Dear colleagues,
If you think 2012 has been action-packed at UOW, take a deep breath (and a well-deserved break), as 2013 will be the year when the action comes our way. We farewell the Faculty of Arts as we know it, looking forward to new opportunities and new challenges as we join forces with our colleagues in Law and Creative Arts. On the one hand there is the integration of systems (student and staff databases, handbooks, committee structures, etc), on the other there is the meeting of the different teaching and research cultures, hopefully coming together to enrich the experience of both staff and students, giving us a sense of belonging to a dynamic interdisciplinary mix with a common purpose. The University and Faculty leadership is doing its utmost to make this transition as smooth as possible for everyone, enabling us all to get on with our core business without too much distraction, but it is of course important that we all keep up to date with the various changes that come our way, and that we co-operate to ensure that confusion and friction are minimised.
As my own role gradually fades away and gets absorbed into the new Faculty, it is certainly a time for me to reflect on my period as Dean of Arts – what I have experienced, what I have learnt and how it has changed my outlook on the higher education sector and the role of faculties of Arts within it. I have learnt a few personal things that I probably should have known earlier, but had not thought much about: that wearing at dean’s hat means that you are perceived differently, and expected to act differently, from your previous academic self. My first reaction was to want to shake people and insist that I was still me, I had not changed – but I realise that this was naïve, because of course the role brings with it inevitable change, and the challenge is to accept it and adapt to it. One has to accept that being the person who has the final say in certain decisions means that one cannot always be everybody’s friend. My aim has been to be as fair as I could possibly be, and especially when perceived to be tough – you will be the judges of whether I succeeded or not. The role also implies keeping abreast of, and anticipating, changes in policy as well as in the general climate of the higher education sector (I am thinking ERA, TEQSA, AQF, ranking agencies, uncapped enrolments among many other things), which in turn means pushing for change that is not always welcome . Hence, of course, all those curriculum reviews, the increasing focus on research, and particularly research quality, and on student feedback to our teaching. The constant scrutiny of what we do is not always welcome, but I am convinced that the Faculty is emerging out of these processes stronger, more focussed, and more conscious of the highly competitive environment in which we now live and the importance of quality in all aspects of our work. The proof is already there: the increased rate of student satisfaction as reported by the SES survey, the increasing recognition, within UOW and in the wider sector, of the Faculty of Arts as a serious player in research. I am particularly proud (the good thing about being a Dean is being able to take credit for the excellent work done by others) of the number of funded research-only positions we have won over the last couple of years: Future Fellowships, DECRA, UOW postdocs. Breaking news as I write is a new three-year UOW Vice-Chancellor’s postdoc fellowship awarded to Dr Cecilia Leong-Salobir, who will join an already impressive line-up in History. These positions mostly came too late to count in the 2012 round of ERA, but they certainly place us well for further rounds. The full-time researchers not only through their own work enhance the output and profile of the Faculty, but they also offer both inspiration and guidance to the rest of us as we sweat over grant applications and draft publications.
The greatest pleasure of the Dean’s role for me has been the opportunity to get to know the innermost workings of the University and the Faculty and in particular, all members of staff. Finding out what everyone is doing, their expertise, interests, passion (and the odd idiosyncrasy), has been a great privilege, and one I will treasure and hopefully build on as I move into different roles. While this is not quite my swan-song (I will be around for a bit longer inflicting deanly and HOS damage and possibly making myself useful in the transition to the new Faculty), it feels a bit like the end of an era, and as it happens to coincide with the end of the world (at least according to the Mayan calendar) it seems an appropriate time to stand back and take stock.
News have come and gone so quickly over the last months that this does not seem the best occasion to repeat what you will have read or been told in School, Faculty or University meetings over this period. I would, however, like to take the opportunity to congratulate staff who passed probation or were promoted in the latest round:
Probation:
Tanja Dreher, Tim di Muzio, Ted Mitew
Promotion:
A to B: Robyn Morris
B to C: Anu Bissoonauth-Bedford, Helen Kilpatrick, Susan Engel, Frances Steel, Debra Dudek, Andrew Whelan.
My warmest congratulations to these staff and thanks for their great contribution to the Faculty.
I wish all staff a happy and safe Christmas break. Have a well-deserved rest, take time to enjoy family and friends and come back brimming with energy and brilliant ideas for the new Faculty.
Best wishes,
Wenche

Dean’s Dispatch July 2012

Thank you
Starting this blog on a personal note I want to thank everyone who conveyed their sympathy on the occasion of the recent death of my mother. I was deeply touched by your kind thoughts.

A more cheerful event:  Alissa Kerin, the Dean’s assistant, gave birth to daughter Evie Winter on 15 May. Our very best wishes to the whole family.

