January 4, 2017 - 3:45pm
Five years ago, Vancouver Island University entered a new era of educational opportunities in the Cowichan Valley with the opening of a new, LEED Gold-certified building to replace the collection of buildings that made up the former campus.
The $29-million, 4,131 m2 building provides a wide range of academic, applied, career, technical, vocational and developmental programs. The new campus allowed the University to expand its programming — the number of students attending classes there has increased by 17% over the past five years — and demonstrated sustainable practices in the community.
VIU has been providing educational services to the Cowichan Valley since 1973 and as services expanded — by the late 1990s more than 20 different locations were needed to house additional programs — the need for a new facility became very apparent.
To celebrate the five-year milestone, the campus hosted public tours on Sept. 10 — the same day as the Cowichan Intercultural Society’s One World Celebration, which happened on grounds adjacent to the campus.
The milestone was also marked by a fundraising campaign that raised $50,000 to equip the science lab on campus to offer more science education in the Cowichan Valley.
*This article originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2016 issue of VIU Magazine. Check out more stories from the latest issue of VIU Magazine here.
Tags: VIU Magazine
