Terry Lavender
The President’s Medal of Excellence: 2019 Recipients
This week I had the honour of presenting the University of British Columbia President’s Medal of Excellence to four of the University’s strongest supporters. The President’s Medal is awarded to a person who has made a significant contribution to the purposes and ideals of the university. In particular: For members of the academic community, either […]
Episode 9: Congressional Hearings
The Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences was hosted at UBC from June 1st to the 7th, 2019. It’s the largest academic conference in Canada. As delegates shared big ideas, Santa and Margot discuss the future of higher education with Jessica Riddell of Bishop’s University. Blue and Goldcast · Blue And Goldcast Episode 9: […]
Changing My Mind: Margaret Trudeau on Mental Health
Earlier this month I had the privilege of introducing Margaret Trudeau at a talk she gave in downtown Vancouver on mental health. Trudeau – the former wife of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the mother of the current prime minister, Justin Trudeau – had the audience spellbound as she frankly and courageously described her […]
“Never lose that sense of adventure, that sense of wonder”
As president of the University of British Columbia, it is my privilege to preside over graduation ceremonies at both the UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan campuses. Seeing the joy on the faces of the new graduates and the pride on the faces of their family members is an unforgettable experience. I also have the privilege […]
June 2019
Welcome Welcome to the first issue of Letter from Santa, a regular communication to members of the UBC community. Highlights Graduation 2019 June 7 marked the completion of the Spring 2019 graduation ceremonies. Thousands of students received diplomas in the 28 ceremonies held at UBC Vancouver and 6 ceremonies at UBC Okanagan. In addition, we […]
June 2019
Welcome Welcome to the June 2019 Letter to the Board, a regular communication from the President 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 Graduation 2019 Last week marked the completion of […]
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 […]