Terry Lavender
Statement on International Pride Month
Dear members of the UBC community: As we reflect on international Pride Month and anticipate Vancouver’s upcoming Pride celebrations, we recognize it as a time to celebrate and honour 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer (or Questioning), Intersex, Asexual) lives. It’s also a time to reflect on and affirm our commitments to make UBC […]
Weekly Update: June 26, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community. I hope you’re all doing well. Like many of you, I was disturbed by the violence depicted in a video of a police wellness check in January involving a student in the community. I condemn the behaviour shown in the video and the use of excessive force in any […]
Moving Forward
Dear members of the UBC community: This past weekend, Michael Korenberg, the Chair of the Board of Governors, informed the Board and the University that he was stepping down after social media interactions that, in his own words, “thoughtlessly supported regressive voices which are attempting to discredit broad-based, legal and necessary protest.” We acknowledge both […]
Statement on National Indigenous Peoples Day
On National Indigenous Peoples Day, I would like to celebrate the diverse and unique cultures and contributions of Indigenous people in Canada, British Columbia and at UBC. I want to take this moment to honour and celebrate, in particular, the Musqueam and Syilx peoples on whose traditional and unceded territories the main UBC campuses have […]
Weekly Update: June 19, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community. Earlier this week, we held our first ever Virtual Graduation Ceremony. I was proud to participate in the event and to celebrate, along with their families and friends, the accomplishments of the members of the class of 2020. I hope you had the chance to watch one or both […]
June 2020 Newsletter
Welcome Welcome to the June 2020 issue of Letter from Santa, a regular communication to members of the UBC community. Over the past few weeks, our attention has been focused on anti-racism and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this newsletter I will address both of these as well as other news from UBC. Highlights COVID-19 and UBC […]
Welcome to Steven Lewis Point; Farewell to Lindsay Gordon
I’m delighted to welcome the Honourable Steven Lewis Point as UBC’s 19th Chancellor. I’d also like to say farewell and thank you to Lindsay Gordon, who has served as Chancellor with great distinction for the past six years. Dr. Point, who assumes his role on July 1, is not only a UBC graduate and honourary […]
UBC Committee on Systemic Racism
UBC and systemic racism Recent events, including the incident involving a UBC graduate student, have brought to light the pervasiveness of systemic racism, and in particular anti-Black racism. When any population on campus does not feel included, respected, and engaged, it impacts their experience and their capacity to change the world. Since my statement on […]
Weekly Update: June 12, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community. It’s just twelve short weeks before the beginning of the Fall term, and UBC faculty and staff are busy preparing to welcome back thousands of new and returning students. This year UBC will be welcoming students from across Canada and from over one hundred and fifty countries around the […]
June 2020
Welcome Welcome to the June 2020 issue of Letter to the Board, a regular communication to members of the UBC Board of Governors. Naturally, most of our attention – along with the rest of the world – has been focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. In this newsletter I will give a brief summary of the […]
Touring Brent Sparrow’s ʔəlqsən art installation
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of meeting with Brent Sparrow Jr. to view his newest public art installation on the UBC Vancouver campus. Brent is a member of the Musqueam community and ʔəlqsən (Point Grey) is his first public art installation cast in bronze. The installation is comprised of 10 cast bronze panels […]
Weekly Update: June 5, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community, I hope things continue to go well for you. As you know, the recent anti-black and anti-Asian violence in communities across North America has focused our attention on deeply rooted racism in Canada and globally. UBC itself is not immune to racism and injustice. Earlier this week, I […]
Together against Racism and Injustice
Dear UBC community: Recent anti-Black and anti-Asian violence in communities across North America has focused our attention on the deeply rooted racism in Canada and globally. UBC itself is not immune to racism and injustice. As a university, we need to make it crystal clear that racism and bias have no place in our community […]
Weekly Update: May 29, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community. I hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy. What a difference a year makes. This time last year, the Vancouver campus was alive with the excitement of graduation – as thousands of graduates and their families came to UBC to celebrate. And students, faculty […]
Weekly Update: May 22, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community. I hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy. We’ve seen in the news lately that we’re definitely flattening the curve here in BC – thanks to all of us doing our part – and the province is gradually beginning to re-open. Not only that, […]
Weekly Update: May 15, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope you and your loved ones are well. This week the university made three important announcements as it and the province start phased returns. First, we told you about the status of the fall term. As you know, COVID-19 required the university to shift to online instruction in […]
Weekly Update: May 8, 2020
> Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope you and your loved ones are well. The university made the very difficult decision in March to cancel in-person graduation ceremonies in order to follow provincial health guidelines. We promised then we would work on a virtual ceremony so we can honour our graduating students for […]
Guest Post: Working in the President’s Office
Today, I’m handing over my blog to Emily Fuchs, who started as a work-learn student in our office last September and who will be graduating in June. It’s been a joy working with Emily, and I wish her all the best. – Santa J. Ono You’ll find the Office of the President on the seventh floor […]
Weekly Update: May 1, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope you and your loved ones are well. The health and wellbeing of our university community remains UBC’s top priority and we continue to follow the expert guidance of our Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, as we work together to limit the spread of COVID-19. With physical […]
Weekly Update: April 24, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope that you and your loved ones are well. I want to begin with excellent news for our UBC students, indeed for students across Canada. On Wednesday the federal government announced a nine billion dollar student aid package in recognition of the economic impact of COVID-19. The proposed […]