As we tie up loose ends in HASS before the shut-down period, a great deal of time is being spent on curriculum matters. The next meeting of School Education Committee, on 15 December, will be a marathon as we continue working through the many unit amendments that will ensure compliance with UNE’s Assessment Architecture. Unit reviews will also be finalised, and course reviews – in Music, Criminology, and International Studies – have been wrapped up already or will be soon. 

Plenty is also being done to finalise 2025 workloads and make arrangements for 2026. Calls have been made for expressions of interest for two Course Coordinators – History and undergraduate Arts – as well as the School Honours Coordinator. We are aiming to make those appointments in time for them to be factored into 2026 workloads. 

In addition to many outstanding teaching and service achievements throughout the year, 2025 has seen a range of research excellence for HASS, including ARC successes and numerous conferences and publications, and of course we now have an Australian Academy of the Humanities Fellow (Prof Martin Gibbs) in our midst. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank everyone for their research endeavours as we wait to see what 2026 will bring. 

We are also looking forward to seeing everyone at the Faculty Christmas Party next Friday (the 12th) at the Bistro, where we can relax and enjoy a slideshow of the highlights of 2025. On 16 December, we have our last School gathering for 2025, a meeting to which all members of the School are invited, followed by afternoon tea for those of us on-campus in Armidale. 

Apart from business-as-usual work, we are pleased to see HASS colleagues participating in some special events: NADIGA, an exhibition by Anaiwan artist Gabi Briggs at the Armidale Showgrounds on 5 December; Resonance | Songsense, a free symposium and songwriting workshop at UNE Tamworth and online 5-6 December; a visit to UNE by O’Connor Catholic College students on 11 December; and Words, Music, Time, and Place, a musical event celebrating New England stories on 14 December at McCrossin’s Mill, Uralla. 

To end, I (Rose) would like to thank those HASS and HASSE colleagues, both academic and professional, who have supported me during my time as Acting and then Interim Head of School. Your collegiality and patience, and the various forms of help you have offered so generously, have made an enormous difference not only to me personally but also to the School. 

Wishing you all a well-deserved break with no deadlines and plenty of sleep – and remember to take your extra free day off on Friday 2nd January,

Rose (as Interim Head of School) and Jenny (as Interim Deputy Head of School)