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
    • Past Presidents
  • Leadership Team
    • Office of the President Staff
    • Executive Opportunities
  • Communications
  • Refreshing Our Strategic Plan
    • Engagement Opportunities
      • 25-Year Vision Summary of Themes
    • Planning Process and Principles
    • Project Governance
    • FAQ
  • Contact Us
    • Request the President’s Participation
Home / Featured / 2017 / January / 16 / Welcome Weihong Song and Julie Wagemakers

Welcome Weihong Song and Julie Wagemakers

January 16, 2017

I’m pleased to announce two new appointments, Dr. Weihong Song as Senior Advisor to the President on China, and Julie Wagemakers as Executive Director, Office of the President.

Dr. Weihong Song is the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease and Jack Brown and Family Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. He serves as Associate Director of the Institute of Mental Health and Director of the Townsend Family Laboratories. Dr. Song is a world-renown Alzheimer researcher and has made major contribution in defining the mechanism underlying Alzheimer’s pathogenesis and its drug development, as well as the link between Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Song is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Dr. Song has been actively promoting scientific and academic collaboration between Canada and China since joining UBC in 2001 and play a key role in the establishment of the China-Canada Joint Health Research Initiatives, a funding program jointly managed by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) since 2005. For his contribution in forging crucial Canada-China collaborations on research and education, Dr. Song was awarded by the government of China the 2011 “Friendship Award”, China’s highest honor for foreign experts.

Since January 2009 he has been serving as the Special Advisor to UBC presidents on UBC’s academic relations with China and has made significant contributions to UBC’s collaborations and partnerships with Chinese government and higher education institutions. It is my great pleasure to appoint Dr. Song as my Senior Advisor and he will closely work with my team and key shareholders in promoting UBC’s international strategy and collaboration with China.

A graduate of the University of Manitoba, Julie Wagemakers most recently served as deputy director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues at UBC Vancouver. She joined the Institute in 2002 after serving as Program Manager and Deputy Director of the Great Lakes Commission in Michigan; before that, she worked at the International Institute for Sustainable Development in Winnipeg. Julie has extensive experience in policy development, business and government relations, and creating opportunities for learning and research activities across the University. I’m looking forward to working with both Julie and Weihong.

Julie replaces Herbert Rosengarten, who has served as executive director since 2015. Herbert will be returning to his work on the Legacy Project, which is striving to create an informal history of UBC through videotaped interviews.

With Julie’s appointment, the staffing of the President’s Office is complete (you can find a complete list of staff, and their roles, here). I would like to thank Herbert, along with Gerald Calderon and Rebecca Armstrong, for their invaluable help in ensuring a smooth transition.

Professor Santa J. Ono
President and Vice-Chancellor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latest Updates

  • Message from the President: Congratulations and thank you for everything you do
  • Support for those impacted by the tragedy at the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival
  • Message from the President: Provide your feedback on UBC’s emerging priorities by April 11
  • UBC Tribute to Peter Wall
  • UBC Tribute to David McLean
Follow ubcprez on social media

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