30 Years Later: Remembering Them
Vancouver Beam of Light Ceremony, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts Good morning. Thirty years ago today, 14 young women were killed at École Polytechnique de Montréal because they were women. At the time of the attack, I had recently moved from Montreal to Harvard, after completing my studies at McGill University. I was also […]
Humanizing Leadership and Harmonizing Learning
BC School Superintendents Association, Vancouver Thank you, Sue-Ellen. It is truly an honour to join you here today. It is always a privilege to be able to join fellow educators for robust conversation around matters of teaching, learning and leadership. It’s good to be able to step out of that fast-moving river of responsibility now […]
Announcing Senior Faculty Advisors to the President
I am pleased to announce that Senior Instructor Kathryn Gretsinger, Professor Walter Mérida, Associate Professor Karen Ragoonaden, and Professor John Klironomos have been appointed as Senior Faculty Advisors to the President. Kathryn Gretsinger and Walter Mérida are based at UBC Vancouver, with Karen Ragoonaden and John Klironomos based at UBC Okanagan. Each faculty advisor will […]
A Commitment to Move Forward: Apology Plaque Presentation
Musqueam Cultural Centre Good evening. I am honoured to be here and to present this plaque which commemorates the Statement of Apology that I made on behalf of the university on April 9, 2018. In the Statement, I apologized on behalf of UBC to survivors of the residential schools, to their families and communities, and […]
Open Letter to federal party leaders
Dear Party Leaders: With the federal election campaign now officially underway, our country’s future prosperity is top of mind for me as it is for millions of Canadians. In a rapidly changing world and in the face of global and national crises, Canadians look to you for the leadership and policies that help deliver a […]
Building New Bridges
Vancouver/UBC Opera Summit, Old Auditorium, UBC Thank you, Nancy. What a privilege to welcome you all to our beautiful UBC campus… we are deeply honored to have you here and trust you have enjoyed your first day of this national summit. It’s an important conversation you’re having here, on topics that resonate deeply in our […]
Imagine Day 2019
UBC Vancouver Thank you very much. Thank you. It is really wonderful to see all of you here in this beautiful arena. We’ve been waiting for you to join us for several months. And we know that you represent the best and brightest of your generation. We know from looking at your applications and studying […]
Faith in the Academy
Ismaili Centre, Toronto Good evening and thank you everyone! It’s an honour and a privilege to be here. It was my absolute pleasure to have our generous hosts take me on a tour of the Ismaili Centre, the Aga Khan Museum, and the Aga Khan Park. The architecture of the Ismaili Centre must be a […]
Building an inclusive campus: A cross-border perspective
Society for College and University Planning, Seattle Washington (Professor Ono presented the first annual President’s Session during the yearly meeting of the Society for College and University Planning, which was held in Seattle, Washington, July 2019. This is a transcript from his session. He was introduced by Michael D. Moss, President, Society for College and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Thriving Communities: UBC’s Strategic Plan and You
Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver Thank you, Robert, for your kind introduction. Good afternoon, and thank you everyone. It’s an honour to be with you today. I’d like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam, the Squamish and the Tsleil […]
TEDxUBC 2019: #NominateHer
Good morning! A few days ago, a very kind person indicated that he’d like to nominate me for a major prize. He said he felt I deserved it and that it would bring credit and a spotlight on UBC if I were selected as the laureate. I told him I was very flattered but would […]
Remarks at the Musqueam Flag Raising Ceremony
Good morning everyone and thank you for coming out today. As you may know, until now, UBC has marked National Indigenous Peoples Day by temporarily raising the flag of its host First Nation in place of the university’s flag. Last Fall, we raised the flag of the Okanagan Nation Alliance permanently at the UBC Okanagan […]
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 […]
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 […]
Breakfast of Champions
Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, Vancouver Thank you, Jayne. Good morning, everybody! So happy to see so many people here to help celebrate the academic achievements of our Thunderbird varsity student athletes. These students are indeed special. To be honoured, they must have an average of 80% or higher in the 2017/18 academic year and […]
Servant Leadership and My Journey to Faith
Tenth Church, Vancouver BC Thank you, Ken, and all of you for inviting me to speak at your services today. I was asked to talk about servant leadership. I certainly didn’t start out imagining that one day I would be called to be a leader. I became an academic because of my natural curiosity and […]