Monday June 6, 2022 | VICTORIA, BC [UPDATED 2 pm]
by Molly Pearce | Island Social Trends | Editor: Mary P Brooke
Thousands of university and college students will walk across the stage this spring as local post-secondary institutions celebrate the achievements of their graduates in-person—some of them for the first time in over two years.
While the University of Victoria (UVic) and the University of British Columbia (UBC) will be holding their second in-person convocation ceremonies since the pandemic moved online those of the Spring 2020 to Spring 2021 semesters, other institutions such as Camosun College, Vancouver Island University, and Royal Roads University will gather together for the first time since before the start of the pandemic.
A common theme of these graduation events will be the belated celebration of students who graduated virtually throughout the past two years. Several schools are inviting these recent alumni to join in-person ceremonies this year. Some are even organizing a separate event in their honour.
Camosun College:
Camosun College will be holding this spring’s convocation ceremonies in the PISE Gym of their Interurban Campus from June 14-16. This year’s convocation will be Camosun’s biggest ever, with a predicted 1 500 students, including those who graduated virtually in 2020 and 2021, expected to participate in the in-person convocation.
Camosun will be recognizing the achievements of several through the B.C. Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation, as well as the Promising Alumni Award and the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Vancouver Island University: June will also bring celebrations for more than 1 000 Vancouver Island University students receiving degrees, diplomas, and certificates this year.
The 2022 VIU convocation on June 23 and 24 will be VIU’s first in-person ceremony in over two years, and the first in-person ceremony at the Nanaimo Campus in over 20 years. VIU will have 11 valedictorians whose stories will be posted on the VIU blog in the coming weeks.
Royal Roads University:
Royal Roads University will hold their RRU convocation on campus in their new Dogwood Auditorium on June 10. Students who are unable to attend the ceremony in person will have the opportunity to virtually “walk across the stage” alongside their peers.
In addition to the graduation ceremony, the university is inviting recent graduates to attend the New Alumni Ceremony on June 13 and 14, to honour those who attended a virtual convocation event between June 2020 and November 2021. Regalia will be provided on-site for the ceremony.
The campus still encourages mask use when people are in close proximity to one another.
University of Victoria: UVic’s second in-person ceremonies since the pandemic will take place over four days (June 13 to 16, organized by program) at the Farquhar Auditorium: June 13 – Education and Social Sciences | June 14- Humanities and Law | June 15 – Sciences, Business, and Fine Arts | June 16 – Human and Social Development.
The Fall 2021 convocation was held in-person in November. The university will similarly hold a UVic “Alumni Convocation” this June to celebrate students who graduated between Spring 2020 and Spring 2021. At UVic, new health and safety signage promotes the use of masks to protect against COVID-19. Signs around campus say that while masks are no longer required in university buildings, they are still recommended.
UVic will award seven honorary degrees this year, including to former BC Provincial Health Officer Dr Perry Kendall and former BC NDP Leader Carole James. The award for top undergraduate students will go to Alexander Krawciw (BEng in Mechanical Engineering). The awards for best doctoral theses will go to Andrea Mellor (PhD on Social Dimensions of Health) and Tomiko Yoneda (PhD in Psychology).
University of British Columbia: UBC will also hold their second on-campus ceremonies since the pandemic this spring.
UBC Vancouver convocation ceremonies were be held over five days between late-May and June 1 and 2 at The Chan Centre for Performing Arts, while the UBC Okanagan will hold their ceremonies in the campus gym June 9 and 10.
UBC plans to recognize exceptional teaching talent by awarding the Killam Teaching Prize to teaching staff across all faculties.
===== LINKS:
Island Social Trends Community Calendar
===== RELATED:
Two SD62 grads receive exceptionally large scholarships (June 4, 2022)
Grad student scholarships at UVic & Royal Roads (June 4, 2022)