Education sparks new beginning for injured worker
March 1, 2010
Sometimes a serious tragedy or accident can lead to an exciting new beginning. Just ask 54-year-old Brent Winterbottom. He was injured on the job while working as a contractor for the BC Forestry Service in 1991. After exhausting his Workers Compensation benefits, he tried to survive on disability benefits. As a single father raising his young son, his future looked bleak. Then he had the... Read more
CBC documentary airs perspective of VIU First Nations professor on historic events
February 26, 2010
The federal government introduced a White Paper in 1969 that proposed to eliminate native status in Canada. The move triggered outrage and counter-proposals from Aboriginal leaders who prepared their own document and presented it to the federal cabinet in June 1970. Vancouver-based CBC producer Kathleen Flaherty called on VIU First Nations Studies co-chair Dr. Laurie Meijer Drees as she prepared... Read more
Graphic Design students win big in scholarship competition
February 24, 2010
Three Graphic Design degree students at Vancouver Island University won tuition scholarships in the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (Vancouver Island Chapter) scholarship awards competition. "We are especially excited about these wins because our students took a total of three scholarships," said Karen Hodgson, faculty in VIU's BA Major in Graphic Design degree program. "They had to apply... Read more
Education builds confidence
February 19, 2010
For Kyla Atkinson, family is everything. “The main reason I returned to school was to do something different for myself and my son,” said Atkinson, a recent graduate of the Child and Youth Care (CYC) Bachelor of Arts degree program at Vancouver Island University. Atkinson, or Kwusalumat, in her First Nations name, comes from the Snuneymuxw, Coast Salish First Nation. She was working in Ucluelet... Read more
VIU business students prepare for international competition
February 18, 2010
The training and hours of practice are rigorous. The international competition will be tough. But with their sights on professional careers, Vancouver Island University Faculty of Management students are ready to take on a week-long series of tough business challenges at Concordia University starting Feb. 21. The John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition at the Montreal campus has attracted 20... Read more
Canadian luge competitor to share Olympic spirit at VIU
February 18, 2010
Olympian Meaghan Simister is coming to Vancouver Island University Wednesday, March 17, to present awards to competitors on campus who were inspired by the Calgary luger as they took part in their own race. The 24-year-old niece of VIU Criminiology chair Joanne Simister sent a motivational message to members of eight teams in the Campus Recreation “Biggest Luger” competition. The six-week... Read more
VIU Arts and Humanities series probes nature of communities
February 16, 2010
There is a scene in the Oscar-nominated film Up in the Air where two corporate high-flyers compare the merits of various airline and hotel loyalty plans before romance and inevitable complications ensue. The plans, with their easy to use membership cards, are one example of the evolving types of communities that are being examined by faculty of Vancouver Island University’s Media Studies... Read more
VIU Music and Theatre students prepare to launch HMS Pinafore
February 16, 2010
Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera HMS Pinafore comes to Malaspina Theatre at Vancouver Island University March 4. It's a great collaboration between the music and theatre departments at VIU, said director Ross Desprez. Greg Bush, musical director and orchestra conductor for the opera, expects the production to provide valuable experience to the performers. “It gives music students an opportunity to... Read more
Fraud prevention workshop at VIU Mar. 4
February 16, 2010
A quick-thinking Safeway clerk recognized the red flags of fraud and saved a Vancouver Island grandmother from a $4,600 scam. “Unfortunately, not everyone understands the signs of fraud, and that’s why news about scams that succeed are all too common,” said Vanessa Oltmann of Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) Faculty of Management. In an effort to increase public awareness, VIU’s new Fraud... Read more