After a brief pause in delivery, Yukon University is pleased to announce that its Yukon First Nations Arts Certificate Program (YFN Arts) is once again accepting applications for the 2025–2026 academic year.

The program consists of six comprehensive art modules alongside four University Access Pathway (UAP) courses. It combines hands-on learning in traditional and contemporary Indigenous visual arts with academic courses in English and math, preparing students to not only create but also market and manage their own art-based businesses.

Artist and educator Vernon Asp recently joined the Yukon University team as the new Assistant Professor for the YFN Arts program. Asp is an accomplished carver from the Tahltan First Nation, specializing in Northwest Coast Indigenous art.

Yukon University will present Mary Jane Jim with an honorary doctorate degree at the annual Convocation ceremony on Saturday, June 7 on Ayamdigut Campus. Jim has dedicated her life to healing and empowerment through culture, language, and traditional knowledge.

As a citizen of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN), Jim comes from a long line of Southern Tutchone/Tlingit Matriarchs. She is a respected Elder, community leader, and advocate for Yukon First Nations, drawing strength from her family and community.

Her leadership encompasses language preservation, land claims, and wellness initiatives. She has twice served as Vice Chief for the Assembly of First Nations Yukon Region and held a position on the executive of the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN), where she is also honoured on the Wall of Honour.

Students can complete their certification in just nine months.

Yukon University's Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining (CNIM) received a brand-new commercial driving simulator thanks to an investment of approximately $700,000 from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor). The simulator was commissioned in April 2025. CNIM now has two training simulators available for training throughout the territory.

Founded in close co-operation with the territory’s government and business leaders, CNIM has developed innovative and flexible employment and career training to best suit Yukon's labour needs, including its Commercial Driving program. A recent report from the Conference Board of Canada forecasts trades, transport and equipment operators to be in high demand through 2045. Those occupations make up 25 per cent of Yukon jobs.

Yukon University is pleased to announce that Andrea McIntyre has been appointed as Vice-President (VP) Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

McIntyre brings extensive experience in financial leadership, strategic planning, and operational management. Having served as Director of Finance at the Department of Education with the Government of Yukon, she has played a key role in shaping financial frameworks and advancing initiatives that support Yukon's education sector.

McIntyre has a breadth of experience in both the public and private sectors in senior finance, corporate services, and auditing roles. She also worked as the Director of Strategic Finance for Health and Social Services in the territory through the pandemic.

McIntyre has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from Brock University and is a Chartered Accountant.

The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) in partnership with Breakthrough T1D have awarded a $125,000 grant to co-leads Dr. Liris Smith, Assistant Professor and Health Research Chair at Yukon University (YukonU), and Dr. Marney Paradis, Chair of the Yukon Type 1 Diabetes Support Network.

The knowledge mobilization grant will provide the research team the opportunity to examine how Yukoners manage Type 1 diabetes from patient and provider perspectives. The goal is to describe the experiences of primary care providers and to improve overall care for Yukoners living with T1D, understanding that the needs of the community are unique with limited access to care especially in rural communities.

Students graduating with a diploma from Yukon University's Earth Sciences program can now easily complete their Bachelor of Science at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. Thanks to a new articulation agreement between the two universities, YukonU Earth Sciences students can transfer all courses in a standard course progression to Acadia and apply to enter directly into third year of either Geology or Environmental Geoscience.

YukonU’s Earth Sciences program uses Yukon’s dynamic environment as a laboratory to deliver the first two years of a B.Sc. geoscience degree. Instruction draws heavily upon the diverse geologic landscapes at the university’s doorstep, and partnerships with industry provide meaningful experiential learning opportunities. Graduates are positioned to play critical roles, from stewarding groundwater resources to meeting mineral and energy resource needs within the context of a rapidly changing environment.