Who are you looking for? Department Administrators | Recreation and Tourism Faculty
Administration Team
Faculty Member | Administrative Roles |
|---|---|
Amanda Johnson Office: Building 250, Room 374 | Department Chair |
Joanne Schroeder Office: Building 250, Room 336 | Graduate Program Chair |
Aggie Weighill Office: Building 250, Room 320B | Director, World Leisure Centre of Excellence |
Janet McKeown Office: Building 250, Room 330 | Undergraduate Advisor |
Phoebe Hua and Kelly April (on leave) Office: Building 250, Room 358 | Program Administrative Assistant |
Recreation and Tourism Faculty
Faculty Member | Scholarly Interests |
|---|---|
Aggie Weighill, PhD (she/her/hers) Office: Building 250, Room 320B | I believe that leisure is essential for promoting and facilitating individual and community health, and wellbeing. I am passionate about providing accessible and welcoming leisure spaces and programs for all equity deserving groups. I’ve focused on recreation and tourism in rural and remote communities and small cities– generally focusing on participants’ and visitors’ behaviours and motivations; however, I’m also interested how current governance and economic systems impact on reconciliation, equity, diversity, and inclusion. My favourite places for leisure are parks and protected areas close to wildlife! I also enjoy going to concerts, comedy shows, and reading! |
Amanda Johnson, PhD University of Waterloo – Recreation and Leisure Studies, MSc Clemson University – Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, BA University of Waterloo – Recreation and Leisure Studies Office: Building 250, Room 374 | The primary focus of Amanda’s research is on community-based meanings of public leisure spaces. Amanda typically examines landscapes of everyday life and how these spaces and places are managed to ensure preservation and sustainability while allowing for everyday and practical use by a diversity of individuals and communities. Amanda’s past research projects have examined farmers’ markets as everyday places for local residents and visitors, the community impacts of forced displacement from homes and recreation spaces, and everyday interpretations of public leisure spaces. |
W. Brook Pearce, MA Office: Building 255, Room 220 | I serve as a faculty member specializing in Work-integrated Learning (Co-ops). In addition to my MA in Leadership, I have worked in over 20 different jobs (food service, customer service, camp program director, lifeguard, and others). The combined education and experiences have enriched my life and prepared me to serve learners in this program. Despite my divergent work experiences, almost 30 years of my recent professional life has been dedicated to coaching learners to assess and apply their education, skills, and interests, into a workplace. I am committed to learner success and passionate to help learners in their “Becoming.” When I am not working, you can find me riding my mountain bike or skiing. |
Farhad Moghimehfar, PhD | With a passion for sustainable rural tourism practices and equity, diversity, and inclusion in leisure and recreation, I dedicate my teaching and research efforts to these fields. I specialize in quantitative research methods and analysis, sustainable tourism, and outdoor recreation administration. I actively collaborate with Vancouver Island and British Columbia tourism organizations and communities, offering community and professional advisory services. As an avid supporter of diversity, I have mentored graduate students from Canada and worldwide, eagerly looking forward to working with future researchers from diverse backgrounds. Embracing outdoor recreation and adventure, I often hike or sea kayak in Nanaimo while immersing myself in audiobooks for daily recreation. |
Janet McKeown, PhD (she/her/hers) | My scholarship focuses on how leisure (and its fields of practice) can be used as a vehicle for social change. I am interested in the ways power relations shape everyday leisure practices, spaces, and experiences, including how people form and maintain friendships, initiate intimate relationships, and engage in family life and care. I am also interested in (and find hope in) the ways leisure can be used to challenge power relations, address inequities, and enhance inclusion in communities. For leisure, I enjoy snuggling and reading stories with my children, watching reality TV, drinking wine with friends, and hiking at a leisurely pace. |
Jaylene Murray, PhD | As an outdoor educator, my research interests are grounded in the relational connections between humans and the more-than-human world. I am particularly interested in how we can use leisure (in all its forms) to address issues of climate change and sustainability challenges that we face today. As an uninvited guest on Snuneymuxw territory, I ensure that my work is rooted within Indigenous, anti-racist, and critical place-based pedagogies and I work in allyship with Two-spirit/Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Trans/Queer/Intersex+ communities. Personally, I enjoy being outside doing anything with my family, but especially love biking, hiking, camping, and being on the ocean (paddling, boating, swimming, SUPing, you name it!). |
Jenn Houtby-Ferguson, ABD, CMP CMM Office: Building 250, Room 363 | |
Joanne Schroeder, MA Leisure Services Administration Office: Building 250, Room 336 | I have been involved in leisure administration, education, and research for over 40 years. As a practitioner and academic, I have been teaching, consulting, developing and leading events, and experiential learning all over the world. I am the first Chairwoman of the World Leisure Organization, an international NGO. My true community interests are held in the belief that Recreation is an Essential Service, beneficial to the health and well being of citizens...and should be equal and accessible for all. You can find me enjoying all types of recreation outdoors, the more fresh air the better, be it snow, rain, or sunshine... a good pair of shoes, great friends and my family in tow and I am happy and fulfilled. |
