The winners of this year’s HSD Research Excellence Awards are changemakers who mobilize knowledge for good. Three Nursing faculty members and an Indigenous Governance scholar were honoured at an event at HSD Research Day on April 25 for their efforts to build decolonial, just, sustainable and equitable futures.

Harlan Pruden, a nēhiyo/First Nations Cree scholar known for his work with and for the Two-Spirit community, will open HSD Research Day on April 25. HSD Research Day is a one-day research symposium at UVic that celebrates research and researchers in the Faculty of Human and Social Development (HSD). This year, it welcomes researchers based at schools and programs that will become part of the Faculty of Health on May 1.

The first Indigenous woman to become a registered nurse in Canada—Edith Monture—was a powerful matriarch whose legacy continues to inspire nurses today. Fourth-year University of Victoria nursing students Christina Tsuil-menak and Kyla Elliott are among those celebrating Monture’s legacy today on Indigenous Nurses Day, which is held on April 10 to coincide with Monture’s birthday.

A social work scholar from HSD has been named one of the province's top academics for a groundbreaking University of Victoria drug-checking project that addresses BC's toxic drug crisis.

Mark your calendars. HSD Research Day is back, April 25.

Congratulations to HSD Acting Dean Michael Prince, who has been appointed to the Order of Canada. Governor General Mary Simon announced 88 new appointments.

Ricardo Draper has won this year’s Island Savings HSD Staff Professional Development Award. Draper, a desktop support analyst, was recognized at HSD’s Winter Party in December.

All of us in the Faculty of Human and Social Development raise our hands to three Indigenous scholars who successfully defended their doctoral dissertations this term. Join us in congratulating Leanne Kelly, Tracy Underwood and Mason Ducharme!

Congratulations to 11 HSD researchers who received Michael Smith Health Research BC (MSHRBC) grants to improve the health and care of people living in BC and their communities.

Three researchers from the Faculty of Human and Social Development have been named Michael Smith Health Research-BC Scholars. Two of the scholars are assistant professors in the School of Nursing, Jae-Yung Kwon and Mariko Sakamoto, while the third scholar is Sarah Wright Cardinal, an associate professor in the School of Public Health and Social Policy.

Renée Monchalin envisions a day when Indigenous women, Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ people in Canada can pick up a phone and call an auntie for abortion support and wraparound care. Monchalin, a Métis scholar and assistant professor in UVic’s School of Public Health and Social Policy (PHSP), is one step closer to making that goal a reality with a $1.9 million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

UVic’s first new faculty in 30 years will become operational on May 1, 2025. A new website is now live with key information, including programming.

Welcome to a new series that celebrates the legacy of HSD. Our second interview is with Bart Cunningham, who retires from UVic at the end of the year after 50 years of teaching in the School of Public Administration. Cunningham joined SPA in 1974, the same year that Human and Social Development became a faculty.

New to the Faculty of Human and Social Development? Get to know us better with these 10 fun facts.

University of Victoria Nursing PhD student Nancy Henderson has seen first-hand how access to a safer supply can change the lives of people who use drugs. Read more about the research Henderson will continue as one of four 2024 Vanier Scholars at UVic.

What do we mean when we talk about planetary health? Listen to the new podcast Indigenous Planetary Health.

The winners of this year’s HSD Research Excellence Awards are testament to the diverse fields of expertise across the Faculty of Human and Social Development.

Welcome to a new series that celebrates the legacy of the Faculty of Human and Social Development (HSD) at UVic. In coming months, we will be featuring interviews and stories with past and present faculty members, instructors, students, and staff, exploring the achievements and evolution of our faculty from its inception to present day. Our first interview is with Professor Jeannine Carriere, who retires from UVic at the end of the year after nearly 20 years’ teaching in the School of Social Work’s Indigenous specialization.

Two research projects focused on addressing some of the most pressing issues facing society and our planet will receive almost $5 million worth of federal funding. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grants were among four awarded to the University of Victoria, two of which were granted to research teams from the Faculty of Human and Social Development (HSD).

