Welcoming Margaret Trudeau, author of Changing My Mind
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver Good evening. When Margaret Trudeau wrote her courageous memoir, Changing My Mind, in 2010, she noted that three million Canadians suffered from serious depression and that only cardiac disease does more damage and draws more dollars from the health care budget than mental illness. Almost a decade later, not much has […]
Episode 8: Mental Health
Emily Jenkins still remembers the basketball coach that changed her life. Now, she’s an assistant professor at UBC’s School of Nursing, and works in youth mental health. Emily joins Santa and Margot to discuss how she wound up in this career, her collaborative work with young people, and how universities can help students and faculty […]
Episode 7: Squeezed
Why are younger Canadians feeling more squeezed than ever before? In this episode, UBC Associate Professor and founder of Generation Squeeze, Paul Kershaw, discusses the barriers between advocacy and academia. And we meet the new co-host of the Blue & Goldcast, Allard School of Law professor Margot Young. Blue and Goldcast · Blue And Goldcast […]
Blue and Goldcast: Talking about GenSqueeze
I’m delighted to announce that I have a new co-host for the Blue and Goldcast podcast. As you may know, my previous co-host, Jennifer Gardy, has left UBC to take on a new role as Deputy Director, Surveillance, Data, & Epidemiology at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I’d like to thank Jennifer for being […]
Science and Faith: Servant Leadership and the Secular University
Refreshing Streams: Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada Pacific Gateway Airport Hotel, Vancouver Good evening, and thank you everyone. It’s an honour and a privilege to be with you today. I’d like to start by acknowledging the staff, board, and leaders of CMDS Canada, and the local CMDS members who volunteered as members of organizing […]
Three Takeways from the Roundtable on Non-Market Housing Innovation
Last month, experts and leaders from various non-profit organizations and local governments from the non-market housing sector, and UBC leadership gathered at UBC to discuss one of the Lower Mainland’s most pressing challenges — housing affordability. I had the privilege of co-hosting the roundtable on housing, along with Dr. Penny Gurstein, the founding director of […]
The Liberal Arts in the 21st Century: More Important Than Ever
Carr Lecture St. Mark’s College, Vancouver Thank you, Dr. Meehan. It’s an honour to be here. I’m proud that UBC and St. Mark’s have been associated for over 60 years, while we’ve partnered with Corpus Christi almost 25 years. We not only share scholarship and resources, students and faculty, we share a common commitment to […]
15th Annual UBC Okanagan Learning Conference Keynote Closing Remarks
UBC Okanagan Thank you, Ananya, for your kind introduction. Good afternoon, and thank you everyone. It’s an honour and a privilege to be with you today. It’s definitely an exciting time to be part of UBC, especially UBC Okanagan. I’m sure you’re aware of the excitement about the UBC Okanagan 2040 plan, and I hope […]
Shaping UBC Okanagan’s Future
Whenever I’m at the UBC Okanagan campus, I can feel the excitement and the energy. It’s definitely an exciting time to be part of UBC, especially UBC Okanagan. A few weeks ago, the university’s Board of Governors enthusiastically endorsed a fascinating report from leadership at UBC Okanagan outlining the next 20 years of transformation for […]
Congress 2019: Canada’s biggest academic conference is coming to UBC
In just two short months an anticipated 10,000 attendees will arrive at our beautiful Vancouver campus for Congress 2019. Congress takes place June 1 to 7, and I can’t tell you how excited I am for this event – not only because it will be my first Congress experience – but also because it’s more […]
April 2019
Welcome Welcome to the April 2019 Letter to the Board, a regular communication from myself to members of the UBC Board of Governors, issued in advance of regular meetings of the Board.You can view this email online at https://president-2023.sites.olt.ubc.ca/communications/letter-to-the-board/, where you can also access previous issues. Highlights UBC tops global university impact rankings I am proud […]
UBC gets global recognition for sustainability impact
I’m proud to announce that UBC has been ranked first in the world in university climate action and first in Canada (third in the world) for sustainable cities and communities in the first ever THE University Impact Rankings. UBC was singled out for its “research on climate change, use of energy and preparations for dealing […]
Episode 6: Living Lab
Can parking garages help us tackle climate change? On this episode, we look at how UBC has turned itself into a Living Lab. UBC Mechanical Engineering Professor Walter Merida explains to Santa Ono how UBC experiments with itself — with its buildings, its operations, and its surroundings — to develop innovative green technologies. Blue and Goldcast […]
Emeritus College Award Reception
I was honoured to be asked to attend the annual general meeting of the UBC Emeritus College on March 13, and to present the Award of Distinguished Service to Dr. Marguerite Chiarenza. (All photos by Martin Dee.)
What Music Means to Me
I was speaking to some students the other day and one of them asked “What does music mean to you? Is it just entertainment?” I was nonplussed for a moment. It was quite the question, and I wasn’t really sure how to answer. After a moment’s thought, I replied that music meant everything to me. […]
Thriving Communities: UBC’s Strategic Plan and You
Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver Thank you, Robert, for your kind introduction. Good afternoon, and thank you everyone. It’s an honour to be with you today. I’d like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam, the Squamish and the Tsleil […]
TEDxUBC 2019: #NominateHer
Good morning! A few days ago, a very kind person indicated that he’d like to nominate me for a major prize. He said he felt I deserved it and that it would bring credit and a spotlight on UBC if I were selected as the laureate. I told him I was very flattered but would […]
Annual Giving – Faculty & Staff Appeal
Dear members of the UBC community, In 2017, UBC launched the Blue & Gold Campaign for Students, with the goal of raising $100 million in student support over three years. Since then, thousands of alumni, donors, faculty and staff have come together to support UBC students—making a difference in their lives by helping them to […]
Remarks at the Musqueam Flag Raising Ceremony
Good morning everyone and thank you for coming out today. As you may know, until now, UBC has marked National Indigenous Peoples Day by temporarily raising the flag of its host First Nation in place of the university’s flag. Last Fall, we raised the flag of the Okanagan Nation Alliance permanently at the UBC Okanagan […]
Musqueam Flag Raising Ceremony – February 25, 2019
February 25, 2019. All photos by Paul Joseph, UBC