UVic volunteers talk the talk

Each year 12,000 Victoria residents learn about everything from black bears and bullfrogs to plants and parenting, thanks to the volunteers from UVic’s Speakers Bureau.

Bureau volunteers are UVic faculty, graduate students and staff who share their expertise on more than 400 topics with community groups, schools, clubs and seniors’ organizations. This year, speakers gave more than 400 presentations.

“My research and teaching is about improving community life through healthy recreational activities, and volunteering has been a tradition in recreation for over a century,” says long-time bureau volunteer Dr. Joan Wharf Higgins (physical education). “Because I believe in what I study and learn with students in the classroom, I feel it’s only right to actually practise what I preach!”

“The meaning of ‘volunteering’ for me has always been making a small contribution to our community, but I didn’t feel that I could do much until the Speakers Bureau gave me that opportunity,” says geography instructor John Newcomb. “Now, when I spend an hour in a school class or an evening in a seniors’ home it feels good to link the audience to my own experiences. Often, they share their own experiences, making for a very rich exchange.”

“Sharing my time and interests with others has been an opportunity to meet other people and learn from them,” says psychology and leadership studies grad student Carmen Rodriguez, whose 15 topics include Mexican history and songs. “It has been an opportunity to develop interpersonal and communication skills, and to increase my knowledge about diverse aspects of life in Canada. It has been a time for personal growth and wonder.”

For more information about the UVic Speakers Bureau, contact Mandy Crocker (UVic communications) at 721-8587.

A special Thank You to the following UVic Speakers Bureau members who have given presentations in the last six months:

Bert Annear, admissions
Dr. Robert Anthony, curriculum & instruction
Gordon Argyle, facilities management
Stewart Arneil, language centre
Don Avison, office of VP finance & operations
David Ballantyne, retired
Dr. Chris Barnes, earth & ocean sciences
Dr. Cecilia Benoit, sociology
Dr. Kathie Black, curriculum & instruction
Dr. Sylvain Boies, counselling services
Mona Brash, political science
Dr. Sandy Briggs, chemistry
Dr. J. T. Buckley, biochemistry & microbiology
Dr. Martin Bunton, history
Kathi Cameron, athletics & recreational services
Tessa Campbell, biology
Dr. Dante Canil, earth & ocean sciences
Dr. Claire Carlin, French language & literature
Kimberlee Chambers, environmental studies
Wendy Cocksedge, environmental studies
Carole Collard, McPherson library
Michelle Connolly, human & social development
Melanie Conrad, biology
Dr. Ralph Croizier, retired
Dr. Robert Dalton, curriculum & instruction
Stephen Dann, biology
John-Mark Davies, biology
Dr. Isobel Dawson, nursing
Dianne de Champlain, social work
Dr. Radhika Desai, political science
Dr. Florin Diacu, mathematics & statistics
Dr. Ned Djilali, mechanical engineering
Dr. David Docherty, physical education
Dr. John Durkin, psychology & leadership studies
Dr. Lily Dyson, psychology & leadership studies
Dr. John Esling, linguistics
Tiffany Evans, psychology & leadership studies
Dr. Andrew Farquharson, retired
Prof. Hamar Foster, law
Ann Garibaldi, environmental studies/biology
Dr. Sandra Gibbons, physical education
Dr. Robert Gifford, psychology
Dr. Cary Goulson, retired
Purnima Govindarajulu, biology
Dr. Rebecca Grant, business
Dr. Patrick Gregory, biology
Dr. Barbara Harris, retired
Gabe Haythornthwaite, indigenous governance
Yuko Heath, psychology
Dr. Alan Hedley, sociology
Linda Henderson, athletics & recreational services
Dr. Emmanuel Herique, French language & literature
Leigh Anne Isaac, biology
Dr. Eike-Henner Kluge, philosophy
Dr. Ben Koop, biology
Dr. Harald Krebs, music
Dr. Christian Kumi, chemistry
Lara Lauzon, physical education
Dr. Werner Liedtke, curriculum & instruction
Dr. Stephen Lindsay, psychology
Henri Lock, chaplain’s office
Kristin Lozanski, sociology
Susan Lymbery, English
Dr. Ian MacPherson, B.C. institute for co-operative studies
Lehna Malmkvist, environmental studies/geography
Jean Marcus, biology
Dr. Michael Masson, psychology
Blake Matthews, biology
Dr. Margie Mayfield, curriculum & instruction
Dr. Michael Miller, engineering
Dr. Jane Milliken, nursing
Melissa Moroz, sociology
Roshni Narayan, earth & ocean sciences
John Newcomb, geography
Dr. April Nowell, anthropology
Laura Proctor, computing services
Russell Robb, physics & astronomy
Dr. Paddy Rodney, nursing
Carmen Rodriguez, psychology & leadership studies
Shawna Rogers, athletics & recreational services
Dr. Patricia Roy, history
Dr. Nick Russell, writing
Dr. Kathy Sanford, curriculum & instruction
Claire Sira, psychology
Dr. James Skinner, English
Linda Sproule-Jones, equity issues
Prof. Rosa Stewart, Hispanic & Italian studies
Dr. Richard Stille, theatre
Dr. Kevin Telmer, earth & ocean sciences
Joanne Thomas, co-operative education
Dr. John Tucker, English
Dr. Eileen Van Der Flier-Keller, earth & ocean sciences
Dr. Lynne Van Luven, writing
Dr. Amy Verdun, political science
Dr. Joan Wharf Higgins, physical education
Becky Wigen, anthropology
Dr. Robert Willihnganz, retired
Lloy Wylie, political science
Dr. Bill Zuk, curriculum & instruction
Dr. Jan Zwicky, philosophy