Message from the Provost
Seasons greetings from the Office of the Provost. I would like to thank you for your dedication and commitment to supporting and fostering our students’ academic journeys. I hope you had a rewarding fall semester. Over this holiday season I wish you a rejuvenating time, filled with quality moments to unwind and reconnect with those that are important to you.
I feel great privilege to be serving you in the role of Provost. We live in a beautiful part of the world, and I am deeply grateful to the Snuneymuxw, Quw’utsun, Tla’amin, Snaw-naw-as and Qualicum First Nations on whose traditional lands we teach, learn, research, live and share knowledge.
I have had the pleasure of attending many events and classes this fall and I am continually impressed by the quality and diversity of the work being done at VIU. Please continue to share opportunities for me to see, visit and participate in activities across campus. Thank you so much for all you do.
Since my newsletter in early September, there has been significant progress and updates in several areas.
The employee information session held on October 11 provided our community with critical information about VIU’s path towards financial stability and resilience. Details can be found in the Deficit Mitigation Plan. Emily Huner, our CFO and VP Administration, has provided us with outstanding direction and we are well-served by her expertise. I am working closely with Emily to align our academic mission with our fiscal responsibilities. President Saucier is also meeting regularly with key provincial leaders and they are supportive of our actions to resolve our deficit and return to balanced budgets.
I have continued to work closely with the Deans (weekly meetings) on ways that our educational programming can meet the needs of our learners while we look to lower the costs of delivery. We need to ensure that instructors are sharing their skills and wisdom with enrolment numbers that match our expenditures. I know many of you have been exploring and implementing ways to do this in your departments. Thank you for that work. I anticipate that we will be inviting feedback on some new and exciting models early in 2024 for how we organize ourselves and provide the programs that our students want and need. This builds on organizational and structural change that has already been launched in the fall. We are at a point in our history where we need to be bold and innovative. I am struck by a quote from Belasco and Stayer, “Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.” I am buoyed by the prospect of what we might gain, and I am sympathetic as to how hard it is to let go of the familiar.
Another initiative that I am excited to share is the completion of a Strategic Enrolment Plan (SEM). Under the direction of Carolyn Russell, a small team has been summarizing and advancing the great SEM work that has been done over the past several semesters. A draft of that plan will be available early in the new year. This work needs to recognize the rapidly changing behaviour and needs of our prospective students and the responses required by VIU to attract and retain those students.
Our future sustainability is predicated on transformational change. As I have said before, we simply cannot keep doing the same things and expect that the outcome will be any different. There are a few key points I want to share about our situation: 1) this is the cumulative effect of hundreds of discrete decisions over the past decade, each of which seemed relatively inconsequential at the time, 2) this did not occur due to the lack of hard work – I recognize the depth and breadth of effort across the entire campus (i.e., no one is to blame), and 3) I understand and share the sense of uncertainty and stress that this engenders. The senior leadership team is working hard to develop strategies for us to return to a balanced budget while meeting our commitments for high quality education. I can honestly say that I’ve never had the privilege of working such a talented and committed group of people. As these strategies are advanced in the new year, there will be key roles and responsibilities for all members of our community.
As we enter the new year, I encourage each of you find your groundings for the change ahead in our institution’s values of understanding, connection and commitment. Hold these closely beside our new brand promise of providing deep connections and fresh perspectives. Neither our values nor our new brand were developed in a boardroom. Both are the result of hundreds of hours in conversation with all members our community about why VIU exists and why each of us comes to campus each day. They will continue to guide us to where we need to go and how we choose to get there.
I remain highly optimistic that we have the collective capacity and potential to emerge as a viable, vibrant institution that is historically grounded, place-based and future ready.
Indigenous VIU
Recognizing that we still have much to do, the fall semester included meaningful activities to advance reconciliation and decolonization.
Lillian Morton, Tsunii’lhaat, has rapidly embraced her role as Director, Office of Indigenous Education and Engagement (OIEE), and is now Chair of the Indigenous Commitments Committee. While working diligently to support connection across our campuses and with Indigenous community partners, she is investing in conversations that inform VIU’s commitment to Indigenous students and communities as well as to the many ways we engage in Indigenous education on and off campus.
Highlights of campus activities and current initiatives include: a thoughtful and heartfelt Orange Shirt Day gathering; publication of A Conversational Approach to Learning About Learning: Embedded Indigenous Evaluation and Communities of Practice, a paper co-authored by Heather Burke (MCF Learning Facilitator); steady progress on an application to the Mastercard Foundation to support Phase Two of our EleV partnership; an application to the Rideau Hall Foundation co-created by VIU, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and Tla’amin Nation focused on Indigenous-led, decentralized teacher education; ongoing discussions with the Tla’amin Nation on the potential for self-determination in post-secondary education, the launch of the latest First Nations Stewardship Technicians Training Program in Campbell River, as well as other Relational Land-Based Learning deliveries in partnership with Gitxsan, Haida Gwaii, Cowichan, Komox and Kwakwaka’wakw territories; a project to review and recommend best practices for Indigenous governance at VIU.
The VIU community also hosted queer Anishinaabe scholar, writer and commentator from Eabametoong First Nation, Riley Yesno, for the latest installment of VIU’s Indigenous Speaker Series on November 22. Finally, a special thanks to the students and instructors of INDG/Xwulmuxw 403 class for sharing videos and stories as part of the "Following in the Footprints of Our Ancestors" project on Novembers 27.
Provost Division Successes
Dr. Michael Quinn was featured in VIU’s blog to answer questions about VIU’s budget deficit and how it will impact students.
Student Affair’s Centre for Experiential Learning launched its Career Chronicles podcast.
Retired VIU Baking instructor Martin Barnett recently visited Ottawa to present VIU’s signature Spindle Whorl Bar to the Minister of Small Business.
Stephanie Boychuk received the 2023 Rising Star Award at the 2023 British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) Joint Annual Meeting (JAM).
Dr. Andrew Loudon received a $165,000 NSERC Discovery Grant to pursue his research on breeding disease-resistant Pacific oysters and protecting the Columbia spotted frog from a deadly fungal pathogen.
Dr. Jasmine Janes’ expertise on the mushrooms and climate was recently featured in CHEK News.
Dr. Stephen Davies was featured in McMaster University’s Alumni Stories to talk about his work on the Canadian Letters and Images Project.
Dr. Aggie Weighill shared how tourists and tourism businesses can lessen their impact on communities and the environment on Global News BC.
Dana McFarland received the 2023 Ron MacDonald Distinguished Service Award.
Events and Awards
The award recipients have been announced for the Provost’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching Design and Practice and the Provost’s Awards for Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity. Congratulations to this year’s award winners:
- Provost’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching Design and Practice
- Provost’s Awards for Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity
The President’s and Provost’s award ceremony took place on November 14 and had an excellent turnout.
Provost and Deans
The Provost and Deans are continuing to meet regularly into the 2023-24 academic year to work on the current model of academic operations and program mix. Updates on the Provost and Deans meetings are available to all employees.
Faculty Resources
The Academic Integrity Working Group has launched guidelines around the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom, titled ‘Academic Integrity and Generative Artificial Intelligence: Context, Considerations, Emerging Best Practices.’ The document provides guidance for faculty members on incorporating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into their teaching practices, and for students with their learning. The guidelines are live on the VIU website, titled 'VIU Statement on Generative Artificial Intelligence.'
The CIEL Blog has multiple blog posts that provide information about artificial intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT. The most recent blog post, Questions about ChatGPT and Generative Artificial Intelligence, goes into detail about VIU’s commonly asked questions surrounding AI and its impact in the classroom.