Dean's Report
COVID-19
The last fortnight has required extraordinary adjustments for us all in light of the enormous challenges of COVID-19. I’m sure we are all gaining skills and adopting new routines as we continue our work from home. Some recent interesting data revealed that on one day last week 6,552 University Zoom webinars and meetings with close to 100,000 participants took place.
I do appreciate the enormous amount of work that you are doing in delivering our courses online and keeping in contact with our students who are also having to make huge adjustments. Due to the potential impact on reduced student load going forward and diminished revenue from Category 2-4 research during 2020, we are carefully managing our teaching demand for Semester 2 to ensure that we can utilise our full staff capacity. To that end, our first requirement is to draw on our existing staff, within workloads to provide our program, and to identify that there may be more than the usual need for some shifts in allocation of their teaching, as we respond to student demand and to staff availabilities. I thank, in advance, our outstanding program and cognate leaders and centre directors who will assist us to understand how best to work with people’s capabilities and availabilities. I fully appreciate that this is a challenging time for all, leadership included, but so far we’ve seen our staff rise to the occasion to ensure that we sustain our quality teaching, learning and research.
We do want to make sure that you are fully supported as we continue to deliver under these trying circumstances, so please let your supervisors and leaders know at any time, if there is a need for assistance.
The COVID-19 dedicated University website is constantly updated and is a good source of information on a wide range of issues including health advice, working remotely and supporting students. Here at MGSE we have just launched an MGSE Yammer page , a social networking tool, which will provide an informal way for us to stay connected with hints on great music to listen to, series and movies to watch and maybe even the odd joke or meme.
MGSE Academic Performance Guidelines
Today we launch MGSE’s Academic Performance Guidelines (APG) which have been developed with significant input from Cognate Groups and senior academic leaders. I would like to thank everyone for their contributions to this important piece of work. The key purpose of the APG is to give guidance and clarity to the performance expectations of academic staff at MGSE. It is designed to help you set your goals and develop your careers and will be used as part of the ongoing conversations you have with your supervisors as part of the University’s Performance Planning cycle. The current PDF process is continuing and I would encourage you all to start using the APG to assist with these discussions in the coming weeks.
The activities and expectations outlined in the APG are aligned to the University’s Academic Performance Framework. Staff are not required to meet all the expectations described for each academic level but should meet a range of measures over a five-year period. This is a ‘living document’ that will be reviewed and updated annually. I am interested in how useful you find it as a guide for your performance discussions and welcome any feedback. Please direct any feedback directly to Paula McAllister (mgse-hr@unimelb.edu.au). A Zoom Q & A session will be scheduled after the Easter break.
Deputy Dean and Associate Dean (Engagement)
I am delighted that Professor Janet Clinton, Director of the Centre for Program Evaluation (CPE), has accepted the role of Deputy Dean commencing Monday, 4 May 2020.
I am also pleased to announce that Associate Professor Suzanne Rice has accepted the role of Associate Dean (Engagement), a new role at MGSE which will oversee the engagement portfolio and related projects, including the development and implementation of MGSE’s Engagement Strategy. I would also like to acknowledge the leadership of Professor Helen Cahill during her term as Deputy Dean for the past two years and to thank her for her outstanding work.
2020 Distinguished Scholar and Service Award
Congratulations to Professor Joe Lo Bianco who has been awarded the 2020 Distinguished Scholar and Service Award by the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA). This prestigious award honours an ALAA member who has provided outstanding scholarly achievement and service to the field of Applied Linguistics and to the ALAA.
Lastly, I would like to wish you all a very safe and happy Easter and I hope you have the chance to relax and disconnect from work. We have all been living through an extremely intense and challenging period with little time to pause and absorb our new reality. I hope the Easter break gives us all time to take stock and to spend time with family and friends, even if it is by remote means.
Jim