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 | Complete. Role developed and approved in fall term 2023. Recruitment is ongoing, with several Associate Deans appointed in 2024 and 2025. | VPAC; VPI; Deans; 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. Deans and VPAC continue to prioritize the recruitment of Indigenous scholars, including through cluster hires. In 2025, the Faculty of Science hired four Indigenous scholars as part of a cluster hire. |
VPAC; Deans; UVic Libraries |
| Enhance recognition of Indigenous scholars and scholarship | Complete and ongoing. In consultation with VPI, VPAC developed a new REACH Award for Indigenous Scholarship in 2023, with the inaugural recipient recognized in 2024. The Award—Nəc̓əmaat kʷəns čeʔi ʔay̓ šqʷeləqʷən | ĆȺNEUEL OL ÍY, ŚḰÁLEȻEN | Work together with a good heart and mind | Award for Decolonization and Indigenous Anti-Racism —supports work being done across campus to review and update curricula and pedagogical practice using decolonization and/or anti-Indigenous racism approaches. | VPAC; LTI |
| Support faculty and librarians in valuing and evaluating Indigenous scholarship |
Complete and ongoing. A course has been developed and will launch fall 2025. Work on other training modules are currently in development. EQHR has developed enhanced equity-focused hiring tools, which will be rolled out to chairs and directors in fall 2025. |
Faculty Relations |
| Indigenous cluster hire supports | In progress. Implementation of welcome events, grant writing support, and introductory teaching supports for new Indigenous scholars underway. | Faculties |
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 |
Ongoing. 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 |
Complete and ongoing. Examples include:
|
VPAC; Deans; Faculties; UVic Libraries; LTI |
| Maintain and support working relationships and institutional engagement with the UVSS and GSS | 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 and formed a new committee. All faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in the annual 5 Days of Action. |
VPAC; EQHR |
| Integrate equity, diversity and inclusion into decision making | Complete and ongoing. We are collaborating to improve our data collection, reporting and analytical capabilities, including through the Better Data Project. These enhancements will help 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 continue to support the naming and renaming buildings according to local First Nations protocols. In recent years, 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. Additionally, the student housing building formerly known as Trutch was renamed ʔéʔləŋ (Si ̓chungulh House). | VPI; USEC; VPFO; Student Affairs; Board of Governors |
| Retain equity-deserving faculty, staff, and students | In progress. Several Faculties are implementing new EDI-informed hiring practices (including cluster hiring), community engagement guidelines, student awards, and equity policy leadership. | VPAC; Faculties |
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
Strategic links
- Strategic Plan
- Equity Action Plan
- Indigenous Plan
- Aspiration 2030
- Climate and Sustainability Action Plan
- Accessibility Plan
- Campus Plan
- Planning & Budget Framework
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 |
Complete and ongoing. Launched the community of practice in fall 2023 that includes regular forums and meetings with chairs and directors throughout the Winter Session. Forums are supported by an interdisciplinary leadership table with chairs and directors, led by the Deputy Provost. VPAC hosts an annual appreciate event for chairs and directors every summer. |
VPAC; Deans |
| Enhance training and development offerings for leaders, faculty and librarians |
Complete. Launched new training materials for ARPT committee members related to increasing equity in decision processes as well as supporting and evaluating community-engaged scholarship. |
Faculty Relations; VPAC; EQHR |
| Explore mentorship opportunities for faculty and academic leaders |
In progress. VPAC is consulting on and developing a new mentorship program for 2026/27 that responds to the needs of faculty, librarians and academic leaders in our evolving post-secondary landscape. New faculty and librarians are encouraged to meet with their unit head to discuss potential pairing options with senior colleagues. |
VPAC |
| Value diverse research practice | Launched a course in evaluating community-engaged research. | Faculty Relations |
| Embrace principles of Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) | Complete and ongoing. VPRI engaged in consultations with Deans' Council and Executive Council and signed UVic on to DORA in 2024. | VPRI; VPAC; Deans; Faculties; UVic Libraries |
| Establish an international graduate student peer mentorship program | In progress. Program will focus on supports for new international graduate students to enhance recruitment, retention, and success. | Faculty of Graduate Studies |
| Enable communities of practice for faculty and instructors | Complete. LTI coordinates three communities of practice focusing on teaching and learning, including Accessible Teaching and Learning that launched in 2024/25. | VPAC; LTI |
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; LTI; Senate |
| Reduce and manage academic accommodation requests |
Ongoing. Implemented temporary resources in 2023/24 and continue to respond to resourcing needs. A working group co-chaired by the AVP Academic Programs and Faculty Association developed recommendations for the Provost who responded in August 2024. Strategies, resources and timely updated are provided on the VPAC website. |
VPAC; Student Affairs |
| Streamline processes for program planning processes and academic program reviews | In progress. Updated resources available on the VPAC website. Work is underway in 2025 to launch new PowerBI reports for units engaged in program reviews. | 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. Surveys are ongoing. | VPAC; VPFO; Executive Council |
Explore other goals and initiatives in the academic plan: