Updates, news and stories

Getting ready for snow

Being in the midst of a transit strike, snow is probably the last thing on your mind right now. However, for a number of people at UBC, they are already getting ready for winter weather.

Clothing bins made safer

It was July 2018 when Ray Taheri, senior instructor of engineering at UBC Okanagan, heard the news: a woman had died after becoming trapped in a clothing donation bin in Vancouver—the fourth such death to have occurred in Canada since 2015. It was time to do something, he resolved. Just as he had done before when tackling community issues, Ray turned to what might seem an unlikely group: his first-year engineering students.

Ainsley Carry

Ainsley Carry came to UBC in April 2019, charged with leading the VP, Students portfolio. He brings with him a wealth of experience, having most recently served as the Vice-President for Student Affairs at the University of Southern California, and at Auburn University before that. A passionate advocate for students, Ainsley is on a mission to create an unparalleled experience for students at UBC. He holds a doctorate in education and a master’s degree in counsellor education, both from the University of Florida.

The many faces of back to school

For our incoming class of students, the start of the school year may bring with it eager anticipation for the friends they will meet, the things they will learn, or the pure joy of stocking up on stationery supplies. For many in our community of faculty and staff, it’s no different. Here are a handful of people who are awaiting the start of the school year with equal eager anticipation:

Peter Smailes

Peter Smailes is Vice-President, Finance & Operations. He is responsible for leading the Comptroller department, Financial Operations, Treasury and Safety & Risk Services as well as UBC Facilities (Infrastructure Development, Energy & Water Services, and Building Operations) across the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. As part of his portfolio, he serves as a board member and oversees the university’s relationship with UBC Investment Management Trust, which manages the endowment and staff pension plan, and UBC Properties Trust which develops and manages real estate assets for the benefit of the university. Peter was promoted to Vice-President in July 2018. Prior to that he served as the UBC Treasurer for 10 years and Associate Treasurer for 7 years.

Wearing three hats sewn together by a passion for one health

Chelsea Himsworth describes herself as an odd duck at UBC. That is because not only is she a full-time employee of the BC Ministry of Agriculture, but she also conducts UBC teaching and research through a partner track faculty appointment with the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s School of Population and Public Health.

Fostering global citizenship through UBC’s international strategy

For Murali Chandrashekaran, UBC’s first Vice-Provost, International, universities are key to building a more just and prosperous world.

Florian Gassner and his quest to define censorship

Florian Gassner, Senior Instructor of German and Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies from the Faculty of Arts, tried to understand the meaning of censorship in a recent project focused on unearthing books that have been, or still are, banned.

Ananya Mukherjee Reed

Dr. Ananya Mukherjee Reed is Provost and Vice-President, Academic, at UBC Okanagan and Professor in the Department of Economics, Philosophy and Political Science at the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences. An interdisciplinary scholar in the field of Development Studies, Dr. Mukherjee Reed’s work over the past decade has mostly concentrated on inclusive and people-centered development. Her current research project, in collaboration with the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva, focuses on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the role of universities in social change. Prior to joining UBC in November 2018, Dr. Mukherjee Reed was Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies at York University. During her time at York University, she also served as Associate Vice-President of Research, Chair of the Department of Political Science, and Founding Director of the International Secretariat for Human Development. In 2016, she was named as one of five brilliant women in academia by Canadian Immigrant magazine in their third annual tribute to ‘Immigrant Women of Inspiration’.

Catherine Dauvergne

Catherine Dauvergne is Dean of the Peter A. Allard School of Law. A life-long legal academic, she has worked in the areas of refugee, immigration, and citizenship law over the past quarter of a century. As a UBC alumna, she clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada, and was named a Fellow of the Trudeau Foundation in recognition of her contributions to public discourse in Canada. She was appointed Dean of the Peter A. Allard School of Law in 2015.

Susan E. Parker

Susan E. Parker joined UBC in September 2017, as University Librarian. In her role, she is responsible for providing strategic oversight of the UBC Library system. She has held a number of leadership roles at Tufts and Harvard Law School (where she knew the young Barack Obama), before moving to California State University, Northridge, as the Associate Dean of the Oviatt Library and Associate Professor. Most recently, she served as the Deputy University Librarian and Chief Financial Officer at the University of California, Los Angeles.

UBC Robson Square: Watch this space