Leadership one-on-one series

Explore a collection of interviews to learn more about UBC’s senior leaders.

UBCV

11 September, 2023 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Clare Haru Crowston

Dr. Clare Haru Crowston is the Dean of the Faculty of Arts. She began her five-year term on January 1, 2023. Prior to joining UBC, Dr. Crowston served as the Associate Dean for Humanities and Interdisciplinary Programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has demonstrated her commitment to academic and research excellence through innovative curriculum development, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and faculty development, as well as by promoting and advancing equity, diversity and inclusion, and Indigenous engagement. In addition to her role as Dean, Dr. Crowston is a Professor of History. Her research interests lie in the early modern history of women and gender, and of working people in early modern France.
UBCV

29 May, 2023 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Gage Averill

Dr. Gage Averill is Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver. In this role, he provides vision and leadership to the Faculties, oversees the budget, leads institutional planning, and ensures the university maintains excellence in teaching and learning. He joined UBC as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts in 2010, where he played an instrumental role in creating new schools, institutes, research centres, and interdisciplinary programs. Over the span of his career, he has held various leadership positions, such as Vice-Principal, Academic, and Dean for the University of Toronto, Mississauga campus; Dean of Music at the University of Toronto; and Chair of the Department of Music at New York University. Dr. Averill has won a range of teaching, research and literary awards over the years. As a renowned ethnomusicologist, his anthology of historic Haitian music also earned him a Grammy nomination. All of these accolades mark the different passions of his life. Outside of work, he enjoys biking and exploring nature.
UBCV & UBCO

17 April, 2023 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Arig al Shaibah

Arig al Shaibah is UBC’s Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion. She was appointed to this role in July 2022. In her current role, Dr. al Shaibah works in partnership with units across both UBC campuses to champion institutional efforts and embed equity, diversity, inclusion into the structure, policies and processes of the university. Dr. al Shaibah has amassed over 15 years of experience working as a senior administrator in three Canadian research-intensive universities advancing accessibility, inclusion, employment equity, and human rights. Prior to joining UBC, she held various leadership roles at McMaster, Dalhousie, and Queen’s University. As a racialized Muslim Yemeni-Canadian cisgender woman of Afro-Arab heritage, Dr. al Shaibah brings a global, inclusive and empathic perspective to her efforts at the university. She is inspired by the ‘everyday hero’ and believes that, at its core, equity, diversity, and Inclusion is about changing hearts and minds.
UBCO

27 February, 2023 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Rehan Sadiq

Dr. Rehan Sadiq is Provost and Vice-President, Academic, at UBC Okanagan. He was appointed to this role in August 2022. In addition to his role as Provost and Vice-President, Academic, Dr. Sadiq is a professor of Civil Engineering and a Distinguished University Scholar. He is also a co-lead of the Life Cycle Management Laboratory in the School of Engineering in the Okanagan. Previously, he served as the Executive Associate Dean of the School of Engineering and Co-director of the Digital Learning Factory Initiative at UBC Okanagan. Dr. Sadiq’s research focuses on the areas of asset management of water supply systems, environmental risk analysis and lifecycle assessment of the built environment. Outside of work, he enjoys going on road trips with his family, reading a broad range of books, and taking long walks or hikes whenever he gets a chance.
UBCV & UBCO

30 January, 2023 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Deborah Buszard

Deborah Buszard is UBC’s Interim President and Vice-Chancellor – she was appointed to this role in October 2022. Professor Buszard is a familiar face at the university and a well-known leader in the Canadian post-secondary landscape. She served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal at UBC Okanagan from 2012 to 2020. Prior to this, she served in various leadership roles at both Dalhousie and McGill University. She currently holds an academic appointment as Professor of Biology in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science on the Okanagan campus. Originally from the United Kingdom, Professor Buszard’s early research endeavours brought her to Canada, where she pursued horticulture and strawberry breeding. Her current research interests include global agriculture and food innovation, institutional system transformation, and sustainability. In addition to her academic work and love of plants, Professor Buszard loves travel and the great outdoors. She also considers herself a lifelong student, eager to learn something new and put her skills to the test.
UBCO

31 October, 2022 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Gino DiLabio

Gino DiLabio is the inaugural Dean of the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science at UBC Okanagan and started his role in September 2020. In 2014, Dean DiLabio joined UBC Okanagan as Head of the Department of Chemistry. At the end of his term, he served as Dean pro tem for the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences. Prior to joining UBC, he worked at the National Research Council of Canada’s Steacie Institute for Molecular Science and National Institute for Nanotechnology. A researcher at heart, Dean DiLabio's research interests are primarily focused on the development and application of new computational chemistry methods. He earned his degrees from Carleton University in Ottawa and Clarkson University in New York. Dean DiLabio appreciates a good sense of humour and the ability to look at the lighter side of things in life. Outside of work, he enjoys biking, donning the chef’s hat, and singing – especially at family get togethers.
UBCV

