Raising the Musqueam Flag: Acknowledging the past, recognizing our future responsibilities
Students, faculty, staff and visitors at UBC’s Vancouver campus may have noticed, and wondered, about the three flag poles standing bare at the foot of Student Union Boulevard. Wonder no more. On Monday, February 25, three flags will be raised at the site – the UBC flag, the provincial flag and the flag of […]
UBC Medicine: Looking to the Next 70 Years
Alan Bernstein Distinguished Lecture, Vancouver, BC (PDF: 2019 02 08 Alan Bernstein Distinguished Lecture) Good morning and thank you. It is an honour to be invited to give the Alan Bernstein Distinguished Lecture. Bernstein was the founding president of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and Executive Director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. In […]
School Community Mental Health Conference 2019 Remarks
Vancouver, BC Thank you, Minister. Happy to be here and to discuss this important topic; one that is important to our country, to UBC, and to me personally. Mental health is a significant issue: one in five Canadians will have a mental health problem or illness this year. It’s a world-wide problem too, with growing […]
UBC Connects: Connecting UBC to the community
What do a bestselling novelist, a world-renowned physicist, a futurist and an Indigenous activist-athlete have in common? They are all “provocateurs” who are shaping the way people think about a broad range of issues. And they all participated in the first season of the UBC Connects speaker series last year. The talks by novelist Isabel […]
January 2019
Welcome Welcome to the first issue for 2019 of 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. Highlights Alumni and Donor Engagement In December, I travelled to Asia to engage with donors and alumni in Hong Kong, […]
Episode 5: No More Silos
On the fifth episode of The Blue and Goldcast, Santa and Jen meet two professors who are charting a new path for higher education in Canada. Dave Ng, a biologist and associate director of the Michael Smith Laboratories and Allen Sens, a Professor of Teaching in UBC’s political science department teach ASIC 200, a class […]
2019 Lunar New Year Dinner Remarks
Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, Vancouver Thank you everyone, and thank you especially to Susan and Ken Chow. (To the Chows:) We are delighted to have you lead us through the program this evening. But UBC is also honoured and deeply grateful for your dedication and generosity all the other days of the year. I […]
Take the Cool Campus Challenge
UBC is participating in the BC Cool Campus Challenge, a fun and friendly initiative between BC universities and colleges to save energy this winter season. Across the province, post-secondary institutions are challenging each other to see who can gather the most pledges from students, staff, and faculty to help reduce our natural gas use and […]
Strategic Plan funding focuses on Indigenous, cross-campus initiatives
I am pleased to announce that 20 new pilot projects and change initiatives will be funded as part of the university’s commitment to implementing the strategic plan, UBC’s Next Century. Each proposal was reviewed by the responsible vice-president and associated advisory councils from each core area of the strategic plan (People and Places, Research Excellence, […]
UBC’s Emeritus College is the first of its kind in Canada
Welcome to 2019. I trust you have all had a good holiday break. I know I always feel energized and hopeful at the start of the New Year. January can indeed be invigorating. The days are getting perceptibly longer. Students, faculty and staff are back on campus, with renewed energy and enthusiasm, prepared once more […]