News Stories
Bringing to light the stories of trailblazing women
March 3, 2024
VIU Education grad Haley Healey writes books about boundary-pushing women A desire to share the stories of extraordinary historical women led VIU Education grad Haley Healey to become a published author in 2020. Four years later, the high school counsellor by day, author by night has published five non-fiction adult and children’s books highlighting boundary-pushing women as well as a fiction... Read more
Supporting the next generation of educators
February 26, 2024
Legacy donor Les Dickason shares his story When the opportunity to help set up a teacher education program at VIU (then Malaspina College) presented itself, Les Dickason left his job with the school district to be part of it. After his retirement in 1997, he established a bursary through the VIU Foundation. The fund has grown and now supports two students going into their second year of the... Read more
Alum of the Month: Mary Clare Massicotte
October 20, 2023
A self-described lifelong learner, Mary Clare Massicotte enrolled in VIU’s Master of Education in Educational Leadership program in 2020 at age 64. By this time, she had retired from her full-time career with the federal government and started her own consulting business. Completing a master’s degree had long been a goal for Mary Clare. She graduated from the program this past spring. We caught... Read more
Expert Q&A: BC government changes to reporting student progress
June 30, 2023
The 2023-24 school year will be the first year that all school districts in BC will implement a provincial proficiency scale instead of letter grades on report cards from kindergarten to Grade 9. Students in Grades 10 to 12 will still receive letter grades and percentages on report cards. Education Professor Dr. Paula Waatainen, a former high school social studies teacher, studies classroom... Read more
Alum of the Month: Ashley Kuramoto
May 20, 2023
From student to teacher to published author Since graduating from Vancouver Island University in 2011 with her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees, Ashley Kuramoto has been working her dream job as a teacher. She’s also a mother and, most recently, a published author. In recent months, Kuramoto has written and illustrated two children’s books that encourage families to explore fun... Read more
VIU connects with local and global community at WorldVIU Days
October 25, 2022
What: WorldVIU Days When: October 31 to November 4, 2022 Where: See photo opportunity schedule below An annual, multi-day event that explores how culture influences the way people make sense of the world is returning to Vancouver Island University (VIU) this month. Taking place from October 31 to November 4, WorldVIU Days celebrates diversity in all its facets and brings people together to find... Read more
VIU Education Student Investigates How Women Experienced Trauma During the First World War
November 5, 2021
Danielle Cossey-Sutton’s project was funded by a Mitacs Research Training Award. A gap in First World War research is how women experienced trauma. Vancouver Island University (VIU) Bachelor of Education student Danielle Cossey-Sutton spent part of the last academic year investigating this aspect of history. “Historical scholars admit it is difficult to explore gender studies during the First... Read more
VIU Introduces Bachelor of Kinesiology Program
November 13, 2020
VIU professor reflects on the progression of a Bachelor of Kinesiology degree as well as his own evolution as a teacher in the program over the past four decades. Les Malbon, Professor of Kinesiology at Vancouver Island University (VIU) has fond memories of when he was a student in the Physical Education program in 1974 – when Malaspina College was operating out of the old Nanaimo hospital... 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
Creatively Advocating for Change Through Art
July 19, 2019
Using artistic expression to foster cross-cultural relationships, Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) new Canada Research Chair hopes to create a space for emerging youth leaders to connect and invoke change in their community. VIU Faculty of Education Professor Dr. Amanda Wager’s new appointment as Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Community Research in Art, Culture and Education will provide... Read more