I thought I would share with you some thoughts on the bizarre spectacle I witnessed during my recent stay in Norway: the trial of Anders Behring Breivik, who murdered 77 people on 22 July last year as part of a well-planned crusade to ‘stop the Islamisation of Europe.’ The trial, which started in April and concluded last week (the verdict is still to be handed down), has featured as a major news item across the world, and in Norway it was obviously the centre of attention, to the extent that most people I spoke to admitted to ‘Breivik fatigue’ and just wanted it to go away. Breivik has admitted to the murders but still pleads ‘not guilty’ on the grounds that they were ‘necessary’; he only regrets that he did not manage to kill more of tomorrow’s left-wing politicians. The main foci for the trial, and the public debate, have been, on the one hand, the question whether he was sane or insane when committing the crimes (Breivik himself is violently opposed to being declared insane), and on the other whether or not to allow the witnesses for the defence (primarily people who share his extreme right-wing political convictions) to speak to an open court and thus use the trial to gain publicity for their views. On the first question, 24 experts of different kinds of mental disorders were called to witness, with the result that 24 different opinions were aired, along with diagnoses of disorders that the court, at least, had never heard of. When it was decided that the witnesses for the defence would speak to a closed court only, many of them refused to appear, claiming violation of human rights. What struck me as an observer was the contrast between the magnitude of the crimes committed and the  sometimes desperate attempts to keep the proceedings ‘normal’, the effects of which occasionally came across as farcical. While leaving me with great respect for a nation so firmly insisting on institutional sanity in the face of such human tragedy, the trial at the same time suggested that the most civilised of institutions struggle to cope with acts of extreme and seemingly irrational violence.  The spectacle of tens of thousands of ordinary Norwegians marching towards the Oslo courthouse carrying roses and singing a popular children’s song calling for peace and solidarity was at the same time profoundly moving and slightly ludicrous . It was nevertheless comforting to observe the almost total absence of calls for the death penalty to be reintroduced, from the population as a whole as well as from grieving relatives.   

Back to the Faculty of Arts:
Please join me in making our newly arrived colleagues welcome:
Dr Lisa Slater (Cultural Studies)
Dr Deborah Mayerson (VC Postdoctoral Fellow)
Dr Roger Patulny (Sociology)
Ms Jennifer Fitz-Gerald (research support team)

And joining us soon will be:
Dr Nadine Ehlers (Cultural Studies)
Assoc. Prof Evan Poata-Smith (Indigenous Studies)
Dr Thomas Birtchnell (Sociology)

Kirsten Bissett, Dean’s PA from 19 July

And later in the year the following people will join us:
Dr Alfredo Herrero de Haro (Spanish)
Dr Ika Willis (English)
Dr Sukhmani Khorana (Media and Communication Studies)

Positions currently being recruited:
Philosophy (level E): second round of interviews July-August
ISTR Research Fellow: interviews late July
History (3 year position): offer declined, selection committee to reconvene

I am currently in discussions with the University about the appointment of a Professor of History. Once the position has been approved, the normal selection process will commence.

You will all have read about changes, including staff cuts, in the faculties of Arts at LaTrobe, the ANU, Sydney, etc. In this tough climate, being able to employ new staff puts us in a fortunate position which should work to our advantage both in teaching and research.

The new UOW: Strategic planning
The 22 working parties have delivered their recommendations, faculty consultation has taken place and the key points for consideration were presented to the University at the Vice Chancellor’s ‘Town Hall’ meeting in June. We are now getting close to the ‘pointy end’ of the planning process.  As I write, I am about to depart for the University Planning conference at which targets and strategies will be refined and presented to the University Executive for implementation. Important change may come our way, none of which should distract us from our core business which is that of teaching and research of the highest quality. I have full confidence that the Faculty of Arts will emerge from these processes in excellent shape and well positioned to take on the considerable challenges facing us, and the higher education sector as a whole, in the future (read ERA, AQF, TEQSA, demand-driven enrolments, university league tables, etc, etc). 

Building 19 Works – an update

Maintenance work
As part of building 19’s scheduled maintenance, the following work has already been completed: the painting of all corridor and most CTA walls; new carpet and paint to 66 offices; safety film to all window glass below 1000mm; roof repairs; new venetian blinds to most CTAs; replacement of excess doorways to CTAs; upgraded amenities in North Wing and ITS communication cupboards.

Work currently underway during the winter break includes an upgrade to the amenities in the East Wing (Language & English/Philosophy corridors); replacement of original air conditioners in CTA’s and a refurbishment of CTA 19.G016.

During spring session a new building access system will be installed (to replace the traditional key entry), stairwells will be painted and CTA 19.2100 will be enlarged for greater seating capacity.

New main entrance, Research Hub
The development and tender process for a new main entrance to the building and the Research Hub will take place during the second half of 2012.

We thank all staff for their co-operation during these necessarily disruptive and noisy times.

Curriculum Reviews
A number of curriculum reviews are scheduled in the second half of 2012, some as part of the normal cycle of 5-yearly reviews, some as a follow-up on recent reviews on the recommendation of the DVC (Academic):

History (review committee to meet on 27 July)
Politics
Philosophy
Bachelor of International Studies
Master of International Studies
Employment Relations

Staff will be invited to make submissions to all of these reviews. The Faculty of Arts will certainly do our best to ensure that the new DVC (Teaching and Learning – to be announced shortly) hits the ground running!

Finally – a reminder to all staff to ensure that all leave is entered into Web Kiosk, and that, on commencement of the Spring session, you check that your days on campus and contact details are correct.

Enrolments Autumn 2012
After years of strong growth, enrolment stats in Arts show a small decrease for Autumn 2012. As of the census date last week, our total EFTSL stood at 1,260, as opposed to 1,276 at the same time last year.  The Language Centre recorded a small increase (217 as opposed to 201), SELP and SSMAC were steady (291 and 374 against 289 and 372 in 2011), while History and Politics and the Indigenous Studies Unit saw a decrease (307 and 59 against 334 and 65 in 2011). These variations are too small, I believe, for us to draw any conclusions in terms of longer-term developments, but they will obviously be monitored very carefully as the University assesses the impact of a number of external factors, particularly the new demand-driven funding model for universities.

