I would like to acknowledge that UBC’s Okanagan campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, and that UBC’s Vancouver campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Musqueam. Board members and others are joining us remotely from many places near and far, and I’d like to acknowledge the traditional owners and caretakers of those lands as well.
I wanted to begin by noting that today will be the last Board meeting for Governor Azim Lalani, who is stepping down at the end of the month. Azim joined the Board in 2020, and his expertise and experience have been invaluable to the Board throughout his service. He stepped in to Chair the Finance Committee in the fall of 2020, and has also served as the Vice-Chair of the Audit Committee. Azim, your experience and expertise have been invaluable to the Board throughout your time with us, and we have all benefitted from your calm rationality and sound judgement. We are sad to see you go and wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
Student Governor Kareem Hassib’s term on the Board will also be coming to an end at the end of March. Kareem, thank you for your service to the Board. Thank you as well for your service to the University, which I believe will continue through your re-election to the Vancouver Senate. Congratulations on your re-election, and thank you for all of your contributions at the Board table, and through your work on the Property, Audit, Indigenous Engagement and People, Community & International Committees.
Congratulations as well to student Governor Eshana Bhangu on her re-election to the Board for another year. We look forward to continuing to work with you, Eshana, and thank you for your continued service to the University.
Kamil Kanji, who currently serves as the Vice-President Academic & University Affairs of the AMS, has been elected to the Board by the students of the Vancouver campus, and will be joining us as of April 1. Kamil, we look forward to welcoming you to the Board and working with you over the coming year. Congratulations on your election!
Today will be the last Board meeting for Marcia Buchholz, Vice-President Human Resources. Marcia, thank you for your leadership through a pandemic, two rounds of collective bargaining, and implementation of a new enterprise-wide information system for HR – just to name a few of the challenges that you faced during your time at UBC. In my time as Chair of the Employee Relations Committee, I greatly appreciated your wise counsel. On behalf of the Board, I wish you all the best in your next steps and thank you for all you have done for UBC.
Adam Charania will be stepping in as Interim Vice-President Human Resources. Adam, we look forward to working with you!
As this is our first major meeting since a new Minister was appointed, I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate our new Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, Minister Lisa Beare. We look forward to working with the Minister and her team and having the opportunity to meet with her in the near future.
Now, as we always do, I would like to acknowledge three faculty members of notable distinction:
- In the research category we congratulate Associate Professor Julian Dierkes from the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs in the Faculty of Arts. Professor Dierkes has been awarded the Mongolian Friendship Medal, which is one of the highest honours that can be bestowed on a foreigner by the Government of Mongolia. The medal commemorates Professor Dierkes’ the long-standing and policy-engaged research on Mongolia. Dr. Dierkes has also been awarded a Governor General’s Medallion for his contributions to Canadian-Mongolian relations.
- In the service category we recognize Professor Dorin Ruse of the Faculty of Dentistry for being named an Honorary Fellow by the American College of Dentists, for leadership and exceptional contributions to Dentistry. Professor Ruse’s other awards include an Honorary degree from Paris Descartes University, a UBC Killam Teaching Prize, the Award of Merit from the Canadian Dental Association, and a Distinguished Service Award from the BC Dental Association.
- In the teaching category we recognize Professor Marina von Keyserling from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems has received the UBC Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring in recognition of her holistic approach in tailoring her teaching to meet the needs of each student. She is internationally recognized in her field for her outstanding scientific contributions to the sustainability of food of animal origin. Her other numerous awards include the UBC Killam Teaching Prize and the UBC Killam Research Prize. She is unique in having received three UBC Killam awards.
To these distinguished faculty members, and the others whose research, scholarship, teaching and other academic contributions have recently been recognized, we offer our recognition and appreciation.
The major item on the Board’s agenda today is the 2024-2025 Budget for the University. The presentation and materials that we will receive and consider today are the results of months of careful work undertaken across the University. I want to thank our Vice-President Finance and Operations, Frank Laezza and his team, as well as Lesley Cormack, our Deputy Vice Chancellor, our two Provosts Gage Averill and Rehan Sadiq, and everyone else who contributed to the development of this budget.
