UVic in the News: Top 10 of 2014

As UVic welcomes the start of another great year, we also celebrate the many memorable moments and compelling stories of 2014.

Archaeological sleuthing deep underwater, a history mystery still unsolved from the Great War and a tiny satellite no bigger than a shoebox are some of the many captivating UVic stories in 2014. Here are just 10.

Indigenous master's degree a first

Lindsay Delaronde was one of 14 UVic students taking part in the new Indigenous Communities Counselling master’s program—the first in Canada.

• Read the story on the Ring

A brand new field school in South Africa

Thirteen UVic students and two faculty members arrived in South Africa just in time to observe the action at voting stations during the national election. The new field school explores impacts of colonial history on everyday life and on the rural and urban landscapes.

• See photos and read the story on the Ring
• Listen to them live from South Africa speaking to CBC Victoria (mp3)

Shelagh Rogers is next UVic chancellor

Shelagh Rogers—national radio host, champion of reconciliation, mental health advocate and an acknowledged “voice” of the country—will be the university’s 11th chancellor, succeeding Murray Farmer in 2015.

• Read the story on the Ring
• This story as told by the Times Colonist

BC coastal wolves are distinct from mainland ones

The waggish joke that wolves are “Canada’s newest marine mammal” is a lot closer to truth than jest—an insight suggested by Indigenous knowledge and confirmed in a study co-authored by UVic geographer Chris Darimont.

• Read the story on the Ring
• This story as told on CTV (Source: Canadian Press)

Student satellite engineering team is ready for lift-off

The tiny nanosatellite is no bigger than a shoebox and looks like a tiny black office tower with an antenna, but when it launches 800 km into space, the UVic engineering students who built and designed it will have their sights set on the stars.

• Read the media tip
• This story as told by the Times Colonist

New radioactivity monitoring off BC coast

What are the levels of radioactive elements in BC coastal waters and do they pose a health risk to humans and marine life? UVic oceanographer Jay Cullen formed a new radioactivity monitoring network to find out.

• Read the story on the Ring
• This story as told by CHEK News (video)

$5.5M humanities project on Japanese Canadian dispossession

After the Second World War, British Columbians of Japanese descent had no homes to return to—after being interned in camps in their own country during the war. A seven-year, $5.5-million research project, Landscapes of Injustice, will culminate in an interactive travelling museum exhibition to tell the story of dispossession of Japanese Canadians.

• Read the story on the Ring
• This story as told by CFAX Radio (soundcloud)

First-ever look at Canadian sex industry

Recent findings from a five-year study led by UVic sociologist Cecilia Benoit of UVic's Centre for Addictions Research suggest that sex-workers and sex-buyers are not who people think they are.

• Read the media tip
• This story as told by CBC Radio Victoria (soundcloud)

Archaeological find near Haida Gwaii makes a huge splash

Using some of the newest technologies in underwater archaeology, UVic anthropologist Quentin Mackie and UVic engineers Alison Proctor may have discovered one of the oldest archaeological finds in Canada.

• Read the story on the Ring
• This story as told by Global National

History mystery of First World War diary

A two-volume leather diary of the First World War is missing the name of its soldier diarist. UVic is hoping history buffs or family members can help solve the longtime mystery.

• Read the story on the Ring
• This story as told by Globe and Mail

Read more about UVic in The Ring and stay tuned to @uvic and the UVic news page for new stories as they happen.