Hart-Wensley to work with faculty, academic administrators

Kim Hart-Wensley has crossed McGill Road—from the Fraser Building to the Administrative Services Building—taking her legal skills and knowledge and the extensive administrative experience she gained in the law faculty to her new position as associate vice-president, faculty relations and academic administration.

For the past three-and-a-half years, she has served as associate dean, academic and student relations, in the law faculty.

“I’m very pleased to have Kim join the provost’s office,” says Vice-President Academic and Provost Jamie Cassels. “She has the right combination of skills and experience as a lawyer, senior administrator and faculty member to do a superb job in her new role. She’s committed to excellence in our academic mission and fairness in our policies and practices, and I know that the entire university community will appreciate the leadership and support that she will provide.”

Hart-Wensley received her LLB from UVic in 1993. Prior to joining the Faculty of Law in 2001 as a senior instructor, she practiced law in Victoria for six years and was a judicial law clerk to the justices of the BC Supreme Court. Her interest in attending law school was rooted in her prior administrative positions with the Ontario Workers Compensation Appeals Tribunal and the Ontario Conflict of Interest Commission.

From 2002 to 2005, she was southern director of the Akitsiraq Law School program, offered by UVic in partnership with the Akitsiraq Law School Society and Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit. She was responsible for curriculum development and faculty recruitment and retention and dealt with student issues and compliance with UVic academic regulations. She also taught in the program.
As associate law dean, Hart-Wensley was responsible for all matters related to delivery of the academic program, including academic counselling of students on a wide range of issues. She also worked closely with faculty on issues including policies on student evaluation, equity and academic accommodation.

In her new position reporting to the vice-president, academic, Hart-Wensley is responsible for all faculty relations matters, including recruitment and retention, negotiation and administration of the framework agreement and development of related policies and procedures, and support and training of academic administrators. She will also be the first point of contact for academic administrators and will provide them with direct advice on issues relating to personnel, governance, students, policy and administration.

“During the years that Mary Anne Waldron, as associate vice-president legal affairs, was responsible for these matters, the university grew tremendously, particularly in its research activities,” says Hart-Wensley. “It was decided that the responsibilities of her position would be divided between a UVic general counsel and the AVP. The general counsel will be able to provide legal services to the university on issues such as contracts, corporate finance, real property and related matters and I, as AVP, can expand more into the faculty relations side.

“As associate dean, I called on Mary Anne on a number of occasions, so I was familiar with some aspects of the position,” she says. “I was excited about the opportunity it provided to bring together my legal training, skills and knowledge while working in an environment—the university—that I really enjoy.”

Since she started at the beginning of March, Hart-Wensley has been busy getting up to speed on ongoing matters and files that already exist.

“I look forward to getting out and meeting people and discussing ways in which this office can support them,” she says. “I want to maintain open lines of communication with people all across campus and create a welcoming environment where we can work together, taking a collaborative approach to issues.”