Graduation ceremonies, student hunger, preserving history
On Monday, June 9 and Tuesday, June 10, more than 1,400 Vancouver Island University students will cross the stage and graduate in four convocation ceremonies. On Thursday, June 12, our Indigenous grads will be honoured at Semélshun Indigenous Graduation Recognition ceremony.
- Monday, June 9, 2025, 10 am: Ceremony one: Faculty of Management
- Monday, June 9, 2025, 2:30 pm: Ceremony two: Faculties of Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Trades and Applied Technologies, Academic and Career Preparation
- Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 10 am: Ceremony three: Faculties of Education and Science and Technology
- Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 2:30 pm: Ceremony four: Health Sciences and Human Services
- Thursday, June 12, 2025, 10 am: Semélshun Indigenous Graduation Recognition ceremony. This ceremony is for Indigenous students only.
All ceremonies take place in the VIU gym. Media are very welcome to join us in celebrating our graduating students! Email Jenn.McGarrigle@viu.ca for a ticket.
Featured experts
Preserving Canada’s wartime history for future generations
Dr. Stephen Davies, Director of the Canadian Letters and Images Project and a History Professor, received a provincial recognition for his important work in preserving Canada’s wartime history.
The British Columbia Historical Federation has given Davies an Award of Recognition for his efforts in the preservation of BC’s history. The Canadian Letters and Images Project is an online archive of the Canadian war experience, as told through the letters and images of Canadians themselves. Davies, who teaches First World War history, started the project as a way to humanize the wartime experience for his students. The effort grew from a class project of a hundred letters to a national project of more than 40,000 letters as well as images, diaries and other materials.
Over the years, the project has been used in many different ways, from turning some of the letters into a musical, to creating paintings using artificial intelligence, to an interactive map of where veterans lived. And every November 11, countless educators incorporate materials into their Remembrance Day ceremonies and teachings.
Davies has launched a fundraising campaign to help continue the work of CLIP in preserving this important history.
“As we move away in time from past conflicts and as our veteran population declines, it becomes increasingly difficult for Canadians to understand the sacrifices that men and women made, both on the battlefield and on the home front, during wartime,” said Davies. “Donations, large and small, ensure that we can keep this important content freely available for this generation and for future generations.”
Learn more about fundraising efforts.
Looking for an expert for another story? Connect with VIU Experts.
VIU news
The food security challenge at VIU
VIU students enrolled in an interdisciplinary team-based research course confronted a mounting issue experienced on campuses across Canada: student hunger. The year-long project investigated the state of food security amongst the student body at the Nanaimo, Cowichan and tiwšɛmawtxʷ campuses. Part of a larger initiative to tackle student hunger that includes food pantries and emergency financial aid as well as research, $15,000 in funding was provided by The Embark Student Foundation Major Grant Program for the research project. Read more.
Five weeks and five grand to help battle student hunger
Students from various programs across Vancouver Island University stepped up to do something about student hunger. The Hunger Hack challenge, launched in February, encouraged students to think creatively about how to address the challenges of food insecurity on campus.
About a dozen students from different programs, many of whom had never met before, accepted the mission. Three teams were formed and each came up with an idea to improve food security on campus. The teams presented their concept to a panel of university, funder and external judges who gave each team $5,000 to pilot their innovative solutions over a five-week trial period. At the end of the five weeks, the teams presented how they rolled out their plans, the challenges, how much they spent, what was the outcome and how they intend to keep it active after they have graduated. Read more.
Studying climate change impacts in Senegal
Six VIU students are on three-month international internships in West Africa to help address climate change issues and risks. The group of Political Studies students are participating in the Canada-Senegalese Climate Leadership Program with funding provided by the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship program. The scholars will spend 80 days in Saint-Louis in the Republic of Senegal working with students from the University Gaston Berger to study the impact of climate change on women, fishermen and climate refugees. Read more.
VIU in the news
Student hunger, research with impact and the world's largest Nanaimo bar - what's making the news at VIU:
CREATE celebrates student research, scholarship and creative activity at VIU. Coastal Community Credit Union, which sponsored the event, was there and talked with students and event organizers. Watch the video.
Vancouver Island University has created a record-breaking Nanaimo bar that brought a community together to help raise money for new equipment. Read more about it in the Bakers Journal.
Student-led research about food insecurity at VIU was the focus of a story on CHEK News.
Related Posts
