News

Rob Yeomans of Parsons Corporation has been appointed chair of Yukon University’s Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining (CNIM) Governing Council. Yeomans replaces longstanding Chair, Paul West-Sells, of Western Copper and Gold’s Casino Mining Corporation, who served the Council from 2012 until his retirement in 2024.

“We congratulate Rob for assuming this important position, and look forward to leveraging his wealth of knowledge of the mining sector, including the challenges and opportunities,” said YukonU Provost Shelagh Rowles. “I also want to thank Paul for his dedication to education over these past 12 years. His contributions helped build up our training programs to meet the needs of Yukon’s mining sector and workforce at large.”

Today, the YukonU community remembers the lives of the 14 young women who were killed in the 1989 gender-based attack at École Polytechnique de Montréal.

It has been 35 years since this act of violent misogyny shook our country. But this kind of hatred still exists today. In Canada and around the world, women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals face unacceptable violence and discrimination.

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women provides an opportunity to commemorate and honour the 14 women who were killed.

It also presents an opportunity to remember people who continue to die as a result of gender-based violence, and those who live with violence today.

YukonU's entry into the Festival of Tree, the "Ho Ho Ho Tree - Hands Out, Hats On, Hearts Open," was a wonderful success, raising $1,800 for the Yukon Hospital Foundation fundraiser to support the construction of a new Mental Wellness Wing at the Whitehorse General Hospital. The winning bid came from a group of generous physicians from Whitehorse General Hospital.

The physicians “totally got” the spirit of the tree, which symbolized community support and warmth, and they were thrilled to place the winning bid and donate the toques back to the community to ensure they reach those who need them most.

Here’s how the 145 toques from the tree will be shared:

100 toques will be donated to the Food Bank for distribution to communities in the new year, thanks to the support of Nicole Percival.

30 toques will be provided to the local Outreach Van.

Dr. Michelle Leach, Scientific Director of the Yukon Strategy for Patient Oriented Research at Yukon University has been awarded new funding to support collaborative research, with partners the Yukon Hospital Corporation and Kwanlin Dün First Nation.

The project, “The Power of Traditional Indigenous Medicines: Revitalizing Knowledge on the Road to Reconciliation,” was awarded a three-year College and Community Social Innovation Fund grant valued at $360,000.

The project aims to revitalize knowledge of Traditional Indigenous medicines and integrate them into mainstream healthcare systems.

WHITEHORSE – At its first meeting of the 2024-25 academic year, the Yukon University Board of Governors appointed Shaan Tlein Carol Geddes to the role of Chancellor. Geddes replaces Jamena James Allen, who held the position for two terms.

The Chancellor is the ceremonial head of the University. Appointed by the Board of Governors, the Chancellor acts as a bridge between the institution, the students, and the broader community. The Chancellor is responsible for conferring credentials on each graduating student. The position is voluntary for a term of two years.

“On behalf of the Board of Governors, I want to congratulate Carol. We are honoured to appoint Carol to this important position,” said Board of Governor’s Chair David Morrison. “It is a testament to her impressive career, as well as her deep commitment to her home, her people, and to Yukon University.”

YukonU has appointed Wendy Sokolon as the university’s first University Librarian.

In this new senior leadership position, Sokolon will lead YukonU’s library in its continued development in alignment with our academic plan and our increasing research intensity.

Right now, Sokolon is creating a vision and a plan to expand the library’s capacity and resources to effectively support the growing and evolving needs of students, faculty, staff and researchers.

Sokolon has been a member of YukonU’s library team for almost two years.

You may recognize her from her former roles at the Yukon Archives, ATIPP Office, Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Whitehorse Public Library.

She is grateful to have had the privilege of living in the Traditional Territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta'an Kwäch'än Council for the past 17 years and is committed to the ongoing work of decolonizing herself.

WHITEHORSE – Yukon University has received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). This funding was announced on June 14th at the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Michael Ross, NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Northern Energy Innovation has led this project at Yukon University. The project received a total of $187,843 to access electric power system modelling and analysis software. This software is used to help the research team model remote power systems to conduct technical assessments and incorporate more renewables without affecting system stability. 

“We’re excited about the opportunity to better support our partners as we work together to reduce our reliance on diesel fuels.” said Dr. Ross, “This new platform will also help our students be trained to industry standard and better prepare them for future careers.”