Dear members of the UBC community:
I would like to start by thanking all those who have completed your online COVID-19 vaccination status declarations. By doing your part and completing the declaration, you are helping to protect the health and wellbeing of the UBC community.
As of yesterday, more than 73,000 members of the UBC community, on both campuses have completed their vaccination status declaration – 95 percent of those required to do so. Of those, 95 percent have declared they are fully vaccinated with an additional 3 percent declaring that they are partially vaccinated.
If you have not yet declared your status, you need to do so in order to be exempt from UBC’s required COVID-19 Rapid Testing Program.
If you have declared you are fully vaccinated, you will need to verify your status, with proof of vaccination, at rapidtesting.covid19.ubc.ca. Again, thank you for doing your part.
As you know, tomorrow is Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
UBC will be observing this day as a holiday on both campuses and classes will not be held.
I encourage everyone to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, whether through personal reflection, education and awareness activities, or by participating in Orange Shirt Day or other events.
Many UBC faculties, schools and departments on both campuses are commemorating the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day through various activities that reflect on the legacy of residential schools and colonialism.
You can find links to some of these activities and events in my recent Letter to the Community on my website at president-2023.sites.olt.ubc.ca.
Equity, diversity and inclusion are core to our institutional commitments and integral to advancing excellence. Still, we know that some in our community experience inequities in their workplace participation. As a university, we are committed to doing better – and we need to know where to focus our efforts.
One way to assess our progress is through the Employment Equity Survey. The survey aims to build our understanding of the composition and diversity of UBC’s workforce, where we are in terms of employment equity across job categories and groups, and where we need to invest additional efforts to ensure equitable participation of under-represented groups.
When you complete the survey, you will provide valuable insights to help the university set employment equity goals, identify gaps, inform initiatives, and track progress towards achieving a more equitable UBC.
This year’s survey will take place between October 6th and 29th. It’s quick and confidential – and one of the ways that you can contribute towards a more inclusive UBC today. So count yourself in – I did! Stay tuned for more information about how you can complete the survey starting next week.
Finally, as I said in my address to the community earlier this week, this week we are grieving for the loss of two young members of our UBC family. If you need support, please do not hesitate to reach out – to your teachers, to staff, to your friends and loved ones or to UBC. We are here to help. You can find a list of resources at president-2023.sites.olt.ubc.ca/support.
Best wishes and take care.
Santa J. Ono
President and Vice-Chancellor