Plaque Honours Buddhist Association Partnership with Emmanuel College

^{Attendees gather in front of a newly unveiled commemorative plaque at the Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden on May 9, 2026. Those pictured include Venerable Dayi Shi, Emmanuel College Principal HyeRan Kim-Cragg, professors Jennifer Bright and Henry Shiu and Louise Yearwood, executive director of Alumni Affairs & Advancement at Victoria University.}

By Leslie Shepherd 

A plaque recognizing the establishment of the Wutai Shan Venerable Dayi Professorship in Buddhist Spiritual Care at Emmanuel College was unveiled at the Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden on May 9, symbolizing the growing relationship between the college and the Buddhist Association of Canada. 

The ceremony took place during a public open house at the garden led by the Venerable Dayi Shi and attended by Emmanuel College Principal HyeRan Kim‑Cragg, Professors Jennifer Bright and Henry Shiu and Louise Yearwood, executive director of Alumni Affairs & Advancement at Victoria University. 

Yearwood noted the significance of the collaboration for both institutions. She highlighted its role in supporting academic study in Buddhism and contributing to a broader public understanding of Buddhist traditions and culture within Canada’s religiously diverse context. 

“This plaque visibly symbolizes the successful collaboration and marks a continuing commitment to deepening the partnership between two institutions,” Kim-Cragg said. 

The partnership between Wutai Shan and Emmanuel College has developed over several years. In 2023, the Buddhist Association of Canada established the Venerable Dayi Shi Scholarship, which supports students in Emmanuel College’s Master of Psychospiritual Studies program with a Buddhist focus.  

In 2024, the relationship expanded with a $3‑million endowment from the Buddhist Association of Canada to create the Wutai Shan Venerable Dayi Professorship in Buddhist Spiritual Care. The gift, the largest in Emmanuel College’s history, has enabled the college to become the only theological school in Canada that trains Buddhist approaches to spiritual care and psychospiritual therapy. 

“The development of the relationship between Wutai Shan and Emmanuel College has been extraordinary,” Yearwood said. “With the addition of The Wutai Shan Venerable Dayi Professorship, Emmanuel College now has two full-time faculty members–Professors Jennifer Bright and Henry Shiu–who are dedicated to furthering the study of Buddhism in Canada and beyond, through their teaching, their research and their personal commitment to studies in Buddhism and Buddhist Practical Theology.” 

Bright holds the Wutai Shan Venerable Dayi Professorship and Shiu holds the Shi Wu De Professorship in Chinese Buddhism.