In the Community

VIU science graduate earns $17,500 scholarship

July 7, 2012

Angeline de Bruyns, Bachelor of Science graduate (major in biology and minor chemistry) at Vancouver Island University, has been awarded a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship Master’s award worth $17,500. “My family and I were ecstatic when we heard the news,” says de Bruyns. “Receiving this award truly means all my hard work and... Read more


Mike Matthews Award for Studies in Canadian Literature

July 6, 2012

Mike Matthews (1937 – 2012) was a lifelong supporter of Canadian books and Canadian writers. During his thirty-three-year teaching career at Vancouver Island University (formerly Malaspina College), Mike championed a central role for Canadian literature in the syllabus. In addition, he wrote dozens of reviews of Canadian books for publications that included the Globe and Mail and The Malahat... Read more


VIU in the news: Changes better serve clients at Nanaimo food bank

July 5, 2012

By Melissa Fryer Nanaimo News Bulletin Every week, someone new will shuffle through the door, eyes downcast, with shoulders hunched in embarrassment. “They can’t believe it’s come to this,” said Peter Sinclair, executive director of Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank. One of the eight locations for food pickup in the community will see new clients – people who are recently unemployed, laid... Read more


Duncan chartered accountant, former board chair, honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award

June 29, 2012

VANCOUVER – Prominent Vancouver Island based Chartered Accountant, J.S. (Woody) Hayes, FCA, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC (ICABC). The award recognizes chartered accountants for sustained distinction in career, community service, and work within the CA profession. Hayes qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1973, and subsequently... Read more


Partnership enhances learning and adventure possibilities for children and adults

June 26, 2012

Vancouver Island University’s Milner Gardens and Woodland and Deep Bay Marine Field Station will work collaboratively with operators of Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park to develop joint educational programming for kindergarten to grade 12 students and adults. VIU President Dr. Ralph Nilson signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday with Richard Varela, Park Director of Horne Lake Caves... Read more


Nanaimo Sheet Metal donates custom designed smoker

June 22, 2012

Vancouver Island University Food Services cook Tyler Campbell has high hopes for the upcoming Thrifty Foods Nanaimo Barbecue Festival July 12 to 14. Campbell plans to enter the annual barbecue cook off using a new secret weapon – a custom designed smoker built by his friends at Nanaimo Sheet Metal (NSM). NSM employee Len Ronkainen heard from his wife Delia, who works in Food Services at VIU,... Read more


Family members play an important role in Trades students' success at VIU

June 21, 2012

The importance of family ties is strongly evident among the more than 320 Trades and Applied Technology students who are receiving certificates at Vancouver Island University today. (June 22) Tyler Davis is graduating from the Heavy Duty and Commercial Transport Mechanics program. His father Randy Davis graduated from the same program in 1987. His grandfather, Howie Davis, graduated from the... Read more


Chemistry student wins best research poster award at national conference

June 21, 2012

Vancouver Island University chemistry student Dane Letourneau received top honours at the 2012 Canadian Society for Chemistry conference in Calgary this month. His poster, entitled Photodechlorination Kinetics of Trace Contaminants in Natural Waters Using Membrane Introduction Mass Spectrometry as an In-Situ Reaction Monitor, won best undergraduate student poster award in the environmental... Read more


GrandKids University returns to VIU July 4 and 5

June 21, 2012

Grandparents and children aged 7 to 12 can experience hands-on learning at GrandKids University. The popular program at Vancouver Island University will be held July 4 and 5. This year’s line-up of courses includes four ‘majors’ where kids and their grandparents can study art, fisheries and aquaculture, chemistry and sports science. “Over the course of two fun-filled days, grandkids and their... Read more


National Aboriginal Day: Time to focus on the potential of Aboriginal youth

June 21, 2012

OTTAWA (Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada) – As the rich and diverse cultures of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples are celebrated today, National Aboriginal Day is also an appropriate time to reflect on the potential of young Aboriginal Canadians, and the role higher education can play in helping them achieve that potential. “With a significant demographic shift already under way, we... Read more