New School of Creative Arts has successfully launched

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As of Friday, September 27, 2019, UFV College of Arts’ new School of Creative Arts (SoCA) has successfully launched.

The new cultural hub was featured in Academica Top Ten and The Abbotsford News. The school combines departments in theatre, visual arts, art history and media arts with the end goal of creating a centre for creative innovation in the Fraser Valley. Dr. Heather Davis-Fisch is the school’s new director. She was previously the department head for the theatre program from 2016-2019.

Read moreNew School of Creative Arts has successfully launched

Yvon Dandurand, Criminology and Criminal Justice Associate Professor writes UNODC Manual

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Congratulations to Yvon Dandurand, Professor Emeritus Criminology and Criminal Justice, UFV and recent UFV graduate Jessica Jahn, who recently wrote the “UNODC Manual on the Prevention of Child Recruitment and Exploitation by Terrorist and Violent Extremist Groups: The Role of the Justice System”. The manual was also released during the Annual Session in Vienna of the United Nations Commission on Crime prevention and Criminal Justice.

Lieutenant Governor’s medal: Leanne Julian an advocate for Indigenous inclusivity

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As Leanne Julian stood outside as part of a group of geography students listening to Mt. Lehman community members explain how they wanted to present their community it to the world, she could literally see her father’s home community, the Matsqui First Nation, not far in the distance.

But nobody else seemed to notice.

Read moreLieutenant Governor’s medal: Leanne Julian an advocate for Indigenous inclusivity

Matthew Harty awarded Governor General’s Gold Medal with perfect GPA

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Early on in his career at the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), an aspiring Matthew Harty would occasionally help in street-level undercover work during a patrol shift.

“I was quite young, so I was always a student, that was my story,” he says remembering the start of his police career.

He would give the buy money to a drug dealer, and then the signal to his colleagues when it was time to move in.

Read moreMatthew Harty awarded Governor General’s Gold Medal with perfect GPA

The world is a classroom for Global Development Studies major Sterling Ray

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UFV is committed to helping students and alumni make an impact locally and beyond. Sterling Ray is a Bachelor of Arts student who has taken that challenge literally.

Ray is leading intercultural initiatives both on campus and abroad, and will be graduating in June 2019 with a Global Development Studies major and an extended minor in Latin American studies.

Read moreThe world is a classroom for Global Development Studies major Sterling Ray

Criminal Justice Students at the United Nations and Western Society of Criminology

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Recently Amanda McCormick, UFV Criminology and Criminal Justice Director, travelled to New York with BA (Criminal Justice) student Lauren Kempers and Master of Arts (Criminal Justice) student Caleigh West to present at the United Nations 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

Amanda and the students presented their research project on increasing women’s access to civil protective orders in domestic violence. They gained valuable feedback from the event organizers, the International Police Executive Symposium (IPES) and the Women’s United Nations Resource Network. Subsequently they were also invited to attend and present at the IPES session in Belgrade this summer 2019.

Read moreCriminal Justice Students at the United Nations and Western Society of Criminology

John Belec awarded the 2019 J. Alistair McVey Award for Teaching Excellence

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Congratulations to John Belec, UFV Associate Professor in the Geography and Environment department. John was recently awarded the 2019 J. Alistair McVey Award for Teaching Excellence by the Canadian Association of Geographers.

“The purpose of the J. Alistair McVey Award for Teaching Excellence is to recognize a geography instructor known for the quality of their teaching. This is in recognition of the central importance of teaching excellence in geographic education. The recipient is intended to be a teacher in a university, college or secondary school in BC or Alberta. This award is named after Alistair McVey, a well-known and highly-respected geography instructor in the BC college system for more than 35 years” (CAG).

Read moreJohn Belec awarded the 2019 J. Alistair McVey Award for Teaching Excellence

North Korea’s Current Economic Situation and Global Peace Workshop

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The UFV College of Arts and the Department of Economics recently held a workshop on “North Korea’s Current Economic Situation and Global Peace”, moderated and organized by Dr. Bosu Seo.

The workshop aimed to inform Canadian mainstream society about North Korea’s fluctuating economic situation and its impact on countries around the world, including
South Korea, USA, China, Japan, and Canada. The guest speakers included Dr. Yvon Dandurand (Professor Emeritus, UFV Criminology & Criminal Justice and Ex-United Nations Office Drug and Crime Lead consultant) and Mr. Shin, Tae-Young (Representative, The National Unification Advisory Council Vancouver Chapter).

Read moreNorth Korea’s Current Economic Situation and Global Peace Workshop

Mapping Ancient Flood Deposits in the Langley Bog: A Student Research Program

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J Hughes

Dr. J Hughes, UFV Associate Professor, Geography and the Environment, 2018 

“When I first got to UFV in 2006, retiring professor, Don Tunstall, had left this box of Kodachromes on my desk,” says UFV associate professor Dr. J Hughes, a bio-geographer and paleoecologist in the department of Geography and the Environment.

First used in the 1930s, a Kodachrome is a 35 mm slide used for professional colour photography. “I started looking through them thinking these are kind of interesting” says Hughes. Hughes discovered that the Kodachrome slides had originally come from a local farmer during the 1948 flood, who had recorded images and field notes of damaged properties in the Matsqui and Hatzic areas.

Read moreMapping Ancient Flood Deposits in the Langley Bog: A Student Research Program

Minister of Multiculturalism, Official Languages and La Francophonie for a Weekend

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Raymond Kobes, BA, French Major & Business Minor, 2018 

“I went to Victoria for University Model Parliament” says Raymond Kobes. It was there in January 2018, that the UFV French alumnus and member of Universities Model Parliament was selected to be the Minister of Multiculturalism, Official Languages and La Francophonie for a weekend.

“Basically when you go to Model Parliament, it’s as if Ottawa was postponed and you were actually in Ottawa as the official representatives and members of parliament” says Kobes. Over the course of the weekend, Kobes was responsible for three portfolios: Multiculturalism, Official Languages and the French culture.

In this role, Kobes was expected to field questions by the opposition regarding certain bills that related to his area. “It was really neat because there were so many different opinions and different world views… but when it came down to it, we were all there for a common goal of learning how to get involved in the political world and how we can best make a better Canada” he says.

To be an effective member of parliament, Kobes recommends becoming a good orator because a large part of the job will include giving speeches and asking or responding to questions from either side of the House of Commons. He also recommends becoming bilingual. “The best part about [being a Minister] was that I got to use my French in the House… and got to share with other people why those things are important” says Kobes.

Growing up in Abbotsford, Kobes was drawn to politics at an early age and dreamed of one day becoming a member of parliament. “I look forward to my future in politics, hopefully, as a member of parliament in the future and a lot of that has to do with my education here at the University of the Fraser Valley” says Kobes.

Kobes graduated this June 2018 from UFV. He is set to teach French for one year at Credo Christian High School in Langley starting September 2018, and then plans to become heavily involved in the Canadian federal election in 2019.

To watch Raymond’s short video interview, click on the link: https://bit.ly/2NloL72

To watch Raymond’s full video interview, click on the link: https://bit.ly/2mr2vx2