My University rankings
The My University website (www.MyUniversity.gov.au ) went live on 3 April and has already caused quite a stir in the sector. At UOW there has been considerable cause for celebration. Our score of 82.8% for ‘Graduates in full time employment’ was the third highest in NSW and fourth nationally. Our attrition rate in Humanities (14.3%) was the second lowest in NSW. It is obviously tempting to quote favourable statistics (and to ignore or question others), but it’s hard not to see this as a solid endorsement of the work we put into attracting and retaining students, satisfying their intellectual curiosity and equipping them with valuable skills for the contemporary workplace. While inviting you to spend some time drilling down to individual scores and overall rankings, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everybody that this is not something some anonymous entity called UOW has achieved: it means you, individuals and groups of academics as well as professional staff working together to offer our students a quality education and a memorable university experience. Congratulations are due all around.

Welcome to new staff
Whenever I speak to academics from other universities they comment on the fact that Arts @ UOW, as opposed to most arts faculties in the country, is expanding. Our job ads are obviously attracting attention. They are also attracting record numbers of high quality applicants, making our selection processes extraordinarily difficult – but in the grand scheme of things, it’s the kind of difficulty we don’t mind having.

Since the beginning of the year we have welcomed the following new staff members:
Mandarin: Dr Xiaoping (Sherri) Gao
History: Dr Sharon Crozier de Rosa
International Studies: Dr Marcelo Svirsky

Appointed and joining us soon will be:
Cultural Studies: Dr Lisa Slater
Cultural Studies: Dr Nadine Ehlers
Spanish: Dr Alfredo Herrero de Haro
VC Postdoctoral Fellow: Dr Deborah Mayerson (History)
Sociology: Dr Roger Patulny
Career Development Fellowship: Dr Robyn Morris (English and Cultural Studies )

Positions currently in recruitment:
English: offer made
Communication and Media Studies: offer made
Indigenous Studies (level D): offer made
Sociology: Follow-up interviews to be conducted in April
History: Follow-up interviews to be conducted in April
Philosophy (level E): first round of interview completed, follow-up interviews to come
ISTR Research Fellow: offer declined, selection committee to reconvene

Strategic Direction for UOW
Our new Vice Chancellor, Professor Paul Wellings, has set the agenda for a comprehensive review of the University’s operations with a view to set new strategic directions for both the short and long-term future. The 22 working parties convened to report on our different activities have submitted their reports and recommendations, which will go live on the UOW website after Easter. Over the next months, a consultation process will be conducted throughout the university. Prof Rob Castle, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) will join a Faculty Executive meeting in May to discuss the way forward, and the Faculty Meeting on 1 June will be in part devoted to an open discussion on these matters. The VC has also announced a University-wide ‘Town Hall’ meeting for early June. The University Planning Conference (4-6 July) will then pull together information and views collected in order to create the strategic blueprint for our future. These are both exciting and challenging times for the University – as it is for the university sector in general – and I invite all staff to engage in these discussions and to provide feedback to the Faculty and University executives.     

 Building 19 Works – an update

• 19.2048 – Conversion from CTA to HDR space is complete
• Amenities stage 1 – North wing – The ground floor amenities (in the eastern end) were handed over on the weekend. The remainder, on the first and second floors, the builder is aiming to hand over before Easter.
• Stair balustrades will be replaced from mid April – end May 2012. This will result in the closure of fire stairs. A program will be developed to ensure that only two sets of stairs are closed at a time so that access to levels will not be an issue.
• Winter break refurbishment – The call will go out shortly for volunteers to have their offices painted and carpeted in the winter break Monday 4^th June – Friday 13^th July.
• Air con to be installed in all CTAs in June/July 2012.
• Amenities stage 2 – South wing – will be split into two stages June/July 2012 and 2012/2013 summer break.
• A new entrance and stairwell will be built around the entrance which houses the Bld 19 lift. The construction is scheduled to start at the end of teaching 2012,
• The research precinct planned for the second floor is dependent on other project items coming in on budget. The planning process will take place in mid-late 2012 with construction in 2013.

Builders have been requested to keep disruption to a minimum, especially during teaching sessions, but some degree of noise and inconvenience is inevitable. We thank everyone for their patience and co-operation.

WISHING EVERYONE A RESTFUL EASTER BREAK.

 

Wenche

Dear colleagues,

Can anyone tell me what happened to 2011? Did it vanish as mysteriously as the money of Italian or Greek taxpayers (assuming some of them actually paid tax), did it accidentally slip behind a desk or bookcase in Building 19 to reappear as furniture is moved to accommodate painters and carpet-layers? In the unlikely case that a thief has been operating in the Faculty, we may need to take drastic measures and lock up 2012 securely, to be doled out in suitable portions according to a policy the details of which will require careful (and time-consuming) consideration. I don’t know about you, but just at the moment it feels as if the main thing I have to show for 2011 is a certain weariness in the bones and a desktop which refuses to be cleared. On reflection, however, it has been a good year for the Faculty. ERA results showed that we are doing very well in research in key disciplines, surveys confirm that students continue to rate our teaching well above the University average, and our work around policy and consistency of practice in a number of areas has been noted and commended by AUQA as well as the UOW executive, often held up as a model for other faculties. We have also made excellent new appointments to the Faculty, and continue to do so at a time when many universities around the country are announcing redundancies (why is it that faculties of Arts always seem to be first in line when redundancies are on the horizon?). AND we have become a serious player in UOW’s off-shore operations, teaching into the Singapore Institute of Management and INTI/Laureate in Malaysia while waiting for a 2012 start-up in Dubai. None of this could have been achieved without our staff giving 110% of effort and dedication to their students, their research, and to the smooth operation of the Faculty, for which I would like to offer my sincere thanks. We are all under great pressure, and there are times when the machinery of the Faculty and the University seems rather creaky and cumbersome, but on the whole it seems to turn as it should thanks to the professionalism, communal effort and good will of our academic and professional staff.

