Updates, news and stories

Robert Helsley

Robert Helsley is Dean of UBC Sauder School of Business and Grosvenor Professor of Cities, Business Economics and Public Policy. He joined UBC Sauder as Dean in 2012. Dean Helsley began his career at UBC, and previously served as Senior Associate Dean, Faculty and Research, Director of the UBC Centre for Real Estate and Urban Economics and Chair of the Urban Land Economics division, all within UBC Sauder. Between 2008 and 2012, before returning to UBC, he served at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley as a Professor and Chair in Real Estate Development, and was the Co-chair of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics.

How to train your robot

In focus: Our university photographer

It’s possible that no one at UBC has quite as varied a work day as Paul Joseph. As the official University Photographer since 2016, he’s just as likely to be snapping pictures of laughing UBC summer campers as he is to be capturing studious portraits of Deans.

Simon Bates

Dr. Simon Bates is UBC’s Associate Provost, Teaching and Learning. He provides academic leadership and oversight of the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT), UBC Extended Learning, and the UBC Learning Exchange, and also oversees the development of new programs and curriculum quality assurance. A passionate advocate and champion of technology-led learning, Simon joined UBC in 2012 as the Academic Director of CTLT and as one of the first Professors of Teaching at the university in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Winter is coming

If the approach of winter weather has you cringing at the thought of hours spent shovelling heavy snow off your walkway and scraping ice off your windshield, spare a thought for the Building Operations and Facilities Management staff at UBC.

Ian Cull

Ian Cull is the Associate Vice-President, Students, at UBC’s Okanagan campus. As a leader of student life and experience at UBCO, student engagement is a top priority. With a Master of Arts in clinical psychology, an Honours degree in Anthropology, and a history of post-secondary career progression, Ian understands — first-hand — the importance of enhancing services, experiences, and learning opportunities for students.

Making connections

What started as a simple tool with a specific purpose, the researcher profile tool is now helping many groups and individuals connect across the university.

James Olson

Dr. James Olson is the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science, and a professor of Mechanical Engineering. He was the past Associate Dean of Research and Industry Partnerships, Director of UBC’s Pulp and Paper Centre, and is an internationally recognized forest products researcher who has been actively involved in the transformation of the forest sector into a vibrant, diversified bio-products industry.

Conversation starters

Academic researchers today are increasingly encouraged to disseminate their findings to the broader public—but accurate and impactful media coverage can be hard to attract, especially for younger, emerging scholars. Enter The Conversation: a global non-profit initiative that features online news and editorial content from academics, guided by journalists, that is freely available for republication by other media outlets.

Barbara Meens Thistle

Barbara Meens Thistle joined UBC in February 2018, as the Vice-President, Human Resources. A long-time champion of equity, diversity and inclusion, Barbara has a wealth of experience in strategic planning, change management and operational excellence. Prior to joining UBC, Barbara was Vice-President, Central Services at the Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC). She is a Certified Professional in Human Resources and a Fellow in the Canadian Board Diversity Council. In 2016, she was voted HR Professional of the Year by Chartered Professionals in Human Resources, BC and Yukon.