All University of Kent staff are invited to a lunchtime BBQ hosted by the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Karen Cox.

The lunchtime BBQs will take place on the Registry Lawn in Canterbury on Wednesday 26 June (12.00 -14.00) and outside No 1 Bistro in Medway on Monday 24 June (12.00-14.00).

Please register for either Canterbury or Medway and bring your ticket with you on the day.

The RSVP for this event is Monday 17 June – please register as soon as possible as this is a popular event.

Vegetarian and vegan food will be provided, but please do register any other dietary requirements.

The BBQs are free events for staff and we would hope to see you there.

Please email events@kent.ac.uk if you have any further questions.

Our Staff Guide webpages were launched last December. And to mark their six-month anniversary, we’d like to hear what you like, and don’t like so much, about the new guide.

During June, we will be holding focus groups on the Staff Guide at our Canterbury and Medway campuses. They will be taking place on

• Monday 10 June, 14.30-15.30 – Darwin Board Room, Canterbury
• Thursday 13 June,  15.30-16.30 – Darwin Board Room, Canterbury
• Wednesday 19 June, 14.30-15.30 – Medway Building (M2.04), Medway

The sessions will be led by Etienne Donzelot and Wendy Raeside from Corporate Communications who created the guide, with help from colleagues in other key teams such as WebDev and HR.

The Staff Guide aims to cover everything you need to know about working at Kent – with essential staff information in easy-to-search categories, such as:

• Getting Started
• Employment and Benefits
• Professional and Personal Development
• Day-to-Day Support
• Teaching and Research
• Safety and Wellbeing
• On Campus

Although six months old, the Staff Guide is very much a work in progress and we are keen to hear your feedback so we ensure it works for you.

Sign-up for a focus group now – ideally by Friday 31 May – by emailing us at communications@kent.ac.uk with your preferred day, time and venue.

The University is offering a one-off opportunity for staff to purchase one week (pro rata for part-time staff) of additional leave which can be taken between July 2019 and June 2020.

The cost of buying the leave is the same as the reduction in salary would be for taking unpaid leave, but the advantage is that the cost is deducted from salary over 12 months, thereby spreading the cost throughout the year. Pension contributions are not affected.

The facility is available to professional service staff in grades 1 to 10 and professional and senior management staff, holding full-time or part-time contracts of employment either on an open-ended or fixed-term basis. Unfortunately, due to either contractual or operational constraints, some groups of staff are excluded from applying for this facility.

Full details of the facility can be found on the HR webpages.

This facility is mutually beneficial to both staff and the University by providing additional flexibility for employees whilst generating savings for the University through the deduction of salary.

Applications to purchase the additional leave, and requests to book the leave, are made through Staff Connect. Guidance on how to do this is available via Staff Connect. Scroll down to Additional Leave (purchased).

The LGBT+ Staff Network has issued a statement in response to the University’s decision to host the Lambeth Bishop’s Conference 2020.

‘Network members are deeply disappointed and hurt by the University’s decision to host the Lambeth Bishop’s Conference 2020 despite the Church’s decision to exclude same-sex spouses (see statement from 25 April 2019). The University should have cancelled hosting the Conference, because specifically excluding same-sex spouses is homophobic from the side of the church, and hosting the event on University premises facilitates this act of institutional homophobia. The Staff Network calls on the University to reconsider its decision to host Lambeth 2020 and to prioritise its commitment to LGBT+ students and staff alike on issues of equality, diversity, and inclusivity.

‘Should the University of Kent maintain its decision to host, the Staff Network calls on the University to withdraw its facilities and support for the discriminatory “spouses programme”. Those events should take place off campus. The University cannot uphold its commitment to values of equality, diversity, and inclusivity while allowing the discriminatory stream of the Lambeth Conference to go ahead.

The University’s statement from 25 April acknowledges “the hurt experienced by many people because of the decision to exclude same-sex spouses”. Cancelling support for the exclusionary and homophobic spouses programme would not only recognise that hurt, but actively mitigate it. It would be one very important and material step that the University of Kent can take to support its LGBT+ staff and students and to uphold its commitment to the values of equality, diversity, and inclusivity that the University says it stands for.’

Learning and Organisational Development have a number of training opportunities open to staff in June and July. They include:

Crucial Conversations – Wednesday 5 June, 09.00-17.00 and Tuesday 18 June, 09.00-17.00 or Monday 9 July, 09.00-17.00 and Monday 22 July, 09.00-17.00. Two-day programme for academic and professional service leaders at Grades 9 and 10.

