The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia
Office of the President
  • The President
    • About the President
    • The President’s Medal of Excellence
      • 2018 Recipients
      • 2019 Recipients
  • The Office
    • President’s Office Staff
    • Past Presidents
    • Ombudsperson for Students Office Review 2018-19
    • COVID -19 Workspace Safety Plan
  • Communications
    • Articles
    • Blog
    • The Blue and Goldcast
    • Letter to the Board
    • Media: Santa in the News
    • President’s Newsletter (Letter from Santa)
    • #Songs of Comfort
    • Speeches & Announcements
    • Statements to the University Community
    • Weekly Updates
    • Videos/Audio
  • Strategic Initiatives
    • UBC’s Strategic Plan
    • 2021 Priorities
    • President’s Community-University Roundtables
    • Statement of Apology
    • Together Against Racism and Injustice
    • UBC Connects
  • Contact Us
    • Meeting Request Form
    • Breakfast with the President request
    • Email the President
    • Request the President’s Participation
Home / Blog / 2021 / February / 01 / Weekly Update, February 1, 2021: Black History Month

Weekly Update, February 1, 2021: Black History Month

February 1, 2021

Dear members of the UBC community.

I’d like to start off by congratulating Dr. Susan Porter, Dean and Vice-Provost, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, on receiving the Debra W. Stewart Award for Outstanding Leadership in Graduate Education from the Council of Graduate Schools, for her passionate advocacy and invaluable contributions to UBC and the international graduate education community. This is a tremendous and well-deserved honour and UBC is proud of Dr. Porter and what she has accomplished.

I’d also like to thank the entire UBC community for its support for the United Way. Despite the pandemic, we exceeded our goal once again. Congratulations to the UBC United Way cabinet for their amazing work!

Today, February 1, is the first day of Black History Month.

And while we should celebrate Black history and excellence any day and every day, this is an opportunity for a focused, intentional, and elevated reflection and recognition of Black history and achievement – and the many contributions of Black Canadians, Black British Columbians, and Black students, faculty, and staff at UBC.

This is also a timely opportunity to – both as individuals and as a university community – reaffirm and critically reflect on our commitments and efforts to acknowledge and tackle anti-Black racism, and to better recruit, retain, and support Black students, faculty, and staff.

To that end, a number of initiatives are under way, including forthcoming efforts to develop recruitment awards and a mentorship program for Black students, supports for intentional Black spaces and associated resources, and ongoing efforts to advance the formation of a Black studies program.

As a university, we can play an important role in advancing awareness and understanding of Black history and experience, and together, improve Black representation and build a more inclusive UBC.

I encourage you to engage with Black history – visit events.ubc.ca and events.ok.ubc.ca for some of the upcoming events. Also check out our new website – antiracism.ubc.ca for more resources.

Together we can build a more inclusive UBC.

Stay safe and healthy.

Santa J. Ono
President and Vice-Chancellor

 

Latest Updates

  • Weekly Update, February 26, 2021
  • Weekly Update: February 19, 2021
  • COVID-19 innovations hold lessons for national policy
  • February 2021
  • Weekly Update, February 12
Follow Santa Ono on social media

