WHITEHORSE, YT—For the continued health and safety of students, employees and visitors, Yukon University will soon require all employees, contractors, students and visitors attending all 13 YukonU campuses in-person across the territory to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

However, to allow current students to complete the Fall Semester, this requirement will come into effect next semester.

Employees, contractors and students have until February 18, 2022, to become fully vaccinated. This means they should get their first vaccine dose by December 10, 2021, and their second dose by February 4, 2022, to allow the vaccine to fully take effect by February 18.

More details will be shared by the end of this month about the implementation of this vaccination requirement.

Yukonstruct, YukonU Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Creative Lab North are launching Yukon Innovation Week 2021 to engage Yukoners with the theme of building sustainable communities. Yukon Innovation Week offers a week-long series of free events across the territory to spark the spirit of innovation and support Yukoners to tackle tough issues in the North. Following the success of the inaugural event in 2020, Yukon Innovation Week 2021 will run from November 15 to 21.

Dear students and colleagues, 

For anyone who may not be aware, there are two important days of remembrance this week. We are invited to remember those who served Canada in two world wars as well as smaller conflicts and peacekeeping missions, those who did not return and those who continue to serve today. 

Dear students and colleagues,

I am very saddened to share that today the RCMP has confirmed the death of two victims of the shooting in Faro yesterday, as well as a third victim being treated for critical injuries. The RCMP has not yet released their names.

Our thoughts and prayers go to the faculty and staff at the Faro Campus and the Ross River Campus. We are in touch to ensure they are supported.

The news yesterday and today, from receiving emergency texts and being unsure what was happening to today’s confirmation of fatalities, is unsettling for us all. I have learned that the Yukon is a small and highly connected community and many of you have connections to most, if not all communities, including Faro.

It is all right to feel shaken and it is all right to feel upset. It is also all right to grieve the two people who died and the safety we felt yesterday.

WATERLOO – Black spruce, an evergreen tree that dominates boreal North America, has historically demonstrated high resilience to fire, even depending on it for regeneration. However, a new study led by Wilfrid Laurier University’s Jennifer Baltzer and an international team of collaborators found that increasing fire activity due to climate change may lead to declines in this widespread and economically important boreal species.

Dear students,

YukonU is a caring community, and our collective mental health and wellbeing has been a topic of many conversations since I joined you two months ago.

I am excited to share with you that Yukon University is joining forces with Headversity to pilot their interactive, mobile app-based resilience skills building program with our students, faculty and staff this academic year.

Install the app on your mobile device, input your preferred email address and use the YukonU student code YKUSTU to register and begin your resilience journey. Our Connect Team is available to assist if you need help installing the app.

Two minutes after answering some questions, you will have your personal resilience score and suggested training to focus on.

WHITEHORSE, YT—Wykes’ Your Independent Grocer and Yukon University are teaming up to nourish YukonU students for Thanksgiving and into the holiday season.

Starting today, Wykes’ customers are invited to help alleviate student hunger by donating a minimum of $2 at the checkout in exchange for a reusable YukonU Together We Thrive tote bag. All funds raised will go towards emergency grocery cards and replenishing the Ayamdigut campus student food bank.

“Donating just $2 for a reusable YukonU tote bag helps the environment, helps you get your groceries home and helps students who face food insecurity. I’m grateful to Mark Wykes and his team for collaborating with us to support YukonU students.” said Dr. Lesley Brown, president and vice chancellor.

Committing ourselves, personally and professionally, to the work of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples across this country is the most vital work of our time. Hearing and absorbing the truth of the ongoing and inter-generational impacts of Indian Residential Schools and other colonial policies on First Nations people, Métis and Inuit in Canada are essential to the reconciliation journey.

This summer, we were confronted with the confirmation of unmarked graves at Residential School locations across Canada. So many children who were taken and housed in these places never returned home. The grief and trauma of this truth is still felt today in every First Nations, Métis and Inuit community.

As former senator Justice Murray Sinclair said, “It is precisely because education was the tool of oppression of Aboriginal people, and miseducation of all Canadians, that we have concluded that education holds the key to reconciliation.”

WHITEHORSE, YT—Yukon University is joining universities and colleges across Canada in cancelling classes and closing campus services on Thursday, September 30, in honour of National Truth and Reconciliation Day and Orange Shirt Day.

“The confirmation of unmarked graves at former residential schools this year weighs heavily on us. To achieve truth and reconciliation, it is vital we invest time this week learning more deeply about the impact of residential schools on Indigenous people and our shared history,” said Dr. Lesley Brown, president and vice chancellor, Yukon University.

“All Canadians should have the same understanding of history and its impacts if we are to understand each other. It's not about placing blame or dredging up past wrongs. We have to have a shared history to move forward together,” said Chùsi Robin Bradasch, associate vice president Indigenous Engagement and Partnerships.

$22,200 in financial support available to YukonU students; Oct. 1 deadline approaches

WHITEHORSE, YT—Yukon University students can access $22,200 in financial support from generous donors, including several being offered for the very first time. Many award deadlines are October 1, with a further $24,300 available January 31.

The $500 Andrew G. Smith Scholarship for Commitment and Vision is available to full-time students enrolled in the Renewable Resources Management (RRM) or Northern Science programs. Smith graduated from the RRM program in 2015 and has since created this award for students with drive and vision to excel.

"It's important for me to give back to the program and school that has given me so much. The leaders of the workforce of tomorrow are the leaders in the classroom today, and those outstanding individuals deserve to be recognized," said Smith.