Staff members who go above and beyond their job descriptions and inspire others with their work were celebrated at a recent special event.

Those who want to honour the life of former HSD faculty member Lyn Davis can contribute to an award she established to help Indigenous students. Davis, who died on Oct 24 last year, after a brief illness, was a long-time faculty member in HSD.

It’s National Nursing Week, a time to honour the contributions that nurses make to people, communities and health care. We spoke to graduating Bachelor of Science in Nursing student Tessa Whitehouse about her experience at UVic and her work over the past two decades in geriatric care, primary care and at local non-profit agencies as a licensed practical nurse.

The long history and accomplishments of Indigenous nurses—past, present and future—were celebrated on Indigenous Nurses Day last week at a special event at Na-tsa-maht Gathering Place at the Camosun Lansdowne campus. The University of Victoria and Camosun College nursing program came together on April 10 to mark the historic day that celebrates the birth of Edith Monture, the first Indigenous nurse in Canada, and Rose Casper, the first Indigenous nurse in Western Canada.

Public health scholar Jeff Masuda has been named a fellow to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS), one of the highest honours in the country’s health sciences community.

We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of our colleague and friend, Rod Dobell. Read the tribute.

How can we partner for a better future that nurtures and builds healthy communities? Join the Faculty of Human and Social Development (HSD) and the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health (IALH) for “People, Place and the Planet,” a joint conference on May 2 and 3 at the University of Victoria.

Tamara Krawchenko is an assistant professor in the School of Public Administration and chair of the Local Governance Hub. Krawchenko, who is part of the organizing committee for Women Leading Change in Politics, talks to us about the initiative’s importance and her hopes for the future of women in politics.

Come celebrate the incredible research of postdoctoral fellows working across the Faculty of Human and Social Development.

Need a quiet research workspace? Drop in to room B205 in the HSD Building to use one of 15 private work stations.

HSD has launched a new strength-based, non-competitive initiative to recognize our amazing administrative support staff across the faculty.

A Child and Youth Care staff member who goes above and beyond in her work to support students, coworkers and faculty alike has been honoured with this year’s Island Savings HSD Staff Professional Development award. Sierra Jasper, an undergraduate program assistant in the School of Child and Youth Care (CYC), was presented the award at HSD’s Winter Party in December.

Elizabeth Borycki has been elected to the board of directors of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).

Justin Brooks joined the Faculty of Human and Social Development (HSD) as director of Indigenous Initiatives in June. Before joining us, he worked at First Peoples House as the Indigenous Student Support Coordinator for Indigenous Academic and Community Engagement (IACE). Read on to find out more.

When Adrienne Lagura was a child in the Philippines, she’d spend time every summer with her aunt, a nurse at a local hospital. Lagura would pretend to be a patient as her aunt, Regina assessed her. She became her aunt’s study companion. Even then, Lagura felt a strong pull toward health care. This month, Lagura will be among 25 students graduating from UVic’s Master of Nursing, Nurse Practitioner (NP) program.

There's still time to immerse yourself in Debra Thompson's bestselling The Long Road Home: On Blackness and Belonging, ahead of HSD Reads in September.

Their work touches on some of the most important issues of our time: climate change, food security, the toxic drug crisis and Indigenous political life. Four recipients of the 2023 HSD Research Excellence Awards share a commitment to building just, equitable, sustainable and decolonial futures. Read on to find out more about their work.

Budd Hall has spent the past 45 years championing community-based research. A professor emeritus with the School of Public Administration and a former dean of education at UVic, Hall is a UNESCO Co-Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education. In December, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. Here, he talks about his work, what community-based research can offer early career academics and its increasing relevance in higher education and society.

Congratulations to our new Associate Dean Research Nathan Lachowsky. An associate professor with the School of Public Health and Social Policy, Lachowsky has been ratified as HSD's associate dean research for five years. He has been in the acting role since January.

Better supporting students’ mental health in the classroom doesn’t have to be onerous. Natalie Frandsen says simple changes to course design can have big impacts on student learning.

