In the Community

VIU Philosophers' Cafe ponders deep questions about topical issues

September 26, 2014

Community drop-in forum promotes discussion and friendly debate NANAIMO, BC: Do you love an intelligent and passionate discussion about life’s deep questions? Everyone is welcome to attend Vancouver Island University’s popular Philosophers' Cafe. This free drop-in Café for community members at Mrs. Riches restaurant in downtown Nanaimo offers a speaker who delivers a ten-minute talk on a... Read more


Build a Birdhouse at VIU Open House Oct. 3

September 26, 2014

Learn about all the amazing things that Vancouver Island University (VIU) has to offer at the VIU Open House at the Nanaimo campus Friday, October 3 from 10 am to 5 pm. There’s something to do in virtually every corner of VIU – including a chance to build a birdhouse for your feathered friends. If you’re all thumbs, you’ll get hands-on help from students and instructors in the Carpentry program... Read more


VIU Invites Community to Open House Oct. 3

September 24, 2014

Build a birdhouse, meet a high tech health care robot, watch First Nations carvers create a totem pole, learn to prep veggies like a CHOPPED pro, and see a giant fish right out of the Jurassic era.  These are just a few of the things – plus a lot more – that residents can experience and discover at Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) Open House on Friday, October 3 from 10 am to 5 pm “VIU is... Read more


Kathy Page Nominated for Giller Prize

September 19, 2014

Author Kathy Page, who teaches emerging writers in Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) Creative Writing and Journalism department, has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.  Page’s short story collection, Paradise and Elsewhere, was named to the 2014 Giller longlist of 12 Canadian books of fiction.  Page is best known as a novelist, and has also written scripts for radio, television... Read more


Construction Students Working on New Aboriginal School

September 17, 2014

Instructor Jessie Magee-Chalmers (white hardhat, foreground right) works with Vancouver Island University (VIU) Construction program students on the new cedar exterior of the Nanaimo Boys and Girls Club building on Fifth Street in Nanaimo. The multi-use building will soon welcome children to the new Nesi’ka Kum’tuks Elementary Centre, the first off-reserve Aboriginal school in BC. The school... Read more


War and its Consequences Theme of Fall Colloquium Series

September 15, 2014

Now in its sixth year, a popular series of presentations by Arts and Humanities faculty at Vancouver Island University (VIU) will kick off Friday, Sept. 19. “As 2014 is the centennial of the outbreak of WWI, our three fall presentations in VIU’s Arts and Humanities Colloquium series will touch on the theme of war and its consequences,” says Dr. Dawn Thompson, one of the faculty coordinating the... Read more


VIU Welcomes 38 Students to Youth in Care Tuition Waiver Program

September 10, 2014

Thirty-eight students starting the new post-secondary school year at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in September will benefit from the institution’s Youth in Care Tuition Waiver program. Heading into her third year of VIU’s Bachelor of Arts in Criminology program, Brittany Palmer said assistance from the Tuition Waiver has made it possible for her to complete her degree as she works toward... Read more


The High School at VIU offers enriching experience for students

August 18, 2014

Rebecca Leigh jumped at the chance to complete her high school education in a non-traditional way. While many of her peers enrolled in the public school system, she enrolled in The High School at Vancouver Island University (VIU) located on the Nanaimo campus, completing grades 11 and 12 with a cohort of classmates from around the world. “It was life-changing,” says Leigh, who has since... Read more


Timberwest Donates Cedar Trees to VIU Totem Pole Project

August 13, 2014

Two cedar trees harvested in the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations territory on Vancouver Island’s west coast have been donated by TimberWest to Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) totem pole project. The donated cedars were delivered by the Island-based forest company to VIU’s G.R. Paine Horticultural Training Centre on East Wellington Road, where they were blessed by members of the Nuu-chah-nulth... Read more


Milner Gardens & Woodland brings art and photography to the garden

August 7, 2014

Twenty-six local artists will participate in the annual Art & Photography in the Garden event at Milner Gardens & Woodland in Qualicum Beach on August 9 and 10. “This is a wonderful opportunity for residents and tourists alike to wander through our exquisite seaside garden estate, and mingle with 26 local artists while they work,” says Geoff Ball, Executive Director of Vancouver Island... Read more