Updates, news and stories

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.

Murali Chandrashekaran

Dr. Murali Chandrashekaran is UBC’s first Vice-Provost, International. Born in Bangalore, India, Dr. Chandrashekaran is no stranger to the international scene. He has lived on three continents, and has travelled widely across Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. He came to UBC in 2011, joining the Sauder School of Business as Director of the Robert H. Lee Graduate School and as Associate Dean, Professional Graduate Programs, and then started his role as Vice Provost, International in September 2017*. With a focus on deepening UBC’s engagement on issues of global relevance, he and his team manage more than 500 active institutional partnership agreements with universities and research institutions in more than 65 countries.

Man with a plan: UBC’s landscape architect

The university’s Landscape Architect since 2009, Dean has overseen some dramatic – and some subtle – changes to the campus that impact the way students, faculty, staff and residents interact with the university environment every day

Vocal champion

Dr. Amanda Hu aims to spread the word about taking action for good vocal habits.

Prevention, training and support: Fighting sexual violence at UBC

If anyone at UBC has had to hit the ground running, it’s Sonya Boyce and Shilo St. Cyr. Not only are they just six months into their respective roles as directors of the new Vancouver and Okanagan Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Offices, but they are building a team of staff, working on training and awareness campaigns, and providing supports and referrals to students, staff and faculty affected by sexual violence.

Mary MacDougall

Dr. Mary MacDougall joined UBC in August 2017, as Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry. From the US originally, she is an internationally recognized scholar, having published 18 book chapters and over 150 peer-reviewed articles. In addition to holding leadership positions at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and most recently, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. MacDougall has served as President of the International Association for Dental Research and as President of the American Association of Dental Research.

Cultivating fairness in our community

John Innes

Dr. John Innes is Dean of the Faculty of Forestry. He came to British Columbia in 1999, having previously worked in the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. He is actively involved with climate change research, particularly its effects on forest ecosystems. In 2007, he was part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) team that shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore. Dr. Innes teaches in the field of international and sustainable forestry. Under his leadership, the Faculty has taken significant steps toward broadening the curricula and academic content to reflect changing realities in the forest and conservation sectors.

Gail Murphy

Dr. Gail Murphy is the Vice-President, Research & Innovation (VPRI). In addition to her role in the VPRI office, Dr. Murphy is a professor in UBC’s Department of Computer Science. Dr. Murphy joined UBC in 1996 and was a key driver of data science initiatives in the Faculty of Science. Her research focuses on improving the productivity of software developers and knowledge workers by providing the necessary tools to identify, manage and coordinate the information that matters most for their work. Dr. Murphy is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Distinguished Scientist, as well as co-founder, board member and former Chief Scientist at Tasktop Technologies Incorporated.