Previous Posts

  • Weekly Update, February 26, 2021
  • Weekly Update: February 19, 2021
  • COVID-19 innovations hold lessons for national policy
  • Weekly Update, February 12
  • Statement on Release of Loujain Al-Hathloul
  • Weekly Update, February 5, 2021
  • Let’s Talk About Mental Health
  • Weekly Update, January 22, 2021
  • Congratulations to UBC’s Killam Professors
  • UBC’s response to sentencing of alumna Loujain Al-Hathloul
  • Holiday Greetings
  • Update on UBC’s Evolving Relationship with the RCMP
  • Weekly Update, December 11, 2020
  • Update: Extending the SkyTrain to UBC
  • Weekly Update, December 4, 2020
  • Weekly Update, November 26, 2020
  • Weekly Update, November 20, 2020
  • Weekly Update, November 13, 2020
  • Weekly Update, November 6, 2020
  • Weekly Update: October 30, 2020
  • Weekly Update: October 23, 2020
  • Weekly Update: October 16, 2020
  • Weekly Update: October 2, 2020
  • Voting in the 2020 BC Provincial Election 
  • Weekly Update: September 25, 2020
  • Weekly Update: September 21, 2020
  • Welcome Back to the Blue & Goldcast!
  • Weekly Update: September 14, 2020
  • Weekly Update, August 28: Welcome New Students
  • Looking Forward to the Next Five Years
  • Statement on National Indigenous Peoples Day
  • Welcome to Steven Lewis Point; Farewell to Lindsay Gordon
  • Touring Brent Sparrow’s ʔəlqsən art installation
  • Guest Post: Working in the President’s Office
  • COVID-19: UBC and the Community
  • COVID-19: A Message to International Students
  • A Message to Students: The importance of physical distancing
  • Repatriating Cultural Property: A Priority for UBC
  • UBC: Among the Best in the World
  • Choose to Reuse
  • UBC launches Iranian Student Memorial Award
  • Looking Back on 2019
  • Happy Holidays from Santa
  • Honour the École Polytechnique Women by Learning About Them
  • UBC funding to foster collaborations in research excellence
  • Remembrance Day Reflections: We Owe Our Veterans So Much
  • Thriving at UBC
  • Election 2019: Why your voice matters
  • Presidential Priorities for 2019-20
  • UBC: The Next Century – the book!
  • Putting Students First with the Blue & Gold Campaign
  • U7 Alliance will Address the World’s Most Pressing Challenges
  • UBC’s Next Century: An update on the strategic plan
  • The President’s Medal of Excellence: 2019 Recipients
  • Changing My Mind: Margaret Trudeau on Mental Health
  • “Never lose that sense of adventure, that sense of wonder”
  • Blue and Goldcast: Talking about GenSqueeze
  • Three Takeways from the Roundtable on Non-Market Housing Innovation
  • Shaping UBC Okanagan’s Future
  • Congress 2019: Canada’s biggest academic conference is coming to UBC
  • UBC gets global recognition for sustainability impact
  • What Music Means to Me
  • Annual Giving – Faculty & Staff Appeal
  • Raising the Musqueam Flag: Acknowledging the past, recognizing our future responsibilities
  • UBC Connects: Connecting UBC to the community
  • Take the Cool Campus Challenge
  • Strategic Plan funding focuses on Indigenous, cross-campus initiatives
  • UBC’s Emeritus College is the first of its kind in Canada
  • Holiday Reflections: Honouring our commitments
  • So that the guns will fall silent forever
  • Thrive Week at UBC
  • His Highness the Aga Khan: An inspiration to us all
  • Shaping UBC’s Next Century: An update on the strategic plan
  • Listen Up, it’s the Blue & Goldcast!
  • Welcome to UBC!
  • Looking ahead to 2018-19
  • Stadium Neighbourhood: developing a thriving and sustainable community
  • Be a tourist at UBC this summer!
  • UBC: Proud to be a Pacific Rim university
  • The President’s Medal of Excellence: “A significant contribution to the purposes and ideals of the university”
  • Residential Schools: Breaking the Silence
  • Graduation: Sharing the Pride and Joy
  • Introducing Innovation UBC
  • Taking the SkyTrain to UBC
  • Continuing the journey: UBC’s strategic plan
  • Life is a marathon, not a sprint
  • The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre: Fulfilling a Promise
  • Building a more inclusive campus community
  • Budget 2018: A clear recognition of the value of Canada’s science and research community
  • Digital Technology Supercluster means exciting opportunities for UBC, now and in the future
  • Inspire: “This is our moment”
  • Getting closer to where you want to be
  • Looking back on 2017, looking forward to 2018
  • The Blue & Gold campaign: Change their world so they can change ours
  • Going global: Our future depends on it
  • Building a better Canada
  • Overcoming the stigma of mental illness
  • UBC’s Next Century — the next phase of engagement
  • Supporting the dreamers
  • Imagine UBC 2017
  • Looking ahead to 2017-18
  • Summer at UBC
  • Exercise Run Down: Keeping the UBC community safe
  • Thank you, faculty and staff: you make UBC special
  • In a time of global uncertainty, innovation is more important than ever
  • Tokyo trip lays building blocks for future engagement with Japan
  • Graduation: The next stage in a remarkable journey
  • Exam anxiety? UBC can help
  • We cannot change the past, but we can honestly recognize it
  • UBC’s Next Century: Have your say
  • The Learning Exchange: Engaging UBC with the Downtown Eastside
  • Using data for social good: Announcing the Cascade Urban Analytics Cooperative
  • Update on Presidential Task Force
  • An innovative start to the Year of the Rooster
  • UBC’s Next Century: Moving from Excellence to Eminence
  • UBC’s Next Century
  • UBC’s Strategic Plan – seeking your input
  • A time for reflection
  • Office of the President
    7th Floor, Walter C. Koerner Library
    1958 Main Mall
    Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z2
    Website president.ubc.ca
    Email presidents.office@ubc.ca
    Find us on
        
    Back to top
    The University of British Columbia
    • Emergency Procedures |
    • Terms of Use |
    • Copyright |
    • Accessibility