VIU Digitizes Nanaimo Pride Society's History
June 7, 2018
VIU and Nanaimo Pride Society collaborate to preserve society’s historical archives Instead of stashing away memories, VIU is helping the Nanaimo Pride Society preserve their history and present it for an online audience. In the spring of 2017, Kathleen Reed, Librarian at Vancouver Island University (VIU), noticed a Facebook posting that the Nanaimo Pride Society (NPS) was forming a... Read more
VIU Supported International Polar Tourism Conference This June In Yukon
June 7, 2018
Yukon will host the 6th International Polar Tourism Research Network (IPTRN) conference from June 22-28, 2018. The Vancouver Island University (VIU) supported conference – “Creative Forces in the Polar Regions: Cultures, Economies, Innovation and Change in Tourism” – will explore the relationship between polar tourism and a variety of cultural and economic areas, including: the arts and... Read more
VIU Honours First Nations Advocate with Honorary Degree
May 29, 2018
Gene Anne Joseph, the first librarian of First Nations heritage in BC, will receive Doctor of Laws at VIU’s June 5 convocation ceremony Since childhood, Gene Anne Joseph was always happiest with a book in hand. “My parents and family would joke that I wouldn’t move in an earthquake if I was reading,” Joseph says. Joseph’s father had an elementary-level education in federal Indian day school... Read more
VIU Shortlisted for International Teaching Excellence Award
May 28, 2018
Institution one of 17 finalists from six countries Vancouver Island University (VIU) is receiving international recognition for its high standard of teaching and learning. VIU has been named a finalist for the Higher Education Academy’s 2018 Global Teaching Excellence Award. Introduced last year in association with Times Higher Education, the award recognizes and celebrates an institution-wide... Read more
Snuneymuxw First Nation Member Returns Home to Teach at VIU
April 24, 2018
Collette Jones, now part of VIU’s Department of Studies in Women and Gender, happy to be teaching in her own territory For Snuneymuxw First Nation member Collette Jones, teaching at Vancouver Island University (VIU) represents a homecoming. Jones, who grew up on her Nation’s reserve in south Nanaimo, started as a sessional instructor in VIU’s Department of Studies in Women and Gender last... Read more
VIU to Recognize Indigenous Peoples with Ancestral Lands In Canada as Domestic Students
April 18, 2018
VIU’s Board of Governors has made a decisive move to approve a new tuition approach that expresses full respect and recognition of Indigenous citizenship and territories regardless of borders. The new approach will allow any Indigenous peoples whose ancestral lands are within Canada to be considered domestic students rather than international students (with the corresponding difference in tuition... Read more
VIU Professor Awarded Connection Grant for Important Work in Northern Canada
March 23, 2018
Students benefit from funding and participate in polar tourism conference Vancouver Island University (VIU) Professor Dr. Suzanne de la Barre has been awarded a $23,485 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Connection grant in support of her work on the sixth International Polar Tourism Research Network (IPTRN) conference and community tour. De la Barre is a primary... Read more
Global Citizenship at the Heart of VIU's GIS Training Program in Ukraine
March 19, 2018
Courses help Ukraine government develop sustainable economic policies NANAIMO, BC: In the spirit of global citizenship, professors from Vancouver Island University (VIU) have helped Ukraine launch a training program in Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) to support sustainable economic growth. The program is the culmination of a five-year partnership between VIU, the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic... Read more
VIU Students Learn Responsible Tourism Management at Field School
March 19, 2018
Yukon provided stunning backdrop for immersive education experience in growing industry In a changing climate, the importance of responsible tourism is top of mind for tour operators and tourists alike. Vancouver Island University (VIU) undergraduate students in the Bachelor of Tourism program, and graduate students from VIU’s Master of Arts in Sustainable Leisure Management program and the... Read more
VIU Receives $300,000 to Expand Reach of Queen Elizabeth Scholars Program
February 22, 2018
Scholars tackle issues facing coastal communities at home and abroad More students at Vancouver Island University (VIU) are going to have a chance to continue the work of building resilience in coastal communities thanks to $300,000 in new funding from the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) program. The funding announcement made this week will support 18 VIU students to... Read more