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The workshop opened with discussion and stats on UVic's push to increase hiring and recognition of the four designated minority groups: aboriginal, women, people with disabilities, and visible minorities. In the past five years, UVic has brought employment of all groups up to Canadian averages, except visible minorities, which is very off the mark. UVic plans to rectify that in hiring, but is unsure why the group is so under-represented.

The remainder of the workshop focused on cultural awareness, hiring practices, equity concerns, mentoring and retention strategies for minority groups (UVic loses quite a few), and career development. There are elements worth sharing here, but nothing with direct and immediate application. Face to face discussion and exchange is likely the best way to increase our understanding.

If you have an interest in updating your knowledge of UVic's formal policies on diversity or simply wish to understand the issue better, I can invite the workshop presenter, Grace Sneddon, to speak to the unit. Many departments and units have done this. Please let me know. I won't initiate it unless I get feedback from you.

The consensus was that these issues can be best dealt with by revising hiring practices, and through education. The group highlighted that students, staff and faculty must have contact with minorities in the work place, if they are to become more aware of cultural and minority issues. Public awareness starts there.

Last year the Coordinator's group reviewed and revised its hiring guidelines to address equity and diversity. It was a productive and interesting process, one which Ali and I are discussing at IALLT this summer. One result was finding a very capable person in Nicole, and pushing through the reno to accommodate her needs.

As you know, I attended the Performance Planning and Review Workshop about two weeks ago. This course is part of the management certificate program, which is a new series of workshops sponsored by HR, and which I would like to complete in full at some point. I feel it will help me do my job better.

The workshop content has very real application, and I welcome you to participate individually and as a unit in performance planning and review. This is not about identifying and dealing with performance "problems" (neither Peter nor I think there are any problems), but rather creating a framework for self-assessment, goal setting, professional development, communication, and formal recognition.

I view the planning and review process quite positively, and feel HR has done a good job creating the framework and providing necessary instruction, materials and forms. It is a "strengths" based perspective that has you (staff) involved very directly in self-assessment and planning, and me as facilitator. As facilitator, I provide simple guidance based on how your planning fits with the unit mandate and the UVic Strategic Plan/Objectives.

The process is well structured and not very time-consuming. The planning and review forms can be modified to suit your interests. It looks generally like this:

• Initial self-assessment and planning (2 hours)
• Planning meeting with me (30 minutes)
• Official "check ups" (30 minutes, thrice yearly)
• Review self-assessment (2-3 hours)
• Review meeting with me (1 hour)

HR is strongly encouraging departments to participate, though at this time it is on a voluntary basis. Mandatory participation is likely a year or two away. I don't plan to make it mandatory until they do. Thanks for considering this, and feel free to ask me more about it.

Dear 2006 DHSI Scholarship Recipients,

It is with great pleasure that I write, further to the below, with news that recent external funding made available to our summer institute allows us to offer a good number of additional tuition fellowships, available to all applicants. Some, we have specifically earmarked for those faculty, staff, and students who have joined us in the past.

To apply, you can follow this link directly:

http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/institute/apply_scholarship.php.

On behalf of all those involved in the institute, let me say that I hope very much that we will have the pleasure of your company this year.

With all best wishes,

Ray

Is the admin blog proper place to post this?

Note the commitment to late morning talk and lunch on Thursday. (Btw, I had planned to join you for lunch but Peter and I are committed to a new faculty orientation in the Dean's Office.)

Wed Feb 7

• - Morning: travel (WS 501, arr. 8:49) and check-in (Craigdarroch, on campus)
• - 11:00: meeting with the chair, Robert Miles
• - 12:30, Lunch (U Club, V41): Michael Best (host), Adrienne S Williams Boyarin, Allan Mitchell, Johanne Paquette
• - 3:30-4:30, Talk (Clearihue A127): "Lost in the Shakespearean Archive: Memory and Error in the 1623 First Folio" (reqs data projector and screen)
• - 4:30-6:30, drink: TBA (Host, Ray Siemens)
• - 6:30-, dinner (Il Terazzo): Robert Miles (host), Stephen Ross, Gary Kuchar, Lisa Surridge

• - Late morning: with HCMC
• - Noon: Lunch with Martin and Stewart (HCMC)
• - Afternoon: departure

Discussed with Ray pending report on his lab usage stats. Report goes to English Chair and Dean Rippin. Discussion is also underway Faculty/University wide regarding Internet Shakespeare's new home. Michael is keen to find a more stable base.

Announcement went out to faculty yesterday. Likely, faculty members will begin to discuss their projects with you and ask for assistance with certain things. We plan to make Greg or Ehsan available for posters and media, though we may draw the line at web site design. I will circulate a list of projects soon though all of these I took from the active project blogs. Some recycling from last year will occur, but we hope to integrate a few new ones.

