Award-winning graduate grateful for strong connection to faculty
June 16, 2010
"She'll accomplish amazing things wherever she goes." That’s how Vancouver Island University professor Mark Blackell describes one of his star students, 22-year-old Laura Buzzard, recipient of this year’s Governor General’s Silver Medal. The medal is awarded to an undergraduate student who achieves the highest academic standing from a full-time Bachelor Degree program. Buzzard graduated with a... Read more
VIU Foundation grateful for donors’ generosity
June 8, 2010
Wahid Ali, chair of Vancouver Island University Foundation, is deeply grateful to community members who responded to a special request for funding to support the university’s endowment awards. The awards are financed through interest raised on an endowment fund that now tops $12 million. With the downturn in the economy through much of 2009, endowment revenue dipped and there was a risk that... Read more
VIU awards 520 degrees in spring convocation
June 1, 2010
Vancouver Island University is awarding degrees to 520 students from 13 programs in three ceremonies on May 31 and June 1 at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo. Weather permitting, there will an academic procession of graduates before each ceremony from the Port Theatre to Commercial Street, down Commercial to Bastion Street, down Bastion Street to Front Street, down Front Street and back to the Port... Read more
Outstanding Service Award recognizes heavy duty support for VIU
May 31, 2010
“A delightful surprise.” That’s how Ross Somerville describes his feelings about receiving this year’s Outstanding Service Award from Vancouver Island University. Somerville will receive the special honour at VIU’s Faculty of Trades and Applied Technology graduation ceremony June 25.. The award recognizes Somerville’s outstanding service to VIU over many years. “This is completely unexpected... Read more
New chair for VIU Foundation
May 28, 2010
Wahid Ali, Investment Advisor TD Waterhouse, is the new chair of Vancouver Island University Foundation. Ali joined the VIU Foundation as a Director in 2007 and is active in the annual Business Breakfast and Festival of Trees – both fundraisers for scholarships, awards and bursaries for VIU students. “We have an ambitious goal to increase our endowments substantially over the next three years.... Read more
VIU nursing graduate honoured for rural health work in Guatemala
May 27, 2010
Rebekah Shoop, a graduate of Vancouver Island University’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, is surprised and honoured to be the recipient of the 2010 Alumni Horizon Award. More importantly, she hopes the recognition might inspire additional support for ALIANZA, a non-profit organization that runs five successful rural community health projects in Comitancillo, Guatemala. Shoop, who... Read more
Vancouver Island institutions sign collaborative agreement
May 21, 2010
Camosun College, North Island College, Royal Roads University, the University of Victoria, and Vancouver Island University signed a memorandum of understanding today intended to foster collaboration related to the post-secondary education and training needs of Vancouver Island and the BC Coastal region as a whole. The purpose of the agreement is to provide a broader range of learning... Read more
Nanaimo Museum to showcase VIU student’s display on Nanaimo River Estuary
May 20, 2010
The rich diversity of the Nanaimo River Estuary will be on display at the Nanaimo Museum starting in mid-June thanks to 150 hours of work by third-year geography student Kelsey Chandler. Chandler produced a three-panel display of the region’s history and cultural significance for a recent international conference of the Pacific Estuarine Research Society at Vancouver Island University. The... Read more
Performance added Thursday for Extreme Science show
May 19, 2010
A lunch-hour performance has been added Thursday, May 20, for Vancouver Island University’s second annual action-packed Extreme Science show. Hosted by faculty from VIU’s Math and Science departments, the show features a variety of exciting stunts, demonstrations and science experiments. “It’s going to be better than ever,” said VIU Physics professor Ray Penner. “We’ve got new and amazing... Read more
VIU team aims to create Centre for Consciousness Studies
May 18, 2010
A team of professors at Vancouver Island University hope to raise consciousness in education and create healthy classrooms. “Students have long endured a non-holistic education that emphasizes cognitive learning,” said Les Malbon, physical education professor at VIU. “It’s now the time to create healthy classrooms through the development of holistic, cultural, and transformative education that... Read more