It’s time to rest and recharge the batteries. I know that ARC applications, subject outlines and publication deadlines will be looming in the new year, but I urge everyone to take a proper break, remind yourselves of the existence of family and friends and catch up on sleep. I wish everyone a happy holiday season.

Student achievements

It’s graduation time, with a record number of graduates from Arts. While acknowledging the achievements of all our graduands, I would particularly like to highlight our very first cohort of BIS graduates – a very proud moment for them, and for us. And then there are the very high achievers: Martin Veres (BA Honours) who was awarded the 2011 University Medal for the Faculty of Arts and Sarah-Jane Cooper, co-recipient of The Chancellor Robert Hope Memorial Prize. Congratulations also to our HRD graduates: Laila Hafez and Sonia Rossetti (MA Research) and Rochelle Hurst, Jenn Phillips, Ingeborg van Teeseling, Nicholas Southall and Emma Dalton (PhD).

Our congratulations also  go to Professor John Bern (Acting co-ordinator of Indigenous Studies), who was admitted to the position of Emeritus Professor of the University.

HDR scholarships

It is turning out to be a record year for Arts in our haul of HDR scholarships. 12 offers have so far been made to Arts applicants. We don’t yet know how many have been accepted, but this is a very promising development and a great way to boost the research efforts of the Faculty. Where I think the Faculty needs to assist our HDR students more than we are doing at present is in getting them to publish during their candidature. This is essential, particularly if we want to enhance their chances of being competitive for academic positions or postdoctoral fellowships on completion. The Faculty will introduce initiatives to assist HDR students and their supervisors with their publication efforts next year.

Enrolments

As announced earlier, applications for our degrees are down a bit on the last two years – just as well, as we aim for a slightly lower intake. Numbers are rather unreliable at this stage, however, as students have been busy changing preferences after receiving their ATAR scores. The bright spot is a considerable increase in 1^st preferences for the BA.

New staff

I would like to welcome Dr Bronwyn Carlson to the Faculty and to Indigenous Studies, and to congratulate her on her brand new PhD (passed without amendments). Starting in the new year will be Dr  Sherri Gao (Mandarin), Dr Sharon Crozier de Rosa (History), Dr Marcelo Svirsky (International Studies), Dr Lisa Slater and Dr Nadine Ehlers (both Cultural Studies). As you will know, we also have a number of positions currently being decided or advertised – and more in the pipeline, including a new position created in the 2011 Enterprise Agreement, a Career Development Fellowship, aimed at enhancing the career of a UOW PhD graduate and/or current casual employee.

New VC

Professor Paul Wellings has arrived on campus and officially takes up his position in January. Prof Wellings has expressed his wish to meet staff from all faculties. He has been invited to the planning day for the Faculty Executive on 25 January, and we also hope he will be able to attend our first Faculty meeting in 2012, both for a brief formal introduction but also to meet staff informally over afternoon tea. More info to follow in the new year. 

I’ll be heading down the Hume Highway this afternoon for Christmas with family and friends in Melbourne, so this has to be it for now. Again, wishing you all a great break and a Happy New Year.