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to invite you to participate in the HCMC's annual Humanities Project Showcase scheduled for March 16th, 2 - 5 pm.

First, I want to thank all of you who participated in last year's showcase. It was a success (by all standards!), eliciting praise from Dean Rippin and the many others who attended. This year, Dean Rippin has asked us to coordinate the showcase with the Western Deans Conference so that he can feature the excellent work you are doing in your fields and in humanities computing.

I hope you can take time out of your busy schedules to participate. This is an excellent opportunity not only to display your research but also to network with colleagues doing exciting--if not similar--work. This event is important to the HCMC, too--our mandate instructs us to share knowledge and expertise, showcase our developments, and point faculty to future possibilities.

The showcase format is poster session. This year we have decided to mix it up during the second hour, and hold a presentation and panel on the pros and cons of Moodle and WebCT. Dr. Klaus Handl (University of Washington), our invited speaker, will discuss Moodle in the context of his own research involving foreign language acquisition and learning outcomes. His talk will segue into a panel discussion comparing features, modules and user issues in Moodle and WebCT.

As we did last year, we plan to make a staff member available to help you create posters, media, and other display items.

If you decide to participate, please send me a brief description / abstract by Friday, Feb. 9th. Your abstract will appear on the showcase web site. Announcements to the Faculty and other campus groups will go out later that week or early the next.

Schedule

Humanities Project Showcase March 16th, 2 - 5

• 2:00 - 2:10 Welcome
• 2:10 - 3:00 Poster sessions
• 3:00 - 4:00 3 Presentation and panel discussion
• 4:00 - 5:00 Poster sessions

Feel free to contact me with your questions. I look forward to hearing from you!

Ray's lab and the HCMC are sponsoring Allan Galey for a formal talk and informal visits on Feb. 7th and 8th. Allan will talk on e-editing and scholarly archives. Formal talk is scheduled for 7th at 3:30 (room to follow).

Would you like to speak informally with Allan on this or other topics? I will arrange a time if interest is there.

Our second annual Humanities Project Showcase is planned for March 16th, to coincide with the Conference of Western Deans taking place at UVic. Format will be similar to last year's: one afternoon Show and Tell. Faculty projects take precedence, though tools like the transformer, image markup, and imap should be presented in context. If you have suggestions or want to present your work, please reply.

The CALL renos will begin Dec. 18th (Monday). The workers will be using the elevator in D-Wing, and bringing materials in through the front door of the HCMC. Facilities is issuing them a key and a temporary alarm code to our centre. They plan to arrive early in the morning daily (7:00 am or so), so the door and area will be open at that time. We have asked them to lock the front door whenever they are not using it to bring in materials. Not ideal, but necessary for the moment. They will be doing the same throughout the Christmas break. Project end is planned for Jan. 4th.

I am just confirming everyone's vacation plans, and listing a few items that you should be aware of. First, vacation plans:

• Ali: Dec. 18th - Jan. 10th
• Scott: Dec. 21st - Jan. 7th
• Judy: Dec. 18th - Jan. 2nd
• Stewart: Jan. 2nd - 7th, two days in Dec. TBA
• Martin: Dec. 22nd - Jan. 7th
• Greg: Week of closure only

In summary:

• -- Only Greg and Stewart will be in Dec. 21st - 22nd.
• -- Only Greg and Judy will be in the first week of January.

1) The CALL office space will undergo renovations Dec. 18th - Jan. 5th to improve accessibility. During that period the CALL will remain closed and access through it blocked. This will cause some disruption, noise, and dust for the period, and likely workmen will be using our passage for access. We will do our best to keep them on the other side of the building, and in and out through the far elevator in A wing. Ali and I will both be gone for much of the renovation, and either Marc Thoma or Pat Konkin will be responsible for checking in daily for CASS. The project officers, Gordon Argyle and Gorman Lee, will be responisble for oversight and completion of the project.

2) The office currently being used by Paul and Jessica (Peter's old office) will be re-keyed soon. Currently, the office shares the same key as mine, and circumstances require us to separate the keys. Although full and part time DCST appointments will be issued a key to the office, only the full-time appointment (Paul at this point) will be issued a key to the HCMC front door.

3) David Badke will be leaving us December 31st. We have appreciated his efforts and good work, and will miss him. Please extend your gratitude and say goodbye before you take off for the holidays. I have a feeling he will continue at UVic in one capacity or another, so I think we will be seeing him around. I would like to propose we take him for a drink after work one day. Let's talk about it.