David Barnard appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian
Research Knowledge Network

OTTAWA , Oct. 6 /CNW Telbec/ - The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. David Barnard as Chair of its Board of Directors for a three-year term commencing October 9, 2009 .

Dr. Barnard is President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manitoba. He has led a distinguished career as an academic administrator serving as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Regina. Prior to joining the University of Regina, Dr. Barnard spent 19 years at Queen's University where he served as Head of the Department of Computing and Information Science, as well as in several senior administrative positions. Dr. Barnard also has an extensive background in computer science, most recently serving from 2005-2008 as Chief Operating Officer of an IT company called iQmetrix providing information and technology solutions to the retail sector. His research interests focus on the compilation and the use of computers to analyze language and text. Dr. Barnard has served on the boards of the Bank of Canada , the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada , and CANARIE, among others. He obtained his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Toronto .

"I am very pleased to join CRKN as the Chair of its governance team," remarked Dr. Barnard . "I look forward to building on the strong achievements of my predecessors and the committed team that comprises CRKN's Board. As a researcher, I value the access to digital research content and have also benefited from the collaboration engendered by CRKN. There are many opportunities for future achievement and I look forward to working with the CRKN community to seize them."

Michael Ridley , Chief Information Officer and Chief Librarian at the University of Guelph and Vice-Chair of the CRKN Board of Directors commented, "CRKN is delighted to welcome David Barnard to the Board of Directors. His vision and records of achievement as a researcher and leader in the university community will enrich our organization and position us well as CRKN begins its second decade of service to Canada's universities."

The Canadian Research Knowledge Network is a partnership of Canadian universities, dedicated to expanding digital content for the academic research enterprise in Canada . Through the coordinated leadership of librarians, researchers, and administrators, CRKN undertakes large-scale content acquisition and licensing initiatives in order to build knowledge infrastructure and research capacity in 73 of Canada's universities.

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For further information: Dyna Vink, Canadian Research Knowledge Network, [phone], [email protected], www.ResearchKnowledge.ca