Wenche
21 December 2011

Refurbishment Building 19
The University has allocated $4 million for upgrades to Building 19. Much of this will be spent on necessary compliance, safety and maintenance (electrical cupboards, balustrades, glazing, disabled toilets, plumbing, etc), but some real and noticeable improvements will be included, such as upgrades to all toilets, new carpets and painting, and a new entrance and staircase leading up from the stairs to the library courtyard. Funds permitting (the budgeting process is still incomplete), we will also realise my long cherished dream of a precinct dedicated to research: a research meeting room, a seminar space and open-plan workspaces for visiting researchers and HDR students, including informal sitting/meeting areas. Inevitably, there will be some disruption while works are carried out. Buildings & Grounds intend to get started as soon as teaching finishes this session, hoping to complete the bulk of the work over summer. Some, however, will take longer and may need to be delayed until the 2012 mid-year break so as not to disrupt during the teaching session. Detailed plans are still to be finalised and we will do our best to keep everyone informed when we know what happens when, etc. It is likely that the people most likely to be disrupted are our HDR students as many will need to move out of their wing on the second floor while the new research area is taking shape. The Faculty will do our best to reallocate workspaces temporarily or permanently for those involved.
Disruption in the form of building dust, noise and lack of access is never welcome, but this is a unique opportunity to make significant improvements to our working environment so I would like to urge patience and co-operation during the process. I can only say that those of us who had to ‘camp out’ while the Dean’s area was refurbished last summer have found the result well worth the inconvenience.
Enrolments 2012
Early Entry applications were slightly down on last year, but only slightly. A number of students have been offered a place directly on the basis of their results, but we will still have several hundred to interview this week. Many thanks to staff who will be helping out with both interviews and the congratulatory/information sessions in the next couple of weeks. We have also been in discussion with the University about overall enrolment targets for next year. Given the huge increase in student numbers in Arts (around 30% over the last three-year period), it has been decided that we should aim for more modest growth in the next years. Our projected growth for 2012 is 4%, but given the pipeline effect (the large number of students moving into level 200 and 300), we will actually aim to lower the number of first-year students by close to 10% on 2011 numbers. These numbers are always a bit rubbery and can change as the University juggles enrolments across faculties, but we have given a clear signal that the kind of growth we have been experienced in the last couple of years is unsustainable. On the other hand, we should consider ourselves lucky to be in a growth phase when a great many Arts faculties around the country are shedding staff.
Budget 2012
The recent decline in international student numbers has affected the overall University budget, and no faculty is immune from the repercussions, but while we did not get all the new positions we asked for we are likely to be given some new positions for next year (the budget is still to be ratified by Council): a lecturer B in History and a lecturer B in Sociology. We have also been given permission for a replacement position at level E in Philosophy, and an early replacement position at level B in English.
Current Staffing Movements
Please join me in welcoming the following new staff to the Faculty:
Dr John Bolin (English Literatures)
Dr Dean Chan (Media and Communication Studies)
Prof Ian Buchanan (Director, Institute for Social Transformation Studies)
Interviews will shortly be held for the following positions: Level A (Mandarin), Level A (Spanish), level B (Cultural Studies), Level B (International Studies). We are also about to advertise another suite of positions: Level B History, ISTR Research Fellow, plus two positions in Indigenous Studies (level B plus level C/D).
The last mentioned position in History is to replace Dr Frances Steel, who will be leaving us for the University of Auckland at the end of the year. We are truly sorry to see Frances go, but understand her wish to return to New Zealand. We all wish her the best in what I am convinced will be a brilliant career.
Internationalisation
The BCMS was finally accredited for offer at INTI/Laureate in Malaysia two weeks before the start of the session and in spite of having no staff and no students at the time we somehow managed – Faizal Nafis was employed, Philip Kitley went up to assist him in the first couple of weeks and 21 students put up their hands. The work of our BCMS staff in making this happen has been tremendous, as has the assistance from the FISU team. We all look forward to seeing how the program will roll out over the next year. Final preparations are under way for a February start-up of the Master of International Studies at UOW Dubai. Once again, we are working to tight deadlines, but not, we hope, quite as tight as those in Malaysia. Early reports from the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), where we teach two subjects into the Bachelor of Psychology, are good: some 50 students enrolled and everything under control.

As I write, a number of colleagues are in Umea participating in a workshop on the use of social media in teaching and research. I look forward to finding out about the workshop and about where they want to take the collaboration from here. My thanks to the whole team, but particularly to Kate Bowles, for making this event possible.

If you can read this, it means I have managed to post a message all by myself. Many thanks, Nuala, for your instructions – and your patience.

Regards,

Wenche

Mid-session break, and I know most of you are catching up with urgent research activities before the demands of the Spring session take over. I would like to thank everyone for your efforts which enabled the Faculty to submit (most) Autumn session marks on time. And, as I spent all of June overseas, visiting Dubai and Umeå as part of the Faculty’s internationalisation strategy, but also holidaying in Norway and Scotland, I would like to thank Tony Simoes da Silva and Maureen Dibden for their great work in keeping Arts afloat in my absence – Faculty business never takes a break, but Tony and Maureen ensured that very little of it remained in my inbox on my return.

Enrolments are on track for another bumper session. While it is too early to predict the overall increase in student numbers for 2011, there is no doubt they are up, though not quite as much, in percentage terms, as in 2010. Overall, however, student numbers are up around 25% over the last three years. We have also been able to add to staff numbers, but with the necessary time lag between budget approval and appointment we recognise that we are putting pressure on existing staff, both general and academic, full time and casual. Your willingness to go the extra mile to ensure that our students are well taught and in other respects well looked after, is much appreciated.

Staffing

I would like to welcome Dr Swati Parashar, our new lecturer in Politics/International Studies, to the Faculty and the University. Joining us in the next couple of weeks will also be Dr John Bolin (English) and Dr Dean Chan (BCMS/Digital Communication). Prof Ian Buchanan, the new ISTR Director, will be here in early September. The Faculty currently has positions advertised in Spanish, Mandarin, International Studies and Cultural Studies, and a new position in Philosophy is also under negotiation. With the start of budget discussions for 2012 I will bring another ‘wish-list’ from the Faculty. On a sadder note, I regret to announce that Dr Richard Menary has left UOW to take up a new position at Macquarie University. I would like to acknowledge Richard’s great contribution to the Faculty, particularly in the area of research, and while we regret to see him leave, we wish him all the best for his future career.

The appointment process for casual tutors for the Spring session is well under way. Please join me in welcoming new and returning tutors to the Faculty – with a special welcome to Becky Walker, Joakim Eidenfalk and Van Tran who will be on direct appointments this session.

AUQA

The University has now received the report from the AUQA panel which reviewed our operations in March of this year. The report is very positive: UOW received 15 commendations (ringing endorsements), 12 affirmations (endorsements, but some further action needed) and 8 recommendations (priorities for improvement), which is an excellent report card over all, compared with other universities. The full report will be released on 20 July.

