Welcome back to our beautiful campuses! It’s worth highlighting that this is our first in-person Board of Governors meeting in over a year and a half, and that many around this table have never before today had the opportunity to meet in person. I think that this moment is something worth celebrating along with the entire UBC community. I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who has made this return to campus possible.
I would also like to formally acknowledge our two new Board Vice-Chairs, Raghwa Gopal and Alison Brewin. I am thrilled that both Raghwa and Alison will be supporting me through their additional leadership roles as Co-Vice-Chairs of the Board. Their complementary skill sets will ensure diverse perspectives are incorporated into planning and continuity of issues coming before the Board, and I deeply appreciate their counsel to both myself and President Ono.
I’d like to thank the Governors for reappointing me as Chair for a further term. It is a real honour to have been chosen by my Board peers to continue as Chair. I look forward to continuing to work closely with President Ono and the Board to advance UBC’s vision – to inspire people, ideas and actions for a better world – through implementation of the strategic plan, Shaping UBC’s Next Century. Additionally, I am committed to continue to build upon governance transparency and creating an inclusive culture where every student, faculty member, staff member and visitor feels welcome and part of the UBC community.
Earlier this year, both the federal and provincial governments passed legislation to mark September 30 as a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
September 30 has been observed since 2013 as Orange Shirt Day, recalling the experience of residential school Survivor Phyllis Webstad, who at six was stripped of her shiny new orange shirt on her first day at the St. Joseph Mission Residential School near Williams Lake, BC.
Truth and Reconciliation Day responds to one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, which calls “upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”
I encourage everyone to spend some time in personal reflection, and in education and awareness activities such as participating in Orange Shirt Day or other events. UBC’s Residential School History and Dialogue Centre will host a range of events, including an Intergenerational March on the UBC Vancouver campus on September 30th. I encourage you to visit their website to learn more.
On today’s agenda, I think it is very appropriate that we will be hearing from our Student Associations on top student priorities as we return to classes. We will also hear from the Administration on return-to-campus status, and from various medical and modelling experts in relation to consideration of motions regarding a vaccination mandate forwarded to the Board of Governors from the Senates.
Before we move into the agenda, I would like to acknowledge three faculty members of notable distinction:
- In the research category we have Julian Cheng, Professor in the School of Engineering of the Okanagan Campus who was honoured as UBCO’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Researcher of the Year. As an expert in digital communications and signal processing, Professor Cheng was selected for his significant contributions to research during his time at UBC Okanagan. Professor Cheng is a global leader in optical and radio frequency wireless communication and optical technology research, and he recently invented an indoor optical wireless location technique that improves receiver accuracy and will allow precise control of robot movement.
- In the service category we have Jacquelyn Cragg, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Cragg is principal investigator at the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD). As an emerging leader in the fields of data science, drug safety, and neuro-epidemiology, Dr. Cragg’s research is improving our understanding of devastating spinal cord injuries and neurological diseases. Her current research aims to identify causes, risk factors, and biomarkers of neurological disease progression, including Parkinson’s disease, ALS, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and stroke. She has formed promising research collaborations across the globe.
- In the teaching category we congratulate Dr. Terri Aldred, Clinical Instructor in the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Family Practice for receiving the 2020-2021 Mikhael Award for Medical Education, which honors individuals who have contributed to improving medical education in Canada. Through Dr. Aldred’s contributions to residency education and healthcare, she has supported learners, faculty and patients in her roles as a physician, educator and leader of the Indigenous Family Medicine Program Site.
In addition, I wanted to acknowledge that a total of ten UBC faculty members have been inducted by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), nine as new fellows and one as a new member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.
The fellowship of the Royal Society comprises over 2,000 Canadian scholars, artists, and scientists, peer-elected as the best in their field. These are distinguished faculty from all branches of learning who have made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life.
The 2021 Fellows and Members will be welcomed into the Society in November. UBC’s new Fellows this year are:
- Dr. Alejandro Adem (Mathematics, UBCV)
- Dr. Jeannette Armstrong (Community, Culture and Global Studies, UBCO)
- Dr. Curtis Berlinguette (Chemistry, UBCV)
- Professor Isabel Grant (Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBCV)
- Dr. Stephen Guy-Bray (English Language and Literatures, UBCV)
- Dr. Toph Marshall (Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies, UBCV)
- Dr. Raymond Ng (Computer Science, UBCV)
- Dr. Roger Wilson (Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies, UBCV);
- Dr. Alison Wylie (Philosophy, UBCV)
The College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists is Canada’s first national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership. I am very pleased to congratulate Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot on having been honored as a new member of the College.
To these distinguished faculty members and others whose research, scholarship, teaching and other academic contributions have recently been recognized, we offer our recognition and appreciation.
The Crown Agencies Board Resourcing Office (CABRO) has launched a new certificate program for Governing in the Public Interest. This online program provides B.C. public appointees with the foundational knowledge needed for Governors to fulfill governance responsibilities. I encourage all Board members to complete this program.
