Staff news

Penny Silva

In February 2001 Penny Silva was appointed as the Director of the OED. The post had been vacant since December 1999: Martin Richardson, Publishing Director for Science and Medicine, Journals and OED, looked after the project during 2000.

Penny was Executive Director of the Dictionary Unit for South African English at Rhodes University in Grahamstown from 1991-98, and joined the OED in February 1999 as Deputy Chief Editor. Her new role means that she has moved from involvement in the editing process and the management of the editorial groups to management of all the various aspects of the project, including technological support and the publication of OED Online.

John Carmichael

John Carmichael, the manager of the Technology Group, left the OED at the end of April 2001 after two years in the project. John's meticulous management of the complex systems enabling the OED editors to do their work securely is greatly appreciated. The launch of OED Online took place during John's time in the project, and his cooperation with the Online Publication Group ensured that the conversion of batches of text for publication each quarter proceeded smoothly and to deadline. We wish him well in his future career.