Announcements and events

Emeritus Professor Donovan WM Waters, KC, FRSC died on September 9 in Ottawa. Donovan joined the faculty in 1977 and officially retired in 1993 to spend the following 25 years practicing and consulting at the Bar in Victoria and Vancouver. The leading Canadian authority on trusts law and a global leader in this field, Donovan’s reputation brought great credit to the Faculty of Law and the University of Victoria. The University awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 1995. Donovan and his late wife Maryla were mainstays of the faculty in its early days, and of Victoria’s arts community. In retirement, Donovan maintained strong connections to UVic Law. Ever kind and generous with his students and his colleagues, Donovan’s inspirational influence, even after his retirement from the Faculty, will be greatly missed. Further information about a memorial service is awaited, and we will post it when we receive it.

Freya is a proud graduate of the faculty’s co-op program (Class of ’95) where she shared the William R. McIntyre Award for academic excellence, community service and student leadership. She returned to UVic Law as a faculty member in 2005, after time in practice, primarily in the area of poverty law, and after completing her graduate work at York University. She served as Associate Dean, Administration and Research from 2016 to 2021, playing a critical leadership role in implementing the JD/JID program and responding to the pandemic, two of the most important events in the history of UVic Law. She has an exemplary record of teaching and research, implementing equity, diversity, inclusion and reconciliation initiatives, and supporting faculty, staff and student success.

Steve Perks retires as Director of the Law Centre at the end of June, 2023. Our clinical teaching program welcomes Chris Heslinga as Assistant Teaching Professor and Law Centre Director on July 1, 2023.

The William R. McIntyre Medal is awarded to the member of the graduating class who exhibits the highest qualities of academic excellence, community service and student leadership. The medal recognizes the special relationship that the Faculty of Law has enjoyed with the Honourable William R. McIntyre, who retired from the Supreme Court of Canada in 1989. This year’s McIntyre Medal winner is Jinjae Jeong.

Each year the Law Society of British Columbia Gold Medal is awarded to the graduate with the highest cumulative grade point average in the graduating class of JD and JD/JID students. This year’s recipient is Emmaline English.

The President’s Chair is the highest academic honour UVic can bestow on a faculty member. Ten President’s Chair positions were established in 2020 to recognize faculty who have achieved great distinction in research and research-inspired teaching; made substantial contributions to UVic and the wider community; and are capable of championing excellence in research, teaching and community-university engagement.

From the far reaches of outer space, to the opera houses of Europe, to the intersection of Indigenous science and self-care, the recipients of the 2023 University of Victoria Distinguished Alumni Awards span the globe with their remarkable achievements. This year, UVic and the UVic Alumni Association recognize 16 individuals in three categories: the Presidents’ Alumni Awards (presented by UVic's President and the President of the UVic Alumni Association), the Indigenous Community Alumni Awards and the Emerging Alumni Awards.

Over the March 10th weekend, over 70 law students representing 20 law schools converged on UVic’s campus to participate in the 2023 Kawaskimhon Moot. This moot is unique in that it embraces legal pluralism and is non-adversarial.

For more than a decade, Indigenous legal scholars, First Nations and the founders of the world’s-first Indigenous law degree program at the University of Victoria have worked to realize a National Centre for Indigenous Laws (NCIL). Construction is now underway.

As part of Black History Month celebrations, the University of Victoria is proud to announce that the Black Professionals Leadership (BPL) Program recently received an award of $690,000 over three years to continue its programming.

The Canadian Association for Legal Ethics / Association canadienne pour l’ethique juridique (CALE/ACEJ) annual conference will be hosted in-person at the University of Victoria on October 20th and 21st, 2023.

The UVic Faculty of Law presents: Indigenous Law: Today and Tomorrow with John Borrows and Val Napoleon 7:30 p.m. Farquhar Auditorium, University of Victoria. Join Chancellor Shelagh Rogers, Indigenous leaders, community members, and scholars to mark this historic moment as we celebrate the launch of the world’s first Indigenous law degree. Dr. Borrows will explore Salish Law and Land: Lessons Learned and Dr. Napoleon will look at the future of Indigenous Law: Fast Forward. This free public lecture has reserved seating.

Shiri Pasternak presents "What is colonialism that does not dispossess? Ecologies of Care and Supply at Barriere Lake." This presentation examines the materialities of colonialism from the perspective of a present-day Algonquin community in northern Quebec.