Join us Friday, April 21, as we celebrate the winners of the HSD Research Excellence Awards at our second annual HSD Research Day!

Join us for two important upcoming presentations for the position of associate dean research from candidates Nathan Lachowsky and Jaehee Yi.

Join us on April 21 to celebrate the breadth of research and teaching scholarship happening across the Faculty of Human and Social Development. The second annual HSD Research Day: Sharing our Research and Teaching Scholarship is open for registration to HSD faculty, sessionals and staff.

Happy International Women’s Day! This year, we'd like to celebrate the roughly 60 per cent of Health Information Science students who are women, many of whom go onto become leaders in their field.

A social work scholar committed to decolonizing her teaching practices, a health information science team that will create a chat bot to support student recruitment, and a community of nurses dedicated to anti-racist education are the recipients of the 2023 HSD teaching awards.

Strengthening students' mental health will be the focus of three upcoming online sessions organized by the Faculty of Human and Social Development (HSD).

Two valued staff members, Gillian Cornwall and Coretta Peets, were recognized with the inaugural Island Savings Staff Professional Development Award.

Join us in January for three special events organized around Rehearsals for Living authors Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.

A new University of Victoria study is calling attention to the unintended—but harmful—consequences of BC’s push for universal child care. The study, by Adjunct Professor Janet Newbury and Assistant Professor Alison Gerlach, from UVic’s School of Child and Youth Care, says inclusive child care in BC is at a critical tipping point.

Esteemed Blackfoot researcher, educator and First Nations advocate Leroy Little Bear brought a message of resurgence, cooperation and hope to the Faculty of Human and Social Development’s (HSD) HSD Engage: The Buffalo Treaty event held Nov. 2 at UVic’s First Peoples House.

Public Administration alumna Precious Ile’s consulting firm has received a prestigious national award in partnership with the Faculty of Human and Social Development (HSD). The award recognizes Impact Plus’s partnership with HSD in developing the faculty’s first-ever strategic plan, which was published in March this year.

Over the past decade, Karyn Hurlbut has lovingly stitched together nearly 50 quilts for family and friends. When the time came for the Fort Saskatchewan-based public servant to submit her thesis for a Master of Arts in Community Development (MACD), Hurlbut turned to a textile tradition that stretches back to medieval times.

Acting Dean Jennifer White brings more than 30 years of experience as a clinical counsellor, youth suicide prevention educator, researcher, policy consultant and community developer to her new role in the Faculty of Human and Social Development (HSD). White who took up the position of acting dean in August.

Intelligent, curious and a passionate advocate for transforming our social care systems, Lilia Zaharieva left a deep impression on the people she met. Zaharieva died on June 17 at the age of 35. The University of Victoria is establishing an endowed scholarship in her name.

Esteemed Blackfoot researcher, educator and First Nations advocate Leroy Little Bear is coming to UVic on Nov. 2 to discuss the historic Buffalo Treaty.

Sixty people gathered at Pacheedaht First Nation on National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21) for the blessing of the newly named and painted canoe, one of the final steps in a two-year partnership between the community and University of Victoria Assistant Professor Sarah Wright Cardinal, from the School of Child and Youth Care.

Applications are open for HSD's graduate student research awards. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 14.

Human and Social Development has welcomed two new school directors in recent weeks: Kristen Cheney to the School of Child and Youth Care and Vera Caine to the School of Nursing.

From working with immigrant and refugee groups to empowering First Nations youth, the winners of the inaugural HSD Research Excellence Awards put communities at the heart of their research. Three faculty members were recognized at HSD Research Day in May at the University of Victoria for seeking to build just, equitable, decolonial and sustainable futures through their research.

After more than two decades of nurturing the next generation of leaders, Indigenous Governance will welcome students this fall with a strengthened commitment from the university and more professors in its ranks than ever before. On this National Indigenous Peoples Day, the Faculty of Human and Social Development (HSD) is proud to announce that Indigenous Governance, a program at the University of Victoria since 1999, is now officially the seventh school within HSD.