26 August, 2022 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Ngai Pindell

Ngai Pindell is the Dean of the Peter A. Allard School of Law. He began his five-year term on November 8, 2021. Prior to joining UBC, Dean Pindell completed a 21-year term at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, where he held the title of International Gaming Institute Professor of Law. He also served as Vice-Provost and Special Advisor to the Executive and Vice-President. He was a Governor-appointed Commissioner for the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, and an appointee to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Law School Admission Council. Dean Pindell received his BA in Economics from Duke University and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. More recently, his professional research and teaching interests focused on property law, wills and trusts, affordable housing, community development, and local government law. In addition to his unwavering commitment to his Faculty and the university community, Dean Pindell also recognizes the need for the legal profession to reflect those in the community it serves and the diversity of Canadian society.
UBCO

16 May, 2022 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Silvia Tomášková

Silvia Tomášková is the inaugural Dean of the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at UBC Okanagan. She began her five-year term on December 1, 2020. A native of a country no longer in existence – Czechoslovakia – Dr. Tomášková came to Canada as a political refugee in the 1980s. She found her new home in Canada, and in the world of academia as a feminist anthropologist and archaeologist, with field and historical research in Europe, Siberia, and South Africa. As a theoretical scholar, her professional interests also extend to history, social studies of science, and gender studies. Her research focuses on knowledge production, particularly about places and spaces in the deep past, as alternatives to modernity. Dr. Tomášková is also deeply committed to the representation of neglected voices. Outside of academia, Dr. Tomášková leads an active lifestyle, loves the great outdoors and views cooking as a personal science class.
UBCV

4 April, 2022 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Adam Charania

Adam Charania is UBC’s Associate Vice-President, Human Resources (Strategic Advisory Partnerships). As the leader of the HR Advisory Services, Faculty Relations, Employee Relations, Housing and Relocation, and Immigration Services, Adam plays an instrumental role in advancing university-wide HR partnerships and stakeholder relationships, as well as providing continuously evolving HR practices and services across the university’s community. Adam brings over 20 years of diverse HR leadership experience in the public and private sectors at organizations including the Provincial Health Services Authority, BCAA, and the BC Provincial Government. He is also an advocate for cancer research and supports fundraising activities and initiatives for the BC Cancer Foundation. Some of Adam’s passions outside of work include playing sports, travelling, music, and his dog, Ozzie.
UBCO

22 February, 2022 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Brad Wuetherick

Brad Wuetherick is the Associate Provost, Academic Programs, Teaching and Learning at UBC Okanagan. In this role, he focuses on creating an inclusive, anti-racist teaching and learning environment and educational pathways for student success. Taking a non-traditional path into academic leadership, Brad began his career as an elected student leader, centering students as partners to imagine the future of teaching and learning. He is an internationally-recognized scholar of teaching and learning in higher education, and is a fellow with the US-based Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. For the past 20 years, Brad has served in a variety of leadership roles in teaching and learning, undergraduate student affairs, continuing education, and undergraduate research. Of Métis and European ancestry, Brad brings a unique perspective to UBC’s leadership team.
UBCV & UBCO

6 January, 2022 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Heather McCaw

Heather McCaw is UBC’s Vice-President, Development and Alumni Engagement (DAE). She rejoined her alma mater in 2018, having served previously as the Vice-President of Advancement at the University of Alberta. As Vice-President, DAE, Heather leads the development and alumni engagement activities across the university’s two campuses. Over the course of her career, she has been involved in several major campaigns and co-directed UBC’s historic start an evolution fundraising and alumni engagement campaign which raised over $1.6 billion from 2008 through 2015 and actively engaged more than 130,000 alumni in the life of the university. In addition to 25 years of experience in the post-secondary sector, Heather was vice-president of two associated consulting companies, Give Canada Fundraising Corporation and Spectrum Marketing Corporation. These organizations specialize in securing strategic business partnerships and multimillion-dollar donations on behalf of non-profit clients that have included the United Way of the Lower Mainland, the Rick Hansen Foundation, the universities of Calgary and Victoria, and the Toronto Rehab Foundation.
UBCV

1 November, 2021 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff

Moura Quayle

Moura Quayle is UBC’s Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Academic Affairs. She is also a professor and the founding director of UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, the former director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues and currently teaches in the Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs program: Leadership for Policy Professionals. In addition to her academic career at UBC Vancouver, Moura acted as Deputy Minister of the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education, B.C. Commissioner of Pacific Coast Collaborative, Dean of UBC’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems, and Associate VP, Academic Programs at UBC Okanagan. Her book, Designed Leadership, was published in 2017, and more recently, she co-edited a book written by her late husband, David Fushtey, entitled Principled Governance when Everything Matters (2021). Her interests include learning Mandarin, Chinese calligraphy (shufa) and painting in various media.