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UVic Law students Sonia Kainth and Sara Sharp won the regional final of the 2008 American Bar Association Client Counselling Competition in February. Participants from seven North American law schools were judged on their ability to interview and appropriately advise “clients” in simulated human rights and civil liberties cases. Kainth and Sharp qualified for the North American final scheduled for March 8–9 in New York, where a dozen teams will vie for spots at the International Client Counselling Competition (ICCC) in Bangalore, India. The students were coached by Steven Perks, assistant clinical director of UVic’s Law Centre, and Marli Rusen, a partner with the law firm Heenan Blaikie. Students from the UVic Department of Theatre played the roles of the clients.
In January, 38 BCom students returned victorious from Western Canada’s largest business school competition, known as JDC West. Thanks to a creative practice strategy and coaching from mentors and alumni, the UVic Business marketing and debate teams placed second and third out of a field of 450 competitors from nine schools. Teams had three hours to analyze a business case, present their findings and respond to questions. The team also scored big on the social responsibility side by raising over $5,000 for charity. Students volunteered at the Victoria Habitat for Humanity Sidney Build site and participated in the annual “Chilling for Charity.” This national Polar Bear dip, which involves business students from across Canada, was held last November. About 20 members of the UVic JDC team dashed into the frigid waters of Cadboro Bay. All funds support the Victoria Habitat for Humanity.
Congratulations to UVic student Geoff de Ruiter and partner Steve Helle from UNBC, who recently took first place and a $5,000 prize in the BC Hydro PowerSmart Innovation Challenge. The competition encourages staff, students and faculty in post-secondary institutions to “contribute innovative solutions and ideas toward advancing energy efficiency and building a conservation culture.” Their submission, chosen out of a total of 40 province-wide, tackled the question of how UNBC could reduce its energy consumption by more than 20 per cent. Their plan recommends a detailed energy audit of the campus, efficiency upgrades (e.g. automating lights), plus insulation and ventilation retrofits in campus residences. In a solution uniquely suited to UNBC’s northern environment, they also propose snow storage technology as a means of achieving energy savings of 7 per cent. More information: http://bchydro/innovationchallenge.
Alumni Shelagh Plunkett (writing, women’s studies ’95) and Harold Rhenisch (writing ’80) are winners in this year’s CBC Literary Awards. Plunkett topped the creative non-fiction division category with her story “In a Garden,” about her childhood in Guyana. Her work has been published in the Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun, the Victoria Times Colonist, Geist, Yes! and Boulevard. Rhenisch won second prize for his poem “Catching a Snare Drum at the Fraser’s Mouth.” Jurors praised it for evoking “the long journey from First Nations traditional life, through the heartbreak of colonization and enforced modernization, to the colourful pluralism of contemporary urban Vancouver.” Last summer, his book The Wolves at Evelyn -- A Journey Through a Dark Century won the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in BC Writing and Publishing. He has twice won the Malahat Review Long Poem Prize. Their winning writing will be aired on CBC Radio and published in Air Canada’s En Route magazine.
Four UVic experts are advising the newly launched Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC)—a non-profit national organization created to focus attention on mental health issues and improve the lives of people living with mental illness. Dr. Benedikt Fischer (sociology) and Dr. Lorna Williams (education and linguistics) are members of the MHCC Science Advisory Committee. Dr. Jennifer White (child and youth care) is a member of the First Nations, Inuit and Metis Advisory Committee and Cindy Player (human rights) is a member of the Mental Health and the Law Advisory Committee.
Judy Burgess (nursing) recently received the National Health Sciences Students’ Association 2008 Interprofessional Education Mentorship Award, given to a champion and advocate of collaborative education. A sessional instructor in the School of Nursing and education coordinator for the Interprofessional Network of British Columbia, Burgess has been instrumental in bringing students together to develop interprofessional health education at various levels. In partnership with the UVic Health Sciences Students’ Association, Burgess coordinates the annual UVic Health Care Team Challenge, which demonstrates opportunities for collaborative teamwork within the client-centered primary health care system.
Heather Kirkham, undergraduate programs manager in the School of Public Administration, received the 2007 Friend/Associate of the Justice Institute of BC Award in February. The school supplies six administration courses in support of the Justice Institute’s bachelor of fire and safety studies program. In acknowledging Kirkham’s award, the president of the Justice Institute commented that her services “are very highly regarded and have a lasting, positive impact on the success of our programs.”
Dr. Bernie Pauly (nursing) has been named to the leadership council of the newly formed Greater Victoria Commission to End Homelessness. Pauly’s extensive work on homelessness and access to health care includes contributions as a board member of the Victoria Cool Aid Society. The commission is comprised of a leadership council, funders table and co-ordinating committee and aims to house 1,500 homeless in Greater Victoria over the next five years.
Dr. Michael J. Prince, Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy, has received a President’s Award from the Canadian Association for Community Living, an association working for the benefit of persons of all ages who have an intellectual disability. Prince was recognized for “his exceptional contribution to Canadians’ understanding of public policy that builds an inclusive and accessible Canada.”
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