2011 UOW Planning Conference 6-8 July

With the imminent change at the helm, this year’s planning conference took on particular gravitas. Professor Paul Wellings, our VC designate, was in attendance and is clearly already thinking strategically about UOW’s positioning in the future national and international higher education landscape. He also took in the more light-hearted aspects of the event in good humour. Having now attended three planning conferences, I have realised that one of the aims is always to ensure participants (particularly deans) make fools of themselves. To give you examples, I was this year required to impersonate a superannuated Dean of Arts speaking about the second decade of the 21^st century from her retirement home some time in the future (walking frame and rug provided). I was also called upon to describe UOW’s internationalisation strategies using analogies from Viking raids – you get the flavour. The overall aims of the conference, however, were serious enough: looking towards 2020 and beyond in defining long-term aims and strategies for UOW in a very challenging and ever more competitive climate. We discussed research and research league tables, teaching and new teaching/learning technologies, staffing and succession planning, internationalisation and finally marketing and branding. A lot to take in, but all of this will be translated to initiatives and challenges at Faculty level, and we need to be involved in the debates and make sure our input is heard if we want to avoid having crucial decisions made over our heads.

Internationalisation

Forget the reputation for ‘rape, pillage and plunder’ which has somehow attached itself to the Scandinavian mode of international expansion: this latter-day Viking had much more civilised aims in mind when embarking on recent forays into Dubai and Sweden. Ably assisted by Sue Turnbull, I participated in the recruitment of staff to teach the Masters program in Mass Communication at UOWD and in the final submission to the UAE accreditation body CAA for our Masters in International Studies (this has since been given the green light to go ahead). With the imminent departure of Professor Rob Whelan, UOWD is going through a period of some uncertainty, but based on the success of our operations there so far, we are confident that the new programs will be viable and add to the Faculty’s international profile in ways that will also enhance our activities at the home campus. In Umeå we finalised plans for the September workshop on the use of social media in teaching and research (the Faculty is sending four, possibly five, members of staff to participate in this event) and made tentative plans for hosting a collaborative workshop on popular fiction in 2012. Further discussions concerned student and staff exchanges and the possibility of applying for EU funding for a joint Masters program.

The most important item on the Faculty’s international agenda has been the fate of our BCMS in Malaysia. Because of perceived incompatibilities of degree structures between Australia and Malaysia, our degree is experiencing a bit of a rough ride through accreditation, and major issues still need resolving before we can start up. While still hoping for a first student intake this year, we may have to step back and wait for a later start. Professor Barry Harper, who oversees the introduction of UOW courses at INTI/Laureate, is confident that current set-backs are short-term and that once this has been ironed out we will enjoy a productive collaboration. In the meanwhile, I would like to thank all Faculty staff who have assisted in the preparations for the INTI/Laureate offerings: Philip Kitley but also Sue Turnbull, Tanja Dreher, David Lee and Ted Mitew.

Our imminent start-up at the Singapore Institute of Management has been a much smoother ride. In the first instance, two subjects from the Faculty will be offered as part of a Bachelor of Psychology program. Many thanks to Sue Turnbull and David Lee for assisting in this process.

Reports from Senior Executive

 Vice-Chancellor

Budget: the university sector should be pleased in that the Federal Government has honoured promises made a couple of budgets ago.  They will fund all the growth in students in the sector (over-enrolment in 2010-2011).  Their commitment to the indexation of core university funding beginning 2012 will also be honoured.  They will continue with the regional priorities round of the Education Performance Funding Scheme. It is not always clear whether UOW is deemed regional or not.  We will be applying once again using the Early Start Proposal which has not got up in the past, because of our being not considered sufficiently regional or because it cut across state and federal boundaries for funding (e.g. using education money in a social delivery centre). The Australian Bureau of Statistics has a classification of regional areas in which Wollongong and Newcastle are aligned with Sydney as RA1, thus making it problematic for us to seek regional funding.  We are not the same as Sydney and it’s hurting the city of Wollongong.  It was one of the reasons for the Medical Precinct not getting up: the other was the project crossed state and federal jurisdictions. There is an expectation that some funding will be ‘fenced off’ and regional universities will be given priority in accessing this money (the VC mentioned UOW and Newcastle). The government’s commitment to the university sector is a pleasant surprise, perhaps a result of the Prime Minister’s interest in education.

Planning Conference: this will be a small one with Deans and Senior Execs & the incoming VC, Paul Wellings.  The new VC will be a first class VC, the right person for UOW at this time, based on his record at Lancaster.

Chair’s Report

Faculty elections for Senate are under way.  Accordingly, for some members (for Arts, Kerry Dunne, Louise D’Arcens and Graham Barwell) this will be their last meeting.

Appointment of the new VC has been a great result.

There’s a working party on the role of chairs of academic boards: Di Kelly as UoW Senate Chair has been on this.

Benchmarking of the role of Senate with UTas & Deakin U.  Other unis are wanting to follow us on this.

