Best of the season from the Senior Management Team

Sending warm wishes and holiday greetings as you head into your winter break. For many Indigenous people this is the season of giving and a time of celebrating winter solstice. In some Indigenous cultures winter is a time of ceremony, songs, drumming, and dancing, it’s a time for family and togetherness. As a young girl growing up in community in northern BC, I have fond memories of our winter picnics with bon fires, sledding and hot chocolate, a tradition I kept up with my four sons. Now that they’re grown we spend time playing board games, outdoor hikes and holiday movies. I’m mindful that so much has changed these past few years, and the realities many students face with making ends meet, I’m mindful that we still have responsibilities over the holiday, some of you have children, jobs, and family to care for, family visiting, and some of you may be far from home.  It is with this in mind that I wish for you to find time for yourself amidst the busyness of the festive season, and pause to enjoy the simple moments and little things in life.  Wishing you a wonderful and restful holiday season. 

I have really enjoyed making new connections with friends and colleagues at VIU!  I am grateful to everyone for your support in my transition to the VIU community.  As we enter the holiday season, I am reflecting on the importance of gratitude.  I am thankful that in the midst of much adversity globally, we are able to celebrate the holidays this year in-person and have the opportunity to create new memories with our loved ones.   

I am personally looking forward to spending quality time with my family this holiday season – annual visit to the Butchart Gardens Holiday Light Display, Christmas Eve with my parents, Christmas day with family, walks with our dog – Ruby, skiing at Mount Washington, watching silly holiday movies (Elf is a favorite), and enjoying special time together.     

From my family to yours, I wish you all the very best this holiday season and look forward to our work together in 2023!

Season’s greetings to all our amazing VIU employees!

Wishing you all the very best this season and I hope you have a meaningful opportunity to recharge over the next several weeks. You have contributed so much to VIU in 2022 and I enjoyed the many conversations I have the blessed opportunity to have with people across the university this year.

Our family tradition includes the annual trip to Gogo’s Tree Farm down by Nanaimo River, evidence of which you can see in the photo. This year the snow was so deep it towered over our little Pomeranian’s head! I love this time of year with the many traditions we have formed. I hope that you have a fantastic break however you spend it.

¡Felices Fiestas queridos amigos, colegas, y alumnos! Happy Holidays dear friends, colleagues and students!

I want to wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable holiday season filled with all the things that refill and re-energize your soul. You’ve all worked tirelessly this semester and I appreciate all that you do to make VIU so incredibly special.

From our home to yours, happy holidays!

As another year passes I find myself reflecting on what a year it has been.  As we make our way out of a global pandemic, I saw and felt a re-establishment and regeneration of personal relationships.  Not only amongst ourselves, but with our students.  The VIU community has so many things to be proud of which contributes to the success of each and every learner and all those connected to our people, place and potential of all.

To all of you, I wish a wonderful holiday season with family and friends, love, laughter and a rejuvenation for another exciting year at Vancouver Island University!!

Happy holidays and all the best in the New Year.

One song’s lyrics that especially resonates with me at this time of the year is “So This is Christmas” (the John Lennon version of course), and this verse in particular, “And what have you done? Another year over and a new one just begun.” So much happens in a year and we rarely stop and reflect on what we’ve accomplished or to celebrate and enjoy the little and big moments!

You all do incredible work everyday throughout the year. I really hope that you’ll use the holidays to take some time for yourself. Relish the time you spend with family and friends. Whatever your traditions, new or old, cherish them. Happy Holidays everyone!

P.S. The rest of the song “So This is Christmas” is also very meaningful, especially with all that is going on in the world today.

Happy Holidays and all the best to you in the year to come! As I approach the end of my first semester as VIU’s Provost, I want to extend my sincere gratitude for the warm welcome I’ve received since arriving in Nanaimo. The care and support I’ve received from VIU has exceeded all my expectations. I have quickly come to learn that we are all part of a very special community. I recognize the stress and challenges that we have faced, but I am buoyed by a deep sense of hope and optimism for the future. I wish each and every one of you a restful holiday and hope you share this season doing what brings you joy with the ones you live.

On behalf of the staff in the Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity Office, the Office of Graduate Studies and the Animal Care Services Department, we would like to extend our wishes for a wonderful holiday break to everyone in the VIU community. 2022 has been a productive and impactful year and we look forward to more of the same in 2023 as we work across the institution to create the conditions where SRCA thrives.

I am humbled and honored to be a part of the VIU Community.  My family and I are grateful to be here and wish everyone at VIU happy holidays and a wonderful new year.  I’m looking forward to working with each and everyone!

This holiday season, I am filled with deep appreciation and gratitude toward our VIU community and extended community who gave generously to support our students. This time of year marks the season of giving, and this year the VIU community demonstrated that together we can transform the lives of students.

I am also inspired by seeing our larger community come together, with the Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation seeing incredible support during their first Giving Tuesday campaign and the outpouring of support for CBC’s Food Bank Day. These acts of giving speak to the true spirit of the holidays and the culture of philanthropy that is thriving in our communities.

Thank you to each of you for your care and commitment to our students. Wishing all VIU employees a warm and joyous holiday season.

Greetings everyone, I hope this reaches you in good spirits as we travel together through the final days of 2022. What a remarkable year it has been, with our world full of momentous changes, challenges and highlights. I’m grateful that many of my personal highlights this year have been shared with my friends and colleagues at VIU.

I am very excited about what 2023 will bring. As an institution we have some amazing and transformational projects on the horizon that will lead to opportunities to further connect and strengthen our relationships, and forge some new ones as well. On a more personal level, I’m enthused to watch the Canucks cement their position as the okayest team of all time. It’s a lofty goal, but one I think they are up for. 😊

Take care of yourselves and your families, and I wish you all the best as we move into 2023.

This holiday season I am grateful for gift of wonderful collegial relationships at VIU. I anticipate a restful and restorative break, enjoying quiet time with kth and kin around a warm fire.  Warmest wishes to each of you. 

From our whole team at the University Secretariat/Diversity, Equity, and Human Rights Office, we hope that the pending holiday season finds you and your loved ones in happy spirits! 

Personally, I’m looking forward to spending time outside with my wife and boys, and some cozy, quiet time by the fire with my “fuzzy-o-therapist” Kelpie. 

Warmest wishes to you and yours. I look forward to learning and working with you in 2023!