The December 12, 2011 edition of The Insider is now available.

In this edition:

• Excitement filled the TELUS Centre in Edmonton on November 15, when the Alberta Women’s Memory Project (AWMP) held its inaugural fundraiser, A Celebration of Women’s Voices from the Past to the Future. The event resulted in generous donations of services, products and cash from individuals, corporations, AU and the University of Alberta, all of which will be used to create an initial AWMP operating fund.
• The past can speak to us when we have artifacts to interpret and learn from. Helen Signe Petersen Bentley felt strongly enough about some of her belongings to keep them throughout her life. Now those items have been donated to the Alberta Women’s Memory Project.
• For the fourth year in a row, Athabasca University marketing team has been recognized for excellence in an annual award competition. The MarCom Awards, which sift through about 5,000 entries each year, announced this November that AU received two awards in the 2011 competition.

·         Tololwa Mollel, a well-known story teller and author of 16 books and plays, is Athabasca University's 2011/2012 Writer in Residence. His work explores the oral traditions of African and North American cultures.

• The Office of the Registrar at AU is implementing a new web-based tool, DegreeWorks, that will help AU students and AU advisers successfully navigate our institution’s curriculum requirements with greater simplicity, speed, and efficiency.

·         In the years immediately following the First World War and the 1917 Russian Revolution, many of those on the British Left were tempted, to a greater or lesser degree, by what author Ian Bullock calls the “myth” of soviet democracy: the belief that Russia had embarked on a brave experiment in a form of popular government more advanced even than British parliamentarism. AU Press has just published Bullock’s book, Romancing the Revolution: The Myth of Soviet Democracy and the British Left.

• After 35 years as a tutor in Anthropology 362 and Sociology 378, Carole Benner is retiring from AU. She took some time to put pen to paper and reflect on her time here.

·         As well as AU In the News and News Briefs.

The first issue in 2012 will be published January 23. The deadline for submissions is January 13.

Happy Holidays Everyone.