In acknowledgement of the extraordinary efforts of our non-instructional employees as VIU faced the Global Pandemic, to reimagine and deploy, both on campus and off, within tight timelines, distressing circumstances, and a sea of unknowns, the entirety of operations and supports of such critical importance to our learners and fellow colleagues at Vancouver Island University, we wish to award you the President’s Special Award for Service Excellence.
We recognize and appreciate your individual and collective commitment dedication, in extraordinary circumstances, to the continuity of our community activities and learner education.
We recognize the enormous efforts of those of you who remained on campus throughout, who had to implement and manage complex and stringent protocols while in pursuit of the completion of your duties with the addition of many new tasks. We recognize the stress and uncertainty you faced with our learners and instructional colleagues who remained on campus. You kept VIU’s values of understanding, connection, and commitment alive in being here every day for our learners, and helping them adjust to new protocols in every aspect of their education.
We recognize the outstanding efforts of the many employees who deployed vital tasks to the functioning of our University from home workspaces through online means. This was done with family members’ competing needs where all societal supports were taken away and the care of loved-ones and the education of children became an at-home responsibility. Additional stress from the myriad of unknowns we faced added complex and unprecedented challenges. Not to be forgotten were the burdens of loneliness and isolation those who lived alone experienced during this time. We share a deep gratitude to you all for stepping up and delivering to such an extraordinary degree.
We recognize your ongoing tenacity in changing and adapting as the public health orders changed. You inspired us with your relentless execution of our daily ambition, which state that: Every day we, welcome, support, and inspire all those who study and work at VIU. In our research and through our partnerships, we seek to understand the rich diversity of our region and to encourage the wellbeing of our communities. We are dedicated to helping our learners and our communities embrace their potential. We believe that everyone matters here.
You showed your belief that everyone matters here. Neither our colleagues nor our students simply became numbers. You reached out and connected, you noticed those who were struggling and helped them. And you continued to strive to make VIU an even better place for all.
We are awarding you, in the recognition that you have all faced personal and professional challenges brought about by this pandemic, some of which are clearly evident, but many of which have been borne by you and by your families without public acknowledgement. Thank you for your commitment to VIU, our learners, and your colleagues.
Thank you.
June 2022