There will be a big picture debate in September with John Dawkins as the key speaker, especially in relation to the new Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

 SDVC (Operations)

Compact visit from Federal Government has taken place. We did extremely well and are currently revising the compact.  There are no surprises; they agreed our plans for managed growth are sustainable.  Our position re the international student market is something of a surprise to them (it’s healthier than some other universities).  Our plans for our research position post ERA are good; the DVC (Research) convinced them of the wisdom of our strategy for dealing with areas which didn’t do so well in ERA.  We informed the visitors of some frustrations with the AQF. The Dean of Students, Yvonne Kerr, did a great job in presenting the social and equity agenda to the federal bureaucrats.

Academic probations and promotions: a project is underway looking into how we can better understand academic efforts in governance and teaching.  It’s also looking at the expectations of achievements at various levels for research intensive staff in the same way as we’ve set out our expectations for teaching intensive staff.  Edith Cowan Uni does this well, as seen on their website.

The ‘speed faculties’ activity at the Careers Advisors Day will involve every Dean – Deans will highlight key strengths of their faculties through a series of very short presentations to separate groups of career advisors.

 General Business

AUQA report will come in on 12 May giving us 2 weeks to respond.  The report should be made public in about 6 weeks.  Feedback on the day was pretty positive.  Thanks to everyone who took part in the interviews and preparation.

The Senate Communications Working Party recommended that Senate be told of changes made to items subsequent to Senate meetings.  A minor change was made to the Authorship Policy.

 Minor change to minutes from a Faculty of Engineering meeting.

 Business Passed without Discussion

Senate endorsed Faculty nominations:

 1) to the Academic Probations Committee:  in Arts, Kerry Dunne and Brian Martin to replace Leigh Dale and Matthew Allen; Julia Martinez and Anthony Ashbolt to continue.

 2) to the Academic Promotion Committee: in Arts, Leigh Dale, Matthew Allen, Georgine Clarsen and Anthony Ashbolt to continue.

Senate endorsed the proposal to discontinue the Master of English Literatures and the Graduate Diploma in Arts (Modern Languages).

Senate endorsed a joint doctoral/cotutelle program by which HDR students can undertake their degree at their home and a host institution and obtain a degree from both institutions.  For example, this would suit visiting research practicum students, who are studying at UOW (for up to two years) as part of their research degree from a foreign university.

 Report prepared by Graham Barwell with input from Tony Simoes da Silva, Louise D’Arcens and Kerry Dunne.

Looking for alternative sources of funding for research? Want to engage with the community, business, not-for-profit or other groups? Interested in hearing about Arts academics experiences in this area?

The Arts Faculty Research Committee (FRC) will be running an informal lunchtime workshop on Commercial & Community Engagement Research. 

When:   Thursday 26^th May
Time:    12:30pm – 1.30pm 
Where:  19.1003
Lunch will be provided. 

The workshop will consist of a panel of Arts academics sharing their experiences of commercial and community engagement research such as:

• establishing relationships with groups such as government, community, business, and not-for-profit to create research collaborations   
• consultancies
• contracts

The aim of this informal workshop is to hear about the types of projects that staff have done, how they did it and the benefits of this research such as:

• increased professional reputation and track record
• generating alternative sources of research funding
• transfer of knowledge to the  wider community
• building relationships that lead to further commercial opportunities or linkage grants

The FRC would like to encourage all staff to attend to share their ideas and experiences in this area.

For catering purposes, please RSVP to Leonie Clement (leoniec@uow.edu.au) by Friday 20^th May.

ISTR SEMINAR

Monday 9 May, 12.30-1.30pm

Room 19.2061

A light lunch will be provided.

 

Presented by Professor Mica Nava

Visceral Cosmopolitanism:

From Alterity to Mere Difference

Abstract:

Mica Nava will discuss some of the conceptual and historical issues raised in her book Visceral Cosmopolitanism: Gender, Culture and the Normalisation of Difference. This focuses mainly on the UK twentieth century metropolitan experience and is concerned with cosmopolitanism as a ‘structure of feeling’ — as an empathetic, inclusive and sometimes eroticised range of feelings and attitudes towards others, otherness and the foreign — which finds expression in vernacular and domestic forms as well as in commerce, social science and the arts.

Biography:

Mica Nava is Professor of Cultural Studies and Co-director of the Centre for Cultural Studies Research in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of East London. Publications include Changing Cultures: Feminism, Youth and Consumerism (1992), Modern Times: Reflections on a Century of English Modernity (1996) and Visceral Cosmopolitanism: Gender, Culture and the Normalisation of Difference (2007).

For further information, contact Vera Mackie (vera@uow.edu.au)

All welcome.

Announcement of New Vice Chancellor
Professor Gerard Sutton will retire at the end of 2011 after serving with distinction as UOW’s Vice Chancellor since 1995. The selection process for the new VC is now complete: an offer has been made and accepted. The appointment is expected to be ratified at the Council meeting of 20 April, after which the University community will be informed via email of the outcome.