Weeks after finishing her degree, Elika Yamauchi is fulfilling the kind of child and youth care work she always wanted to do. A community youth worker with RayCam Cooperative Centre, Yamauchi serves one of Canada’s most under-served neighbourhoods, the downtown eastside. At spring convocation, Yamauchi was awarded a Certificate of Outstanding Academic Distinction in the Faculty of Human and Social Development.

Jessica Pratezina has been awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal, her submission singled out and held up as the best master’s thesis from the spring 2022 convocation class. Pratezina graduated with a MA in Child and Youth Care.

More than 4000 people live one step away from houselessness in privately owned buildings called Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing in Vancouver's downtown Eastside. For the past five years, the Right to Remain Research Collective has fought for community-controlled housing as SROs verge on collapse from decades of structural neglect.

It's National Nursing Week. The Faculty of Human and Social Development (HSD) would like to recognize the extraordinary work and commitment of nurses and nurse educators throughout the pandemic.

Here are seven first-person testimonials on what UVic nursing and health information science students learned from the 2021 Covid-19 virus outbreak while helping to contain it.

Substance UVic offers storefront service as well as the island's first-ever mail-in drug checking service to provide broader access to drug checking services throughout the region. This new approach was launched mid-December to provide communities without local facilities with potentially life-saving overdose prevention measures.

The ePAC collaborative team -- equity program in palliative approaches in care research -- are deeply grateful to have been one of eight grant recipients selected by the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller Victoria Commandery. This group supports projects that directly benefit people who experience inequities and that are living with chronic life-limiting illness.

Kinship Rising is an Indigenous-led, community-engaged research project focused on restoring Indigenous practices of gender wellbeing and works in partnership with Indigenous young people, communities and organizations across BC through land- and arts-based research workshops on issues related to gender-based reclamation, healing and resurgence.

Three accomplished scholars and researchers share their insights on what it takes to secure research funding in a one-hour video produced by the HSD Research Support Centre.

Associate professor Dr. Katya Rhodes and former master’s student Aaron Hoyle shared their findings on how governments can match their climate policy questions to an appropriate model. The key takeaway: climate policy models vary widely along with the results they generate.

Dr. Alison Gerlach, associate professor with the School of Child and Youth Care, and Jason Gordon executive director with the BC Association of Child Development and Intervention have secured a research grant to gather information from families living in rural and northern regions of BC raising children with disabilities and/or medical complexities. This study is focused on their experience accessing information and communication technologies to find information, supports and services for their children’s early health, development and well-being.

Jaime Arredondo Sanchez Lira is a new faculty member and research scientist who was recently named a Canada Research Chair in Substance Use and Health Systems.

When asked why she wanted to be a nurse, Lara says, “I love people. I’ve always been caring for people. It’s a big part of who I am. It’s that calling, I think. I’m passionate about learning how the body works, maintaining good health and diving into the science behind it all.”

Shawna Bowler, a proud Métis woman from Winnipeg, and a UVic social work master’s graduate, was a candidate for this year’s Governor General’s gold medal award for her outstanding thesis on Indigenous women’s healing through beading methodology. Her paper, Stitching Ourselves Back Together: Urban Indigenous Women's Experience of Reconnecting With Identity Through Beadwork, is also a testament to her experiences in reconnecting with her own Métis ancestry.

When Edget Waktola said goodbye to home and family, leaving Ethiopia for a new life in Canada, the last thing she expected to find was a nursing career on Vancouver Island.

Victoria Pickles is completing her master’s degree in nursing while working with Broadmead Care, a non-profit long term care organization. For her final practicum, she worked with UVic’s School of Nursing faculty and Island Health’s Professional Practice office to plan third and fourth year undergraduate student involvement in BC’s vaccination program and COVID-19 response for the elderly.

The University of Victoria’s School of Nursing has made a commitment towards inclusion of Indigenous peoples and reconciliation in step with the Calls to Action of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Here, three Indigenous nurses talk about what it takes to realize that promise.