John Predyk, MBA (University of Calgary), BSc (University of Calgary) Office: Building 250, Room 320C | John has served in management and executive positions in the public, non-profit and private sectors for the last 20 years, most recently as Special Advisor to the President at Vancouver Island University after several years as Vice-President of Sprott Shaw College. He has previously taught at the University of Calgary, Red Deer College, Mount Royal University, and Chemainus Native College. In 2015 he returned to his roots in the classroom and teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs at VIU. He was also Director of the World Leisure Centre of Excellence at VIU, Chair of the Vancouver Island University Business Plan Competition Committee, and regularly coaches Recreation and Tourism students in various competitions. John’s academic interests lie primarily in Entrepreneurship (including Social Enterprise), Human Resources Management, Strategic Leadership and Planning, and Teaching and Learning. His main research interests and experience in Rec/Tour sector are the artisan economy, golf, recreational fishing and agri-tourism industries. An entrepreneur since the age of twelve, John has owned/operated numerous business ventures which currently includes consulting, sustainable farming, property management, and Agri-tourism. As staff member, committee and board member at Community Futures Development Corporation, John has helped train potential entrepreneurs, assist with business plan preparation, and adjudicate financing applications for dozens of recreation and tourism business start-ups in central Vancouver Island over the last 19 years. |
Nicole Vaugeois, PhD | Dr. Nicole Vaugeois is interested in research topics including sustainability, rural resilience, place and amenity based development, agriculture and agri-tourism, community arts, trails, and tourism labour markets. She has extensive experience supporting local, regional, provincial and federal government policy analysis in tourism development through her research. She has published numerous papers, technical reports and policy briefs and shares her research with academic and non-academic audiences. She is a visual artist and maintains active status with the Canadian Federation of Artists. She currently serves VIU as the Associate Vice President, Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity and holds an appointment on the Destination BC Corp Board of Directors as well as the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance. She held the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development from 2008-2017 and served as the Co-Director of the World Leisure Centre of Excellence in Sustainability and Innovation. |
Rob Ferguson, PhD, MA, PGCHE, (University of Gloucestershire), BTM (Malaspina University-College), FHEA Office: Building 250, Room 356 | Rob's principal interests relate to exploring the human experience resulting from leisure interactions. Prior to his appointment as a faculty member at Vancouver Island University, Rob was a Senior Lecturer in Leisure Management at the University of Gloucestershire, U.K. Rob's background is rooted in the direct delivery of leisure experiences and can trace his passion for the recreation and tourism field to being a participant in public recreation programming as a child; and as a wide eyed tourist in his youth. He currently serves on a number of advisory boards within the community and his PhD research focuses on the role of Aboriginal tourism in fostering cultural resilience among selected coastal communities in B.C. This research is framed within the lens of Indigenous based tourism development and explores to what extent the touristic space can become an arena for the discursive negotiation of contested meanings, identities and histories for both host and guest. With a young and growing family he spends most of his current leisure time exploring the various recreation experiences that coastal British Columbia has to offer. |
Tom Delamere, PhD (Alberta), Masters of Recreation (Acadia), BA Recreation Administration (Alberta), BA Economics (Wilfrid Laurier), Office: Building 250, Room 332 | Tom's research has focused on understanding the impacts of festivals and special events on communities, leisure theory, leisure behavior, criticism of performance in the creative arts (Jazz Music), mentoring and mentorship. |
Academic Emeritus
Faculty Member | Scholarly Interests |
|---|---|
Dr. Rick Rollins Publications | My field is nature tourism and recreation. Nature tourism occurs mainly in natural settings, rather than in the built environment, and is a major industry in Canada and internationally, as exemplified by whale watching in BC, trekking in Nepal, wildlife viewing in Tanzania, bird watching in the Amazon, ski touring in Scandanavia, cycling in France, ocean kayaking in New Zealand, scuba diving in Thailand, sailing in the Caribbean, or just relaxing on a beach in Mexico. Nature tourism shares some characteristics with other forms of tourism in that nature tourism strives to provide opportunities to visit places that contrast with the familiar, often providing transformative life changing experiences that serve to broaden our understanding and appreciation of the diversity of landscapes and cultures found throughout the world. However, the tourism industry has been criticized for negative impacts sometimes created on tourism destinations, including impacts on environments, on local communities and cultures. This concern for negative tourism impacts has led to thinking about how tourism can be managed in more sustainable ways. My research and teaching has followed this thread, examining the conditions under which nature tourism can contribute to sustainability. Specifically, I am interested in determining the approaches and conditions under which tourism impacts can be minimized, or even contribute positively to conservation and to local communities, cultures, and economies, as well as providing meaningful experiences for tourists. |
