News Stories
VIU Appoints Dr. Judith Sayers as New Chancellor
August 10, 2020
Sayers is President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and a longtime Indigenous rights and sustainable development advocate. A prominent local Indigenous leader, sustainable development advocate and passionate educator will be Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) next chancellor. Kekinusuqs, Dr. Judith Sayers, is President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council – a non-profit society that... Read more
VIU Alum Helps Start Mobile Youth Outreach Team to Support Homeless Youth
July 10, 2020
Ruby Barclay, a Child and Youth Care alum and coordinator of the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre’s Youth Advisory Council, is part of an initiative that aims to support and learn more about youth living on the streets of Nanaimo. “I am the example of what survival is really about on this planet.” To Ruby Barclay, Coordinator of the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre’s Youth Advisory Council, this quote shows... Read more
Discovery Day and Skills Competition Bring Hundreds of High School Students to VIU
February 24, 2020
WHAT: Discovery Day 2020 and Skills BC Regional Competition at VIU WHEN: Thursday, February 27, 2020 WHERE: Nanaimo campus, various locations, see Campus Map While Vancouver Island University (VIU) students hit the books during reading break, more than 2,000 students from across the Island and Sunshine Coast will be taking their places on Thursday, February 27 for two popular annual events –... Read more
New teaching network a win for ECEs, quality child care
February 3, 2020
Vancouver Island University (VIU) has received funding for two pedagogist positions to work with early childhood educators at select child care centres in Nanaimo and Cowichan, as well as students in the University's Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) program. "Thank you to the Ministry of Children and Family Development for funding this important initiative to introduce the new role of... Read more
The Power of Persistence: A Story of Success and Resilience
January 13, 2020
Janelle Minoza has overcome a number of obstacles standing in the way of her post-secondary education since becoming a student at Vancouver Island University last year. Janelle Minoza is living proof that hard work and determination can help you achieve your dreams. The third-year Bachelor of Social Work student at Vancouver Island University (VIU), from the Deh Gah Gotie Dene First Nations in... Read more
New Student Awards Honour Legacy of VIU Alum Micah Messent
December 5, 2019
Two awards in memory of a VIU graduate who passed away in a plane crash in March 2019 will be given out to Indigenous students in need in 2020. Friends and family of Micah Messent remember the Vancouver Island University (VIU) graduate as a caring, community-oriented individual who focused on helping those around him. To honour this legacy of supporting and encouraging others, Messent’s family... Read more
VIU Reduces Barriers to Education on Global Day of Giving
November 27, 2019
VIU’s sixth annual Giving Tuesday campaign, running until December 3, highlights the need for additional scholarships and bursaries for students. Rebekah Aplin is grateful for the generosity of a stranger, which allowed her to continue into the second year of her Bachelor of Science degree at Vancouver Island University (VIU) with a significantly lower financial burden. “Receiving an award has... Read more
Hope, Inclusion and Access to Education: VIU President Shares Vision at Installation Event
November 26, 2019
Dr. Deb Saucier, VIU President and Vice-Chancellor since July 2019, was formally endowed with the powers and responsibilities of office in a ceremony at the Snuneymuxw First Nation Longhouse in Cedar on November 15. A regional institution such as Vancouver Island University (VIU) can change what it means to be a university, challenge longstanding perceptions on who goes and what can be taught... Read more
Teachers-in-Training Help Communities
November 19, 2019
VIU Education program students who are about to become certified teachers, spend their final weeks at University creating or participating in projects that fill a need in local communities. Preserving a child’s dignity by giving them a suitcase, collecting feminine hygiene products for women in need and creating the curriculum for a local nature centre all have substantial impacts on people,... Read more
In Search of the Promised Land: Freedom, Prosperity and #Landback for Indigenous Peoples
November 6, 2019
Max FineDay, Executive Director of the Canadian Roots Exchange, will share his perspective on what reconciliation looks like during VIU’s fifth annual Indigenous Speakers Series on Monday, November 25. When Max FineDay graduated from university in 2015, his grandmother sat him down and told him he had a duty to explain Indigenous peoples to the rest of Canada by telling the kinds of stories... Read more