Acknowledgements

Why Write? is the result of collaborative work from members of the Academic and Technical Writing Program, the Centre for Academic Communication, the Libraries at University of Victoria. This resource would not be possible without contributions from the following individuals:

• Nancy Ami and CAC folks
• Shailoo Bedi, Director for Student Academic Success
• Inba Kehoe, Manager UVic Libraries ePublishing Services, Stephanie Boulogne and team
• UVic’s ATWP subject librarian, Tina Bebbington
• Graduate assistants Natalie Boldt, Monica Conners, and Gemma Llewellyn
• ATWP program assistant Alex Martin who scheduled meetings, handled paperwork, and kept this complex project on track.

For funding that has supported this work, thanks and more are due to a number of individuals and units that care deeply about student access to high-quality course materials:

• The Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation Division at University of Victoria under the leadership of Laurene Shields, together with other partners (UVic Student Society (UVSS), the Libraries, and UVic Systems) offered the UVic Open Educational Resources grant that served as seed money for this project;
• UVic Libraries under the leadership of Jonathan Bengtson stepped in at a crucial moment to pay for work necessary to speed up the timeline for this project so that a textbook would be ready for courses moved online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Our VPAC’s office under the leadership of VP Academic and Provost, Valerie Kuehne and Associate Vice President for Academic Planning, Susan Lewis committed funds that made it possible to pay graduate assistants for their very necessary work;
• The Faculty of Humanities dean’s office, especially Associate Dean Academic Lisa Surridge, for partial funding to make possible a course release for Sara Humphreys.

Almost every chapter of this text references the Four Feathers Writing Guide created by and for Royal Roads University. We are grateful to all of those who contributed to this resources, which has inspired and guided our thinking. Erynne Gilpin, Indigenous Learning Specialist at the Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation Division at University of Victoria has also answered our questions about how we could create a welcoming text for all students, including those who are connected to Indigenous communities (many of which have been harmed by encounters institutions of higher learning). Dr. Gilpin deserves much thanks for her patience and wisdom.

This textbook is dedicated to University of Victoria students, past, present, and future, especially to those who use their education to make the world a better place.