Mr. Ingles has held numerous positions over his lengthy career, and has served the University of Alberta well for twenty years in a variety of increasingly responsible positions, but always including the Libraries as Chief Librarian. His accomplishments are considerable, including being an active player within the library and information management or technology communities having served and continuing to serve within numerous professional and related associations and organizations. He has published frequently, including seminal reference tools and library human resource capacity studies, and is a sought after speaker at conferences and related events. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, professional honors and was in 2001 specially elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. A key contribution to the profession was his founding of the now renowned Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute.
Recognizing his reputation for collaboration and innovation, the Provost and Dean of Education have given Ernie a strong mandate to work with the faculty and staff of SLIS, alumni, past SLIS leadership, employers and all other relevant stake holders to build upon achievement-to secure a future for SLIS and for its current and future students so that they will be successful in an increasingly exciting but volatile library and information science landscape with a similarly volatile array of required competencies.