Global Engagement During a Pandemic
June 8, 2020
Darrell Harvey, VIU’s International Projects and Internationalization Coordinator, has been working some strange hours as of late. He manages VIU’s Global Engagement team and is responsible for VIU’s international co-operation projects in far-flung countries around the world including Kenya, Belize, Tanzania, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. One of the impacts the pandemic has had on his work is... Read more
Nominate a Colleague for the President's Awards
June 8, 2020
There's still time to nominate a deserving colleague or team of colleagues for two sets of VIU recognition awards. Applications for the service excellence awards are due June 15. Deadline for the access and inclusion awards is June 30. President's Awards for Service Excellence President's Awards for Enhancing Access and Inclusion Read more
HR Corner: Working Remotely Survey, Personal and Professional Wellness
June 8, 2020
On Tuesday afternoon, all VIU employees received an email from Dan VanderSluis, Associate-Vice President, Human Resources about a survey on working remotely. Please be sure to fill out the survey by the deadline - June 30, 2020. The survey is anonymous and each employee received a unique link, so find an email from Dan VanderSluis, which arrived on Tuesday, June 9 at 4:36 pm titled Your Employee... Read more
VIU Donates Critical Health Supplies During Covid-19 Crisis
May 25, 2020
University community puts expertise and resources to work to benefit frontline workers. As COVID-19 quickly spread around the world and critical health supplies became scarce, Vancouver Island University (VIU) employees have found ways to help protect frontline responders and their colleagues on campus providing essential services. “Universities have enormous intellectual capacity and the... Read more
VIU's Working Remotely Chronicles
April 16, 2020
On Monday March 17, we were asked to work remotely as much as possible and by the end of the following week, everyone who could was working off campus. This was the beginning of our new reality and VIU employees set about creating their new temporary work spaces away from the office. We have found ourselves in close proximity to loved ones, exposed to a Spring Break that never ended (for parents... Read more
Supporting our People
April 16, 2020
A Column by Dan VanderSluis, Associate Vice-President, Human Resources We are a month into the COVID-19 health crisis and its profound impact on our VIU Community. We use the phrase VIU Community a lot, and I hope that you feel you are a meaningful part of this community. The kindness, compassion, patience and caring with which you have treated our students and each other is a testament to the... Read more
Q & A with Lidia Surman, Chief of Staff, President's Office
April 16, 2020
When Lidia Surman decided to accept the position of Chief of Staff to the President, she couldn’t possibly have imagined she would be relocating and beginning a vital role at VIU in the midst of a pandemic. Her first weeks on the job were filled with emergency meetings and her orientation was, in a word, brief. Before she knew it, she was working from her home office rather than in the President’... Read more
How the Emergency Operations Centre Works
April 16, 2020
When emergencies come knocking at Vancouver Island University’s door, the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) is activated to respond and make sure that all aspects of the institution are considered as the situation evolves. Its structure and operations follow best practices outlined by Emergency Management BC. It remains operational until members of the EOC deem that the emergency has been... Read more
Keeping Up Team Morale While Working Remotely
April 16, 2020
As we settle into working remotely, teams across the university are coming up with creative and funny ways to maintain and build important ties and relationships with colleagues. We checked in with a few areas across VIU to find out what they are doing (if you have any other ideas you’d like to share, please let us know at Alyson.Winks@viu.ca). 1. Regular meetings: This might not sound exciting,... Read more
Stronger Minds by BEACON Supports Mental Health Available to All Canadians
April 16, 2020
Stronger Minds by BEACON is a free digital program available to support all Canadians through the COVID-19 pandemic. Stronger Minds participants have access to day-to-day guidance from the extensive BEACON team of clinical psychologists. You are provided with resources that will help you learn how to protect your mental well-being during these turbulent times using videos, quick reads and... Read more