Advancing scholarly culture

Goals and strategies related to advancing a respectful, diverse and inclusive scholarly culture, as part of the Academic Action Plan.

Indigenous scholarship

Goals and strategies

Encourage appreciation of Indigenous scholarship
Support Indigenous governance
Increase diversity of faculty complement
Support Indigenous scholars and scholarship
Recruit, mentor and support Indigenous leadership

Strategic links

Strategic Plan
Equity Action Plan
Indigenous Plan

Key initiatives and progress

Goal or initiative	Progress and outcomes	Accountability
Co-develop the Associate Deans Indigenous role	Role developed and approved in fall term 2023. Recruitment underway in 2024.	VPAC; VPI; Deans; Senate; Board of Governors
Recruit Indigenous scholars	Building on the success of a previous program that recruited 15 Indigenous scholars to UVic, our ratified Collective Agreement with the Faculty Association includes a commitment to increasing and supporting Indigenous faculty and librarians through the Indigenous Recruitment Support Fund.	VPAC; Deans; UVic Libraries
Enhance recognition of Indigenous scholars and scholarship	In consultation with VPI, developed a new REACH Award for Indigenous Scholarship in 2023, with the inaugural recipient to be recognized in 2024. The Award—Nəc̓əmaat kʷəns čeʔi ʔay̓ šqʷeləqʷən \| ĆȺNEUEL OL ÍY, ŚḰÁLEȻEN \| Work together with a good heart and mind—supports work being done across campus to review and update curricula and pedagogical practice using decolonization and/or anti-Indigenous racism approaches.	VPAC; LTSI
Ensure our hiring and onboarding practices are supporting a process to align the diversity in our student population with that of our staff population	In progress. Could include supporting cluster hires.	Deans; Chairs and Directors; VPAC; Student Affairs
Support faculty and librarians in valuing and evaluating Indigenous scholarship	Course development in progress.	Faculty Relations

ÁTOL,NEUEL

ÁTOL,NEUEL means respecting the rights of one another and being in right relationship with all things.

Goals and strategies

Create opportunities for interdisciplinary work
Create more opportunities to engage faculty and instructors to improve collegiality
Break down silos and foster collaboration
Celebrate scholarship
Encourage academic participation in academic governance and decision-making

Strategic links

Strategic Plan
Equity Action Plan
Indigenous Plan

Key initiatives and progress

Goal or initiative	Progress and outcomes	Accountability
Support faculty and librarians in advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, Indigenization or anti-oppression	The Knowledge Connection Fund supports faculty and librarians who are Indigenous, Black, or people of color that require additional time to undertake assigned or approved work in support of university initiatives in the areas of equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, Indigenization or anti-oppression. The Fund was established by the University of Victoria and the University of Victoria Faculty Association as part of the 2022-2025 Collective Agreement and has a dedicated allocation of $500,000.	VPAC
Host more townhalls and events, including events that celebrate scholarship	In progress and ongoing.	VPAC; Deans; Faculties; UVic Libraries
Maintain and support working relationships and institutional engagement with the UVSS and GSS	In progress and ongoing. Regular executive-to-executive meetings on matters important to students.	Student Affairs; Executive Council
Co-develop a campaign, workshops, and outcomes aimed at supporting respectful environments at UVic	In progress and ongoing. Launched Respectful Environment Initiative in 2023.	VPAC; EQHR
Integrate equity, diversity and inclusion into decision making	We are collaborating to improve our data collection, reporting and analytical capabilities. These enhancements will ensure our equity, diversity and inclusion targets cascade to all units on campus, identifying gaps and providing resources to improve recruitment and retention for those who have historically experienced barriers.	VPAC; EQHR; University Systems
Indigenous naming (and re-naming) of buildings and wayfinding	We are supporting the naming and renaming buildings according to local First Nations protocols. Songhees and Esquimalt Nations have given us permission to use the names Čeqʷəŋín ʔéʔləŋ (Cheko’nien House) & Sŋéqə ʔéʔləŋ (Sngequ House) for the student housing and dining facilities that opened in 2022 and 2023.	VPI; USEC; VPFO; Student Affairs

Mentorship & training

Goals and strategies

Community of practice for Deans
Empower and support academic leadership, including through peer-to-peer mentorship
Encourage faculty and staff professional development
Deliver strong orientation and acculturation that welcomes new faculty and staff into community
Encourage and support leadership development, particularly members from equity-deserving groups

Key initiatives and progress

Goal or initiative	Progress and outcomes	Accountability
Empower chairs and directors by creating a community of practice and development of strategic skills, as well as succession planning and advancement opportunities	Launched the community of practice in fall 2023 that includes regular townhalls with chairs and directors, usually twice a term.	VPAC; Deans
Enhance training and development offerings for leaders, faculty and librarians	Ongoing.	Faculty Relations; VPAC
Introduce new EDI-related development opportunities aligned with the learning needs of faculty and staff.	Ongoing.	Faculty Relations; VPAC; EQHR; Human Resources; Student Affairs
Create opportunities for faculty and librarians to connect, network, teach and learn from each other	The revamped Supportive Communities Program brings together new faculty and librarians with colleagues at all career stages to share their experiences and expertise.	VPAC
RPT Mentorship	In progress.	VPAC
Value diverse research practice	Launched a course in evaluating community-engaged research.	Faculty Relations
Embrace principles of Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)	VPRI engaged in consultations with Deans' Council and Executive Council and signed UVic on to DORA in 2024.	VPRI; VPAC; Deans; Faculties; UVic Libraries

Service excellence

Goals and strategies

Collaborate to improve academic services and program delivery

Strategic links

Strategic Plan
Equity Action Plan
Accessibility Plan
Planning & Budget Framework

Key initiatives and progress

Goal or initiative	Progress and outcomes	Accountability
Develop a new course scheduling system and room booking system	In progress, with consultations underway.	Student Affairs; VPAC
Improve course outlines, including by providing consistent and clear resources for instructors	Complete. At their December 2023 meeting, following consultations with academic leaders, Senate approved new guidelines for undergraduate and graduate course outlines, effective May 1, 2024. Resources for instructors are available on Teach Anywhere.	VPAC; LTSI; Senate
Reduce and manage academic accommodation requests	In progress. Implemented temporary resources for the 2023/24 Winter Session. A working group co-chaired by the AVP Academic Programs and Faculty Association are developing recommendations for the Provost to review in spring 2024.	VPAC; Student Affairs
Streamline processes for program planning processes and academic program reviews	In progress. Updated resources available on the VPAC website.	VPAC
Improve service excellence across campus for centralized services	In progress. Launched a service excellence survey project in 2023/24 with stakeholders invited to provide feedback on key resources, towards improvements.	VPAC; VPFO; Integrated Planning

Explore other goals and initiatives in the academic plan:

Student life Fostering innovation