Krista McCracken, a current member of the Gateway PhD program cohort, has been awarded a doctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The fellowship is valued at $80,000 CDN and “allows scholars to fully focus on their doctoral studies, to seek out the best research mentors in their chosen fields, and to contribute to the Canadian research ecosystem during and beyond the tenure of their awards.”

On McCracken’s win, Dr. Sue Alman, Gateway PhD program coordinator, says, “Krista’s record of professional excellence and dissertation topic placed her as a top candidate for the prestigious SSHC award. This award brings honor to Krista and to the Gateway program partnership between San José State University and Manchester Metropolitan University.”

McCracken was awarded the fellowship for her dissertation research titled “Indigenous Control of Information in Northern Ontario Library Spaces.” Using her work at the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, McCracken states that the resource center was classified using the Library of Congress, which was “problematic.” McCracken further explains, “My project seeks to shift away from a colonial classification system and work with community to develop a new localized classification system that meets the needs of Indigenous community members in Northern Ontario.”

McCracken chose to pursue the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Library and Information Management through the Gateway PhD program because of the flexibility it allows as a full-time worker. “I was also really attracted to the model of the program and its focus on research. I’m really glad I was able to jump right into my thesis without doing a year of course work first,” McCracken adds. After working in the field for more than 13 years, McCracken is ready for a “new challenge.” McCracken also states that the relationship between the PhD post-graduate researcher and the faculty supervisor is “one of the best parts of the Gateway program.”