For Dominique Rochefort, a citizen of the Métis Nation, the journey to become an empowered teacher was mined with self-doubts and life challenges. Rochefort graduates with a UVic BEd in elementary teacher education—and will receive a Maxwell Cameron award from the BC Teachers’ Federation for the outstanding quality of her practice teaching, her top GPA and engagement in social justice.
New book gathers expertise of UVic field school instructors to learn from—and extend—off-campus teaching opportunities
How does one “speak back” to violence experienced by Indigenous girls, young women, two-spirit youth, even whole communities impacted from centuries of oppression? This question frames the work of Sisters Rising, an Indigenous-led, community-based research project that honours Indigenous youth who have experienced sexualized, gender-based violence by offering traditional land- and arts-based teachings.
Over the course of their careers, health geographer Denise Cloutier and business professor Brent Mainprize have been deeply engaged with communities—creating better lives for older adults and Indigenous youth across British Columbia. As the 2019 recipients of the Provost’s Engaged Scholar Award, Cloutier and Mainprize’s commitment to healthy aging and Indigenous peoples will be celebrated during Ideafest.
Helga Thorson, whose groundbreaking field school transforms university students into eyewitnesses of how European countries remember the Holocaust, is the 12th UVic scholar to be recognized with Canada’s most prestigious award for excellence in leadership and teaching.
Helga Thorson, whose groundbreaking field school transforms students into eyewitnesses of how European countries remember the Holocaust, is the 12th UVic scholar—and the third in five years—to win Canada's most prestigious award for excellence in teaching, the 3M National Teaching Fellowship.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how do you quantify the experience of holding a whale skull? Students in one history course recently had just that kind of heft added to their learning at the Royal BC Museum, examining the museum’s whale specimens.
Alumna Fern Perkins says her UVic education in the 1960s and 1970s saved her from a life of poverty and despair. Years later, she unlocked the secrets of her true Indigenous identity.
Bill Gaston (writing) has won the 2018 City of Victoria Butler Book Prize. Separately, Brad Buckham (engineering) and David Nelles (School of Earth and Ocean Sciences) were honoured with a Teaching Award of Excellence by Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia at their annual conference last month.
When Paige Quinn first moved to Vancouver Island to start her undergraduate degree, she intended on becoming an elementary school teacher. She had always loved working with children and grew up with a mother who taught grade one. But taking one of UVic's Exercise Science, Physical Health and Education classes hooked her on the program. She graduates this month.
When Marie Cooper (SWETALIYE) received her Honorary Doctor of Education degree from UVic in 2010, it was a moment she had been steering toward her entire life. A teacher, counsellor, Elder, advocate and innovator, Dr. Cooper’s efforts to promote and defend Indigenous education, language and culture led to the inclusive transformation of educational policies and practices for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
This fall, UVic students can beam into Edwin Hodge’s “The Sociology of Star Trek” (SOCI 390) or David Christopher’s “Star Wars: A Cultural History” (AHVS 392 A02) course. But what specifically makes these sci-fi mainstays worthy of study?
The Audain Professorship of Contemporary Art Practice of the Pacific Northwest brings Indigenous artists into UVic's classrooms. Audain professors, each practicing contemporary artists, split their time between the studio and teaching a course, which is open to all students across campus.
Helga Thorson is familiar with students feeling fazed at the end of four weeks of study of the Holocaust and its memorialization. Since 2011, she has led students at the I-witness Field School. Students are totally immersed in the material without distraction, which separates the field school experience from the classroom. Then there is the subject matter: the Holocaust and humanity’s immense responsibility to remember, even as those with first-hand knowledge are passing on.
Fraser Hof has held fast to his joy of discovery. "I've never lost the spirit of just trying stuff out," says Dr. Hof, Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Canada Research Chair in Supramolecular and Medicinal Chemistry. The sentiment applies equally to his classroom and his lab.
Chantal Adams recalls her first encounter with Sandrina de Finney, an associate professor at UVic's School of Child and Youth Care. Adams was a first-year student when De Finney and a master's student visited one of Adams' classes. They spoke about their work with Indigenous children and families, sang and drummed and discussed the concept of intersectionality.
