VIU News & Experts: March 2, 2023

Pyschedelic research, International Women's Day, sustainable development week and more.

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Featured experts

VIU experts on International Women's Day

March 8 is International Women's Day, a day to celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness about discrimination and take action to drive gender parity.

• Eliza Gardiner, Chair of VIU Faculty Association's Women's & Gender Equity Committee, can speak about how IWD came to be, how it has evolved over the decades, where it has been impactful and where more work is needed.
• Female enrolment in some STEM programs is much higher than others. For example, about 50% of the students in VIU's Chemistry program are female, while Engineering is around 13%. Dr. Eve Stringham, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, believes more female mentors are needed to increase numbers in these areas. 
• Women remain under-represented in the construction and mechanical trades, yet these can be some of the highest-paying careers available. What would it take to boost female participation in these areas? Dr. Sally Vinden, Associate Dean of Trades and Applied Technology, can share some thoughts.
• Dr. Whitney Wood, Canada Research Chair in the Historical Dimensions of Women's Health, is an expert on women's health, reproduction and motherhood. Read her work on changing attitudes towards childbirth.

VIU in the news

Psychedelic research at VIU

A new pyschedelic research centre at VIU will bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives together to co-develop programming. “We recognize that Indigenous healing systems and Indigenous research methodologies have dealt with the complexities of human health from a holistic perspective since time immemorial,” said Dr. Shannon Dames, chair of the Psychedelic-assisted Therapy program. Read more. 

Expanding opportunities in BC correctional centres

The Northpine Foundation has given VIU more than $1 million to ensure more students have access to the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, which offers criminology courses to classes made up of incarcerated ("inside") and university students ("outside"). The money will also go towards development of employment training at the Nanaimo Correctional Centre and to support formerly incarcerated persons to pursue a university education. Read more. 

Going for gold - for a fifth time! 

The VIU Mariners women's volleyball team is hoping to make history at the 2023 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association's national volleyball championships next week by winning gold for a fifth year in a row, which has never been done before. The championships are being hosted at VIU. Read more. 

Campus events

VIU SDG Action Week: March 6 to 10

This is a week of action, awareness and accountability in support of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more about what you can do every day to apply the goals to your own lives, why what's happening in the tropics will impact all of us globally, check out a climate hope cafe and much more. All events are free and open to the public. View the full schedule. 

International Women's Day: March 8

Join the VIUFA Women’s & Gender Equity Committee, VIU Thrive and the Positive Space Alliance on International Women’s Day, Wednesday, March 8 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm in the Malaspina Theatre lobby. The Inclusive Theatre Collective is performing a dramatic reading of a play about consent – Fear of Missing Out. A brief Q&A will follow. Thrive is hosting activities, including Consent Bingo, and providing snacks. Learn more.