AUQA
The visit of the AUQA (Australian Universities Quality Agency) panel to the UOW campus took place from 28 to 31 March, after visits to UOW operations overseas, and after a long period of preparation and information gathering. The two major themes for the 2011 audit were ‘Enabling Undergraduate Learning at UOW’ and ‘International Activities’. Faculty of Arts staff interviewed in the audit were Tony Simoes da Silva, Kerry Dunne, Stephen Brown, Kate Bowles, Di Kelly, Min Tao and yours truly, plus a number of students both at the main campus and the Shoalhaven campus. From all reports, Arts received very favourable comments, but the audit was not about individual faculties but about the way measures of quality are embedded in all our practices across the institution. At the conclusion of interviews, the panel presented an oral report to the Senior Executive; this will be followed by a draft written report, and the University will be given the opportunity to comment before the final report is made public in about four months’ time. Based on the oral report, we have a reasonable idea of the panel’s assessment. Under ‘Enabling Undergraduate Learning’ the overall view was positive: the University was given commendations for the quality of student experience, for strategic planning and integration, for assessment benchmarking, for the strong role of Council and Senate in setting the University’s direction, for the provision of accurate data through PIP (Performance Indicator Project), and for the roles of the University Education Committee and Faculty Education Committees.  Areas noted for further improvement included the role of course co-ordinators, e-learning strategic planning and regular teacher evaluations.  In the area of ‘International Activities’ the panel expressed some concerns. On the positive side, the onshore experience of international students, English language reviews, the operation of the DVC (International)’s office and its interaction with faculties, and our programs at the Singapore Institute of Management were all mentioned. On the less positive side was the view that a shared vision of internationalisation was insufficiently embedded into all the University’s activities; there was some concern about quality assurance in relation to off-shore teaching, and about marketing materials for international students, also about the structure and mission of the University’s Internationalisation Committee. I should add that the Faculty of Arts did not have much input into the international theme and investigation as we did not, during the audit period, have major off-shore programs. The panel praised some other areas not specifically linked to the nominated themes: the look and feel of the campus, security on campus and transport services.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all staff involved in AUQA: it represented a major investment of time and energy, not only for those of us who were interviewed but for everyone who helped field the numerous requests and gather material over a period of more than a year (Nuala and your team: you know who you are). I would also like to acknowledge the input of a former member of staff, Rebecca Albury, who retired at the end of 2010. The Faculty’s self-review, in which she played a major part, was cited as an example of best practice.

International
We may not have had much in the way of off-shore engagement during the period investigated by the AUQA audit, but we are firing on several fronts now. Susan Engel was at the Dubai campus of UOW for the accreditation process of our Master of International Studies, which they propose to offer from September this year. There are still issues to be ironed out in order to fit our degree into a different institutional and educational environment, but so far reports are positive, and the President of UOWD wrote to me to comment on the instrumental role Susan had played in the process. In Malaysia, we are also moving along the long and rather tortuous road to accreditation, in this case for the Bachelor of Communication and Media Studies at INTI/Laureate. Philip Kitley is looking after this process on our behalf, together with the BCMS team. In addition to this, we will be offering two subjects into an undergraduate degree in Psychology delivered at the Singapore Institute of Management, one of them starting this year.

New appointments
Dr John Bolin has accepted a position in English Literatures and will join us mid-year. Originally from the US, John holds his PhD from Oxford University, where he is currently employed. His main area of expertise is in Beckett studies.

Professor Ian Buchanan has accepted the position of Director of the Institute of Social Transformation Research. Ian, who hails from Western Australia and is currently Professor of Critical and Cultural Theory at Cardiff University, will join the Faculty in early September. Ian has a distinguished record of research in critical and cultural theory and is best known for his work on Gilles Deleuze and Fredric Jameson.

Dr Adrian Mabbot-Athique, who was going to join the BCMS team mid-year, has withdrawn from the position, which will be readvertised.

We are currently advertising for a Senior Lecturer to work across Arts and Creative Arts, mainly in the area of Digital Communication. We expect to advertise three other academic positions this year.

Student consultation
The University’s policy on student consultation requires that ‘full-time staff will make available an average of four hours consultation time per week during session’.  It further states: ‘The times and means of staff availability for consultation must be approved by the Head of Academic Unit, and must be displayed publicly in the academic unit and clearly explained in each subject outline.’ In the Faculty of Arts the agreed requirement is that for full time staff this means availability for three hours in person at regular times during session, with the hours displayed on the door and communicated to Arts Central. Consultation via telephone (via appointment) or email should also be available to students.

I would like to stress to all staff the importance of making yourselves available for student consultation. It came up as one of the most important items of discussion in the AUQA panel’s interviews with students, and Subject Evaluation Surveys regularly demonstrate that access to staff is a priority for students. UOW generally scores well in surveys of student satisfaction and we need to ensure that we retain our high standard.

Working from home
The UOW Enterprise Agreement states that working from home, or from another off-campus location, may be approved on the condition that staff have appropriate facilities for communication with the University, including telephone and internet/email access, and that such work facilities are approved for OH&S. Some universities have withdrawn access to ‘work from home’ arrangements because of OH&S concerns, but this has not been the case at UOW, although some faculties have decided to mandate staff presence on campus every working day. In the Faculty of Arts the general agreement is that academic staff can work from home one day per week as approved by their supervisor, as long as they are available via email or telephone, and are prepared to come to campus if their presence is required for meetings or other activities. In exceptional circumstances, supervisors may agree to two days’ absence provided this does not interfere with teaching, student consultation, availability to other staff or administrative duties. In the non-teaching period, staff are expected to be on campus at least three days per week unless other arrangements have been agreed to by the supervisor.

The Faculty recognises that working from home may be more productive for activities such as research and marking, and would like to retain the flexibility of current arrangements. I need to stress, however, the need to share on-campus activities such as administration and student consultation as evenly as we can among staff, and that staff are expected to attend Faculty, School and other meetings even if these occur on days when they normally work from home.

 Wenche