Heidi Julien receives lifetime achievement award from Association for Information Science and Technology

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Heidi Julien, PhD, professor of information science in the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education, recently received the 2025 Award of Merit from the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T).

This is the association’s highest honor, and it serves as a lifetime achievement award for individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of information science.

Julien, one of a handful of scholars recognized this year, has devoted almost 40 years to the study of digital technology. She has made significant contributions to GSE’s Department of  Information Science, served in leadership roles at several universities, and collaborated with  colleagues around the world.

“I was thrilled to receive this award,” Julien says. “It’s incredibly rewarding to be honored like this by my peers.”

A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Julien earned her PhD from the University of Western Ontario. She came to UB in 2013 to chair the Department of Information Science. Under her leadership, from 2013 to 2019, the department changed its name from the Department of Library and Information Studies, earned full accreditation, and added a doctoral program.

“Our research and external grants have really improved, and the master’s program has been strengthened,” she says. “We did a lot to revise the curriculum and to refocus our efforts on meeting students’ needs and putting students at the center of all that we do.”

Prior to coming to UB, Julien taught at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the University of Alberta, and, most recently, the University of Alabama, where she served as professor and director of the School of Library and Information Studies.

Julien has held many national leadership positions, including chair of the ASIS&T Awards and Honors Committee, the Governance Committee, and the Steering Committee for the International ISIC Conference. She has also served as president of both the Association for Library and Information Science Education and the Canadian Association for Information Science.

In addition, Julien has done a great deal of mentoring, not only with UB students, but also students and early-career scholars around the globe.

She is an expert on digital literacy and has spoken out about how it needs to be viewed as a critical skill in education policymaking.

“People are very confident about their digital skills and ability to evaluate information,” she says. “But the fact of the matter is that people are actually not very skilled. This concerns me greatly because I think there are profound negative implications for democracy, decision-making, and having the ability to sift through and use information appropriately and ethically.”

She says this makes her job of educating and guiding the next generation of library and information specialists all the more important.

“I’m hoping that the professionals who come behind me continue the effort to get digital literacy on the policy agenda,” she says. “I also would like people to understand how important it is and how it needs to be incorporated into the education curriculum from kindergarten onward.”

Julien, who plans to retire within the next couple of years, says she particularly appreciates the merit award as it comes near the sunset of her career.

“I believe there are others in the discipline who are equally or more qualified to get this award,” she says. “But I think it's important for people to see awards like this as an opportunity to highlight the values that we hold. They include an intense focus on scholarship and caring for the discipline through service and the mentoring of students and younger colleagues. All of these things are key to moving the discipline forward.”