April 2020
Welcome Welcome to the April 2020 issue of Letter from Santa, a regular communication to members of the UBC community. Naturally, most of our attention – along with the rest of the world – has been focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. In this newsletter I will give a brief summary of the most significant COVID-19 […]
Weekly Update: April 9, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope that you and your loved ones are well and that you are safe and physically distancing. Before I begin, I’d like to wish all of our students, both at UBC Okanagan and UBC Vancouver, all the best for their final exams. I have a few items to […]
Looking Back on 2019
As the year draws to a close, it’s appropriate to reflect on the accomplishments and challenges of the past 12 months. I enjoyed chatting with UBC student senator Julia Chai about the highlights of the year for UBC. I hope the year 2019 was a good one for all of you. Best wishes for 2020! […]
UBC and the global climate strike
Some UBC students have informed us they will join global climate strike activities on Sept. 27. We expect some members of the UBC community will choose to participate in the climate strike to draw attention to the climate crisis. This strike is a student-led initiative and we acknowledge that many of our students and community […]
UBC: The Next Century – the book!
“Inspiring people, ideas and actions for a better world.” That’s the Vision that inspires the University of British Columbia. It’s entwined with the University’s Purpose: “Pursuing excellence in research, learning and engagement to foster global citizenship and advance a sustainable and just society across British Columbia, Canada and the world.” (You can read more about […]
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 […]
Summer 2019
Welcome Welcome to the summer 2019 issue of Letter from Santa, a regular communication from myself to members of the UBC community. Highlights Welcoming new students University Climate Change Coalition Summit Federal support for UBC sustainability initiatives U7 Alliance President’s Medals of Excellence Joint projects with Amazon and Microsoft UBC Annual Report Shaping UBC’s Next […]
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 […]
Brand-Building in a Bowtie
World One Reputation Network, Vancouver BC Thank you, Mark and good morning, everybody! I’d like to begin by acknowledging that I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. I am inspired by the calibre of the people and institutions represented in the […]
Listen Up, it’s the Blue & Goldcast!
I’m excited to announce the birth of The Blue and Goldcast. As you can probably guess from its name, The Blue and Goldcast is a podcast. I’ll be cohosting it every month along with Jennifer Gardy. Jennifer is an assistant professor at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, a Canada Research Chair in Public […]
Welcome to UBC!
Welcome to UBC! You’re joining a special community – a community of 65,000 students – students like you, who come from more than 150 countries to study at one of the top universities in the world. You’re starting on an exciting period in your lives. You will meet new friends, discover new interests. Maybe, […]
Looking ahead to 2018-19
Dear friends and colleagues: Today, we welcome thousands of new and returning students to our campuses. As we embrace the energy and excitement that comes with every new beginning, I would like to take an opportunity to reflect on UBC’s recent developments – and to look ahead to the coming academic year. Welcome to our […]
The President’s Medal of Excellence: “A significant contribution to the purposes and ideals of the university”
This week I had the honour of presenting the University of British Columbia President’s Medal of Excellence to five of the University’s strongest supporters – Linc Kesler, Bill Levine, Risa Levine, Jim Pattison and Angela Redish. The Medal is awarded to a person who has made a significant contribution to the purposes and ideals of the […]
Rotary Club of Vancouver and UBC’s Next Century of Service
The Rotary Club of Vancouver, Terminal City Club, Vancouver BC Good afternoon, and thank you everyone. It’s an honour and a privilege to be with you today. I have spoken to Rotary Clubs in Cincinnati when I was President of the University of Cincinnati, and I’m thrilled to have a chance to address the Rotary […]
Introducing Innovation UBC
Innovation is a key theme woven throughout UBC’s new strategic plan. Along with collaboration and inclusion, it’s one of three cross-cutting priorities that will enhance our institutional impact in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Truth is, innovation isn’t a new concept at UBC; we’ve been innovating for more than a century. One key form […]
Looking back on 2017, looking forward to 2018
Dear friends: December is traditionally a time to reflect back on the year that was and to look forward to the year to come. Looking over my blog posts over the past year, I’m struck by UBC’s many accomplishments in 2017: We began work in earnest on the new strategic plan. The planning process – […]
Supporting the dreamers
Dear friends: As we get caught up in the day to day activities of a busy September, it’s hard to believe that it was just two weeks ago that we welcomed thousands of new students to our campuses at UBC Create and UBC Imagine. They were joyous occasions. But there were some sobering moments, too. […]