he has the best job in the world, and is beloved by the UW iSchool’s staff, faculty and students; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, that the American Library Association expresses its gratitude to Dr. Harry Bruce for his tenure as the dean of the University of Washington Information School and his long career serving others and innovating the profession.

Mover: Joseph Janes, ALA member
Seconder: Susan Hildreth, ALA treasurer
Seconder: Helene Williams, ALA member