Dr. Ken Hammer | As an Academic Practitioner Ken has a broad range of academic and practical interests. He has taught, studied, and practiced in the areas of entrepreneurship, leadership, community engagement and international partnerships. Recent presentations include Rotary Leadership, Withstanding the Test of Time; Creating Sustainable Rotary Partnerships; My Rotary Leadership Journey; Identity Based Leadership; Leadership as a Journey; and The Gift of Self. He continues to work with a variety of community organizations (Nanaimo Child Development Centre, Nanaimo Art Gallery, Nanaimo Daybreak Rotary, Nanaimo Association of Community Living, Multicultural and Immigrant Services Association of North Vancouver Island, Leadership Vancouver Island, Nanaimo Community Hospice Society), in a variety of roles. These roles include facilitator of strategic planning sessions, Vice President on two boards, presenter, facilitator of professional development activities and Assistant Governor. One of his favorite community engagement activities is the “reading circle.” He is currently a Realtor with the Scott Parker Real Estate Team under RE/MAX of Nanaimo where he enjoys collaborating with people to sell or find their home. Ken also enjoys mentoring new Realtors and facilitating learning experiences for all Realtors. |
Adjunct Faculty
Faculty Member | Scholarly Interests |
|---|---|
Frank Brown | Frank Brown, a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation, who carries the Hereditary Hemas (Chief) name of Dhadhiyasila (λ.λ.yasila) meaning “preparing for the largest potlatch”, will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Vancouver Island University (VIU) in recognition of his commitment to advancing the causes of Indigenous sovereignty, cultural resiliency, and environmental stewardship. |
Dr. Sharon Karsten Community Engaged Researcher | Sharon Karsten is a cultural and community development researcher/practitioner. She completed her PhD through Simon Fraser University’s School of Communication – focusing on cultural policy, cultural mapping, and community transformation. Her interest in cultural mapping has led to participation on various research teams. She currently serves as co-investigator / Project Director (Comox Valley) for the ‘Walk With Me’ project (2019-present), focused on developing small-city responses to the rising drug poisoning and housing crises. This work has received funding through NSERC, Vancouver Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, Island Health, and others. Previously Karsten was engaged in a SSHRC-funded cultural mapping initiative through Vancouver Island University – ‘Where is Here – Small Cities, Deep Mapping, Sustainable Futures’ (2016). Karsten is an Open Learning Faculty Member at Thompson Rivers University, where she teaches in Communication. Recent publications include: Walking on Ice: A Call to tread carefully, think reflexively, and cultivate dialogic sectoral and institutional inquiry in the enactment of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). In K.P. Goessling, D.E. Wright, A.C. Wager, & M. Dewhurst (Eds.), Engaging Youth in Critical Arts Pedagogies and Creative Research for Social Justice. (Routledge, 2021); and: Utopian Visions of Small City Transformation: The challenge and potential of enacting small city cultural sustainability agendas in an age of globalization (dissertation, 2018); and ‘Rewalking the Path: Community Video, Deep Cultural Mapping and Sustainable Canadian Cities’. In: Community Filmmaking: Diversity, Practices and Places. Eds: S. Malik, C. Chapain, R. Comunian. (Routledge, 2017). Throughout the past 15 years, Karsten has served in leadership roles within cultural organizations. Here, she championed and developed programs rooted in anti-oppression principles, including, at the Comox Valley Art Gallery, the 'Youth Media Project' (2014-present) - a media-based community action project for underserved youth. |
Affiliate Faculty
Faculty Member | Scholarly Interests |
|---|---|
Dr. Joe Pavelka | Joe's research focuses on aspects of destination management (both here in Canada and abroad) and marketing and tourism motivation. His past education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Geography (1987) and Honours Bachelors of Outdoor Recreation (1987) both from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He obtained his Master's in Recreation Administration from the University of Alberta (1990) in Edmonton, and his Doctorate in Geography (2010) from the University of Calgary, studying the resort community evolution from an interdisciplinary approach focusing on amenity migration. |
Dr. Bob Pfister | Do what you love, love what you do. |
Monir Shahzeidi, PhD Candidate 2022-24 | Monir Shahzeidi is a PhD student at the School of Kinesiology at the University of British Columbia. Monir’s doctoral research focuses on racialized women’s leisure. With a post-colonial feminism approach, she studies the integration of women immigrants in intercultural contexts. Prior to this, Monir completed her master’s degree in Sustainable Leisure Management at Vancouver Island University with distinction and was awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal in 2021. Her thesis focused on the Influence of leisure on the quality of life of refugees in Turkey. Monir has served as a researcher in multiple projects investigating people’s behaviour during nature-based tourism and outdoor recreation activities. Monir also has several years of experience as a senior accountant and pursued Chartered Professional Accounting in Canada before joining Vancouver Island University. Monir loves travelling and learning about other cultures. |