In the Community

City to Host Salute to the Salmon Event

November 15, 2010

The City of Nanaimo Parks, Recreation and Culture Department is hosting a ‘Salute to the Coho’ event this Saturday (November 20th) at Bowen Park from 10am to 1pm. This is a celebration not only of the returning stock but also of successful community partnerships. Various groups have worked collaboratively over the past few years to return the Millstone River to a state which can sustain a... Read more


Film focuses on reducing trash

November 10, 2010

Could you go a day without producing any garbage? No packaging, no tags, no boxes…. How about a year? Vancouver Island University’s Office of Sustainability and the Regional District of Nanaimo invite you to the Vancouver Island premiere of the award-winning film The Clean Bin Project at 7 pm on Monday, Nov. 15 in the Malaspina Theatre at VIU’s Nanaimo campus. The film documents director Grant... Read more


VIU strengthens ties with students and educators in India

November 10, 2010

Vancouver Island University is creating a $5,000 scholarship for an Indian undergraduate student and $5,000 to facilitate new faculty exchanges with Indian institutions. VIU President and Vice-Chancellor Ralph Nilson announced the initiatives during an unprecedented Canadian university mission to India. The visit is organized by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and... Read more


Climate cover-up presentation at Vancouver Island University

November 10, 2010

In their 2009 book Climate Cover-up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming, authors James Hoggan and Richard Littlemore document a well-funded and well organized international campaign to seed doubts about climate change, and to discredit the scientists trying to understand past climate change and predict our climate future. Hoggan and Littlemore showed that the interests behind this campaign are... Read more


VIU celebrates International Education Week with displays, speakers, entertainment

November 9, 2010

Vancouver Island University will celebrate International Education Week Nov. 15-19 with a series of learning opportunities, entertainment and a colorful multicultural festival. Students, faculty and staff representing many countries are encouraged to share their native traditions, foods, dress and cultural perspectives with the university and the Nanaimo community. “Canada is joining more... Read more


MBA student helps build support for Oceanside youth program

November 9, 2010

Xin (Alec) Guan didn’t realize his martial arts background would come in handy when he enrolled in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Vancouver Island University. Guan studied taekwondo for three years at high school in WuHan in the Hubei province of China. His appreciation for the discipline and commitment of martial arts practice has helped him work with promoters of an... Read more


Students monitor record coho salmon run in Millstone River

November 5, 2010

Curious members of the public will have a unique opportunity to see salmon spawning in the city. A record number of coho are expected to travel up the 14-kilometre Millstone River through Bowen Park in Nanaimo this month. “It’s the perfect outdoor classroom for the public and students,” said John Morgan, Professor of Fisheries Management in the Resource Management Officer Technology (RMOT)... Read more


Pygmy Big Band dance and fundraiser Nov. 20

November 4, 2010

Get your dancing shoes ready. The second annual Pygmy Big Band Dance takes place at Bowen Park Auditorium in Nanaimo on Nov. 20. “This will be a delightful evening of music and dancing featuring four different big bands,” said Greg Bush, music professor at Vancouver Island University (VIU). “It will be the event of the season.” Last year’s dance sold-out and generated $6,000 for music... Read more


Education opens world of opportunities for refugee students at VIU

November 4, 2010

Vancouver Island University students are paying 72 cents each this semester to help Aden Abdi Ahmed start a new life in Canada. Ahmed travelled more than 14,000 kilometres from a refugee camp near the village of Dadaab in northeastern Kenya to begin his educational journey at VIU. Born in Somalia, Ahmed was among more than 100,000 refugees living in three camps in the region. According to UNHCR... Read more


Dark comedy opens Thursday at VIU

November 3, 2010

Vancouver Island University Theatre department’s fall production of The Arsonists, opens at Malaspina Theatre at the Nanaimo campus on Thursday, Nov. 4. The show is unique in that director Barbara French, costume designer Michelle Kuzilla-Spoor and set designer Wendy Karpulik are all alumni of the theatre program. French graduated from VIU’s Theatre program in 1997. She went on to get a Master... Read more