Working in an Environment of Change –  Wednesday 5 June, 14.00-16.00 or Friday 7 June, 10.00-12.00, Monday 10 June, 14.00-16.00, Thursday 13 June, 14.00-16.00, Monday 24 June, 10.00-12.00,  Wednesday 3 July, 14.00-16.00. Open to all staff members.

Mental Health Awareness – Monday 10 June, 10.00-13.30. For any member of staff who would like to increase their understanding of mental health awareness and managing personal resilience.

Leading and Managing through Change – Friday 14 June or Tuesday 25 June, 09.30-16.30. This session is open to leaders and managers (academic and professional services).

Supporting Staff Through Change – Monday 17 June, 10.00-12.00 or Thursday 27 June, 10.00-12.00. This session is open to all members of staff with managerial responsibilities.

Time Management – Tuesday 18 June , 09.30-16.30 or Friday 28 June, 09.30-16.30. This session is open to all members of staff.

Pre-retirement – Tuesday 25 June, 09.00-16.30. This session is open to all members of staff.

Mid-Career Session – Tuesday 25 June 13.30-16.00 or Monday 8 July, 09.00-11.30. This session is open to any member of staff who has an interest in planning their finances to achieve their personal and financial goals.

Developing Self and Others – Tuesday 25 June, 09.30-12.30 or Monday 15 July, 13.30-16.30. For Managers/Supervisors who are involved in undertaking appraisal (RPD) discussions with members of staff. The workshop is suitable for managers new to undertaking these discussions or for more experienced managers looking to refresh their knowledge and skills in this area.

Note Taking – Thursday 27 June 09.00-12.30. This session is open to all members of staff.

Recruitment and Selection Part 2 Full Programme – Friday 28 June, 09.30-16.30 or Thursday 18 July, 09.30-16.30. This programme of activities is designed to support Chairs of Panel and hiring managers.

Appraisal (RPD) – Wednesday 3 July 09.30-12.30. For any staff members who are interested in and preparing for their appraisal (RPD) discussion.

Central Staff Induction event – Tuesday 9 July. 10.00-13.30. If you are a new member of staff, as part of completion of your probation, you will need to attend a Central Staff Induction event.

Managing Performance – Thursday 11 July 2019, 09.30-12.30. This session is aimed at managers and supervisors.

Understanding Statistics in your Job – Monday 22 July, 10.00-16.00. This course is open to all members of staff.

Find out more about these and other workshops/courses and book your place now via Staff Connect.

A collaborative venture across the Library, Student Success Project, SECL and SSPSSR Medway received the Talis Aspire User Group Creativity Award 2019 for using reading lists as a mechanism to develop diverse library collections.

This national award was made by a group of peers drawn from UK universities, who stated: ‘This is a truly innovative use of Talis Aspire reading lists and data, and there’s potential for this project to have national impact.’ (The Talis Aspire User Group, May 2019)

Students Collins Konadu-Mensah and Evangeline Agyeman and Liaison Librarians Emma Mires-Richards and Sarah Field accepted this award on behalf of the project and presented a paper to the conference that outlines the work and its outcomes – Diversity in the curriculum: a collaborative approach.

Over the last year, Diversity Mark pilot projects have taken place in:

• • the School of European Culture and Languages led by Dr Laura Bailey (Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics)
  • SSPSSR Medway coordinated by Dr Barbara Adewumi (Sociology Lecturer) and Dave Thomas (Student Success Project Officer).

Professor April McMahon, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education, said: ‘This is a measure of all the fantastic work that [the group] have been doing in Library Collections and in the Student Success Project in partnership with students and the wider University. We are absolutely delighted that they all have been awarded the 2019 award for their work to diversify library collections and support the development of a more inclusive learning experience. It is great for this innovative, first-class and highly collaborative project to receive national recognition in this way – it is very richly deserved.’

Following the success of the Diversity Mark pilot, there are plans to offer this service to other schools in the next academic year. For more details, contact the Student Success Project or your Liaison Librarian.

The “Oscars of higher education”, the THE Awards 2019, are open for entries.

This year’s awards feature categories including:

• Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year
• Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community
• Outstanding Library Team
• Technological Innovation of the Year
• International Collaboration of the Year

Take a look at these and other categories  and, if you have an idea for an entry, let the team in Corporate Communications know. Deadline for entries is Wednesday 5 June so please let us know – by emailing communications@kent.ac.uk asap.

With your help, we may be able to repeat Kent’s successes in the awards over the last two years – in 2017, winning the Outstanding Support for Students category (for our Student Success Project) and in 2018, winning, again, for Outstanding Support for Students for our OPERA project and shortlisted in the Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year (Professor Nicola Shaughnessy, School of Arts).

Picture shows: The Kent team collecting the Outstanding Support for Students trophy from Sandi Toksvig (far left) at the THE Awards 2018.