Updates, news and stories
A selection of updates, news and stories from across the university.
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UBCV & UBCO25 March, 2024 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff
Bhushan Gopaluni
Dr. Bhushan Gopaluni is the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President of Faculty Planning at UBC Vancouver. He was appointed in May 2023, following one year in a pro tem capacity. In this role, he leads on enrolment planning, stewardship of academic space and capital projects, and university budget planning.Dr. Gopaluni has held several roles at the university. He joined the Faculty of Applied Science in 2006 as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Prior to his current role, he was Associate Head for undergraduate programs, followed by Associate Dean of Education and Professional Development. A leading expert on data analytics for the process industry, Dr. Gopaluni is the recipient of the prestigious Killam Teaching Prize, the Applied Science Dean’s service medal and the D.G. Fisher Award in Process Control from the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering. One of his proudest achievements was launching the Applied Science Experiential Learning Hub, which is designed to give students an edge in a constantly evolving job market.
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UBCO20 February, 2024 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff
Marie Tarrant
Dr. Marie Tarrant is Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Development and professor in the School of Nursing at UBC Okanagan. She was appointed to the role of Dean in January 2023. Prior to this, she was Director of the School of Nursing. Before joining UBC in 2016, Dr. Tarrant served as Deputy Head and Professor at the School of Nursing in the University of Hong Kong. During her career, she has also practiced as a community and public health nurse in rural and remote areas of Canada, including the far north. Dr. Tarrant is the lead investigator in the School of Nursing Maternal and Child Health Lab and is a frequently cited UBC expert on maternal and child health issues. Her research focuses on breastfeeding and maternal and childhood vaccine hesitancy, including COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
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UBCV23 October, 2023 | Leadership one-on-one | Faculty & Staff
Darren Dahl
Professor Darren Dahl was appointed Dean of the UBC Sauder School of Business in June 2022. In addition to Dean, he is the Innovate BC Professor in the Marketing and Behavioural Science Division, and is affiliated with the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group. When he arrived at UBC as a consumer behaviour PhD student in 1992, he could never have predicted his career trajectory which has seen him hold a number of roles including Senior Associate Dean, Faculty and Research; Senior Associate Dean, Faculty, and Director, Robert H. Lee Graduate School; and most recently, Senior Associate Dean – Special Projects (COVID Response). Professor Dahl has also received a number of awards including the Killam Research Award and a 3M Teaching Fellowship.
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UBCV11 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.
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UBCV29 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.
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UBCV & UBCO17 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.
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UBCO27 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.
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UBCV & UBCO30 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.
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UBCO31 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.
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UBCV26 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.
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UBCO16 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.
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UBCV4 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.