The following is an announcement to the York University community from York University Dean of Libraries Joy Kirchner:
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Jack Leong has been appointed associate dean, research & open scholarship at York University Libraries beginning Oct. 1, following an extensive search which attracted very strong candidates.
Jack comes to us from the University of Toronto Libraries where he serves as the founding director of the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library at the University of Toronto. In that role, he provided leadership in building the largest research collection on Hong Kong and Chinese Canadian studies in North America and planned and established the world-class facility funded by a $3-million donation.
Jack is a scholar and researcher in Chinese Canadian studies and intercultural studies and has extensive experience stewarding major research collections and leading collaborative digital initiatives that heightened the visibility and impact of these research collections through open access platforms. These include: Hong Kong Handover Collection Digitization Project (2008-10), Chinese Diaspora in Toronto (2010 to 2017), Hong Kong Basic Law Portal (2013), the Hong Kong-Canada Crosscurrents Project (2014-2019), the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement Archive (2014) and the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project (2015).
Jack is also well known for his community-building accomplishments and international leadership. In roles spanning secretary for the Board of Directors of the Asian Heritage Month in Ontario, Chair of the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) Standing Committee on Library Services for Multicultural Populations and Chair of the International and Community Outreach Committee for the University of Toronto Libraries, Jack hosted exhibit activities for transmitting and visualizing research, coordinated many international partnerships and organized many cultural heritage events to celebrate the cultural heritage of Asian Canadians.
Jack has degrees in computer science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (BSc), education from OISE (BEd), English literature, Chinese University of Hong Kong (MPHIL, PhD), and library and information science, University of Toronto (MISt). His PhD dissertation investigates the concepts of ideology and utopia in science fiction from Canada, the United States, Poland, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
In his role as associate dean for York University Libraries’ (YUL) Research & Open Scholarship Division, Jack is a member of YUL’s senior leadership team, providing strategic direction and stewardship of York’s intellectual assets, managed by the Libraries, through oversight of YUL’s Content Development and Analysis Department, Open Scholarship Department and Archives & Special Collections Department. His role also encompasses ADR functions and plays a lead role in fostering librarian and archivist research and scholarship and YUL’s research intensification priorities.
Please join me in welcoming Jack Leong to York University.
Joy Kirchner
Dean of Libraries, York University