VIU President Receives Indigenous Women in Leadership Award
July 24, 2020
Dr. Deborah Saucier, VIU President and Vice-Chancellor, is the 2020 recipient of this award from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) and TD Bank Group. Vancouver Island University (VIU) is proud to announce that our President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Deborah Saucier, is the 2020 recipient of the Indigenous Women in Leadership Award from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal... Read more
Milner Garden & Woodland Creates New Legacy Endowment Fund
July 21, 2020
Fund will help keep the gardens and woodland strong for continued enjoyment of the community. A new legacy fund in honour of the late Dr. Craig Clarke has been created to support Milner Gardens & Woodland. Earlier this year we sadly lost Clarke, Milner Society’s past chair, chair of the Site Committee, member of the Rhododendron Species Garden Advisory Group, initiator of the Coastal Forest... Read more
VIU Creates New Office of Community Partnerships
July 8, 2020
The office will act as a liaison between the community and university – connecting external partners and organizations to the skills, expertise and resources at VIU to support impactful and relevant community-based projects, initiatives and research. Vancouver Island University (VIU) is excited to announce the creation of the Office of Community Partnerships, which will focus on connecting... Read more
Virtual Graduation Celebration 2020
July 7, 2020
Virtual event to take place on September 30, 2020 First of all, I wanted to say a heartfelt congratulations to all of our Spring 2020 graduates. Graduating from university is an important milestone that deserves to be celebrated, honoured and reflected upon. This year it is especially important, as you have achieved this during a time of great upheaval and uncertainty. We announced in April that... Read more
Improving access to quality, affordable child care in Nanaimo
June 25, 2020
The Ministry of Children and Family Development is investing in new child care spaces in Nanaimo, including a new centre at Vancouver Island University (VIU). VIU’s Elders-in-Residence will consult on the centre’s curriculum to ensure children learn about Indigenous cultures, traditions and history. The new, accessible building will function as a child care centre, providing local families with... Read more
VIU’s ongoing response to the Black Lives Matter movement and racism in our community
June 8, 2020
Submitted by Irlanda Gonzalez Price, Associate Vice-President of Student Affairs and Monica Kay, Director of VIU’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office Over the past week we have had many conversations with students and employees, and know many others in our community are having similar conversations with each other, around the anti-Black racism protests that have drawn millions into the... Read more
All-Gender Washroom Renovations to be Completed this Summer
June 8, 2020
From the Library Services Team We are excited to share that renovations to create the first multi-stall all-gender washrooms on the VIU Nanaimo campus are now underway and expected to be completed this summer. The washrooms will be in the high-demand, high-traffic area in the 24/7 Library Commons behind Starbucks! As communicated previously, after careful consideration, we elected to combine... Read more
IT's Ask Me Anything
June 8, 2020
Have you ever wanted to get the entire IT department into a room and ask them anything you like? Are you willing to settle for 4-6 members of the IT department? We have the room for you! Or rather, a virtual room. In true Ask Me Anything style, we have no planned theme, just a planned panel willing to listen and answer your questions. However, if we can’t answer a question right then and there we... Read more
COVID-19 UPDATE: JUNE 4
June 4, 2020
As the COVID-19 situation evolves, we have found that the need for a regular update is winding down. This is not the last COVID-19 update, we just wanted to let you know that we are reimagining new ways to continue to keep our community informed, which will include both information on this ongoing situation as well as more general news and updates. We will share more details in the coming weeks.... Read more
Standing together against racism
June 2, 2020
I know many of you are experiencing feelings of anger, fear and an overall sense of heaviness over the recent rise in anti-Black racism that led to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am feeling all of these things too and wanted to take a moment to recognize and acknowledge how deeply troubling and upsetting recent world events have... Read more