Megan Fraser started a three-month nursing practicum with the Cowichan Tribes’ Ts’ewulhtun Health Centre on January 12 and worked her first drive-through vaccination clinic the very next day. Fraser, born and raised within the Cowichan Valley, has faced challenges before. True to form, she saw the beauty in this historic learning opportunity.

Harms of substance use aren’t just caused by drugs, says Bernie Pauly, a research scientist and professor with the School of Nursing. “They are caused by policies, laws and social dimensions of health, and we are working towards adding in or creating metrics that will get at some of those factors.” Metrics include discrimination in housing policies, experiences of racism, distance to services of different kinds, or per capita police spending.

Nick Claxton wants to teach youth how to build community, find themselves and enjoy a healthy life through land- and water-based knowledge and healing. As part of his doctoral research, Claxton (BSc ’00, MA ’03, PhD ’15) brought back his Tsawout First Nation traditional reef-net fishing practice to empower and reconnect his community. Elders, youth, families and community members came together around the SX̱OLE project. Children learned about the history and practice of the SX̱OLE. Youth and elders designed and built the reef net and planned the journey to their hereditary fishing grounds near Pender Island. Even old relationships with other nations were rekindled.

Madison Wells, master's graduate with the School of Public Health and Social Policy, talks of learning about cultural safety, how one’s identity is shaped by society, what it really means to ‘unpack white privilege’ and the value of studying diverse perspectives. “These studies set me up to open my mind. I was not conscious of it at the start, but I came to see that this learning was preparing me, putting me in a good place to learn more and to remain humble.”

Growing up, Dionne knew her Metis and Cree upbringing was unlike those of her non-Indigenous neighbours—but it was only when she was older that she found out her community was in the midst of an epidemic. The effects of gendered violence—missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit peoples (MMIWG2S)—were rippling across the country.

Voices of Indigenous women form narrative of self-determination

Our annual report provides an overview of key accomplishments across our seven academic units: Child and Youth Care, Health Information Science, Indigneous Governance, Public Administration, Public Health and Social Policy, and Social Work.

How a student from Public Administration found her true calling through an Indigenous community governance program.

“I feel quite lucky to be working as a nurse today, helping people through these dramatic challenges we are all facing right now. —Sydney Hofmeyr, UVic BSN class of 2020

Thank you for all you give – whenever you can

Named as one of our city’s most inspiring change makers for 2020, Dr. Loppie was recognized by Leadership Victoria for making lasting positive change in health and wellness impacting all citizens across our region

Leah Hollins, BSN’ 89, receives 2020 UVic – HSD Distinguished Alumni Award

Congratulations to Devi Mucina (third from left), director of our Indigenous Governance Program, who was awarded the 2019 HSD Award for Teaching Excellence and Education Leadership. Helping him mark the occasion are students, alum and Mrs. Mucina (second from left), assistant professor with our School of Child and Youth care. From l to r: Erynne Gilpin, Mandeep Mucina, Devi Mucina, Josh Ngenda, Parker Johnson and Ariel Reyes Antuan

Pacheedaht Canoe Blessing marks a return to Tribal Journey

Planning for death, when life is a struggle

Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Borycki, 2018 recipient of the HSD Teaching Excellence awards presented by the Faculty of Human and Social Development at the University of Victoria

Congratulations to the Voices in Motion community choir,

Cindy Blackstock, of the Gitxsan First Nation, and Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, spoke at UVic in November about Spirit Bear's Guide to Reconciliation.

Forum - Linking Evaluation and Spending Reviews

BCIT Specialty Nurses offered new pathway to UVic Master of Nursing program

Four of UVic’s Health Information Science faculty members were named to the top 100 biomedical and health informatics researchers in the world.

Nathan Lachowsky received the Michael Smith Health Research Foundation scholar award for 2017.

Lenora Marcellus named the school’s new Associate Director

Evert Lindquist & Rich Marcy wrote a paper on The competing values framework

Charlotte Loppie, named a member of the Royal Society of Canada

Chantel Adams School of Child and Youth Care Recipient of the Ramona Williams Memorial Scholarship