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鈥檚 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鈥攁nd the third in five years鈥攖o 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鈥檚 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聽(School of Earth and Ocean Sciences)聽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.聽A teacher, counsellor, Elder, advocate and innovator, Dr. Cooper鈥檚 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鈥檚 鈥淭he Sociology of Star Trek鈥� (SOCI 390) or David Christopher鈥檚 鈥淪tar Wars: A Cultural History鈥� (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.
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.
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鈥檚 immense responsibility to remember, even as those with first-hand knowledge are passing on.
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.
Local Kwagiulth and Coast Salish artist Carey Newman is announced as the sixth Audain Professor of Contemporary Art Practice of the Pacific Northwest with UVic鈥檚 Department of Visual Arts. He will bring issues and perspectives around reconciliation into his classes at UVic.
This May, the second annual REACH Awards will celebrate UVic scientists, scholars and artists for their extraordinary contributions in research and teaching鈥攆rom a field school in Cuba to a performance atop a glacier in BC's interior.
The Division of Continuing Studies, in line with the UVic International Plan's commitment to "making a world of difference," welcomed ECE students from Yasuda Women鈥檚 University in Japan to study English and ECE teaching methodology, as well as to engage in meaningful Pro-D workshops.
For the past 10 years, students in UVic's writing department have benefited by learning from veteran journalists and authors, thanks to the Harvey Stevenson Southam Lecturer in Journalism and Nonfiction.
