Message from the Provost for Summer 2018

June 13, 2018

Hello everyone. I would like to begin by extending heartfelt congratulations to UBC’s newest graduates, the Class of 2018! Whether you have received your Bachelor’s, Master’s, or a Doctor of Philosophy, I am sure that your achievement will serve you well as you begin your post-graduation journey.

Back in May, I was honored to return to UC Berkeley to attend the College of Engineering Graduate Commencement Ceremony as my former graduate students received their Ph.Ds. Graduation ceremonies speak both to a significant accomplishment students achieve in their lives, and an important contribution to their university as a whole.

From L-R: Spencer Frank, PhD awarded 2017: “Modeling the Acute Effects of Exercise on Insulin-Glucose Dynamics”; Abdulrahman Jbaily, PhD awarded 2017: “Respiratory Mechanics and Gas Exchange: The Effect of Surfactants”; Professor Andrew Szeri, UBC Provost and Vice-President, Academic; Claire Funke, PhD expected June 2018: “Mass Transfer Phenomena and Pharmacokinetics in Topical Delivery of anti-HIV Microbicides”

Although the summer term is already underway and campus is quietening down, things are still busy here in the Office of the Provost of Vice-President Academic, and will continue to be over the coming months! To that end, I’d like to touch base on a few key initiatives and updates coming out of our Portfolio.

Freedom Matters

In September 2017, UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Santa Ono tasked a working group to consider the important issue of freedom of expression – not as an institutional effort to create or change policy, but as an educational and aspirational exercise. The document below, entitled “Freedom Matters”, is the output of that working group’s efforts and expresses that working group’s views of why freedom of expression should matter at UBC and why its protection should apply equitably to all. 

An early statement was circulated to the university community in November 2017, prompting vigorous debate and attracting feedback from alumni, faculty, staff and students, including nearly 200 written responses and at least three alternative versions. Numerous UBC classes also responded, and the working group convened a public forum to encourage further feedback. Many respondents indicated an appetite for a short, blanket endorsement of free expression, but many more argued for a statement of context exploring how that freedom applies, how it can be protected for all members of the UBC community and how it interacts with other freedoms and rights.

In April 2018, following this extended period of consultation and input by many, the working group released the final statement available at the link provided below. The statement distills many of the tensions that arise between various rights and expectations. It is intended by the working group to be a resource that underscores the importance of freedom of expression while also helping all of us at UBC grapple with specific instances where tensions around expression may arise. 

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Neil Guppy, Senior Advisor to the Provosts on Academic Freedom, and the rest of the working group for shepherding this complex process. You may read the full statement here.

Housing Update

I’m happy to report on a number of significant strides that we’ve made in the UBC Housing Action Plan, which aims to improve the choice and affordability of housing on the Vancouver campus for faculty, staff and students:

  • In the spring of 2018, UBC added 175 new rental housing units (in two new buildings), supplementing the existing 511 units (in eleven buildings) designated for faculty and staff in the campus residential neighbourhoods known as Hawthorne Place, Wesbrook Village, and East Campus.
  • Spring also saw the roll-out of two pilot, rent-geared-to income housing program variations: the Staff Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) program and the Faculty Temporary Rental Housing Support Program. Both programs offer eligible applicants rent capped at 30% of pre-tax household income; please see the website for details.
  • In February 2018, following our request, the Board of Governors approved additional funding for the Prescribed Interest Rate Loan (or PIRL) program. The PIRL program option provides approved faculty members a one-time loan to assist with the purchase of a principal residence anywhere in Metro Vancouver.

These programs help to address the challenge of housing affordability in Vancouver for faculty and staff at UBC. We will continue to work to make these programs helpful and available.

Strategic Plan

As you are most likely aware, the new university strategic plan, Shaping UBC’s Next Century officially launched in April 2018. I’d like to thank everyone involved in this complex and invigorating process. It was a wonderful meeting of minds that galvanized the entire university community to put forth a plan that will serve UBC for the years to come, and will firmly set the foundation for our next century.

Watch this space for more information as we move into the implementation phase and begin to develop actions arising from the strategies set out in the plan.

UBC Rapid Transit Advocacy Strategy

In April, the UBC Board of Governors also approved the university’s advocacy strategy to secure a rapid transit line to the Vancouver campus. TransLink and senior levels of government are already committed to extending the Millennium Skytrain line from its current terminus at VCC-Clark to Broadway and Arbutus. UBC is advocating that the line be completed to the Point Grey campus as a seamless continuation, rather than have UBC-bound passengers transfer to buses at Arbutus.

The Board also acknowledged that UBC could make a direct contribution along with other partners towards the regional share to accelerate the extension to UBC, provided the contribution does not affect funding for UBC’s academic mission. A UBC contribution could take many forms, including: land for stations, charges collected from developers, and/or a financial contribution from new revenues enabled by rapid transit. 

UBC is B.C.’s third-largest employment centre after downtown Vancouver and central Broadway. It is one of the region’s busiest transit destinations with over 1,000 buses a day, most travelling along the Broadway corridor. Fast, frequent, high-capacity rapid transit service will ease travel, lower commute times and reduce congestion along the entire Broadway corridor well into the future. It will connect UBC and the region’s knowledge, innovation and health districts, open up housing options along the entire length of the line, and improve access for students and community partners. To learn more about UBC’s rapid transit advocacy strategy, please visit https://ubc.ca/rapidtransit.

Budget Update

I am pleased to announce that the UBC Budget for the 2018/19 fiscal year was approved by the Board of Governors in April. The complete budget documents can be found here.  

These are just some of the highlights of the initiatives our Portfolio has been engaged in over recent months. Once again, I’d like to congratulate our recent graduates, and to all of the students returning to campus in the fall – have a wonderful, productive, and exciting summer, and we look forward to welcoming you back for the 2018/19 year!

As always, if you have any questions or comment, please write to me at provost.vpa@ubc.ca

Andrew

  • From the Provost

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