Kim Thúy, Ru (Vintage Canada, 2012)
Winner of last year’s Governor-General’s award for fiction, Ru is a lyrical account of a young woman’s journey from the elite of South Vietnam to boat person to immigrant in the cold of Quebec’s Eastern Townships. Variously gentle, sensual and brutal, the story is told in short chapters that are close to blank verse, such […]
Reappointment of VP Finance, Resources and Operations
To: All UBC Students, Faculty and Staff I am delighted to announce that the UBC Board of Governors has reappointed Mr. Pierre Ouillet Vice-President, Finance, Resources and Operations, for a five-year term starting January 1, 2014. Mr. Ouillet has had one previous term that commenced January 1, 2009. The Board noted that Mr. Ouillet brings […]
Feedback wanted for sport excellence criteria
UBC Athletics sport review seeks input by Dec. 1.
UBC Sports Review
Today I want to announce several new steps we are taking in response to feedback on the sport review, to confirm how vital this review is to the future of UBC Athletics and why, and to set the record straight on several fronts.
International education… starts at home
Click here to read the speech I gave today to close the Canadian Bureau for International Education 2013 Conference.
Department of Athletics and Recreation Review
I would like to clarify misinformation that is being circulated regarding the future of UBC’s sports teams.
Attacks at UBC’s Vancouver campus
Today UBC joined the RCMP for a press conference that revealed new, disturbing information about the spate of sexual assaults on our Vancouver campus.
Safety update for UBC’s Vancouver campus
A new safety portal with a message from Louise Cowin, VP Students.
Connected by Commitment 2012-2013 Annual Report
Data meets deity. What is the data behind our feelings about religion? Find out in the Annual Report.
Statement regarding Sept. 29 attacks at the Yobe State College of Agriculture in Nigeria
I want to express my profound dismay in hearing of the unconscionable attack at the Yobe State College of Agriculture.
Statement on the two Canadians detained in Egypt
I want to express my deepest concern to learn that John Greyson and Tarek Loubani remain in custody in Cairo, Egypt.
Expressions of Reconciliation
I had the privilege of speaking at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission(TRC) BC National Event.
President’s Service Awards for Excellence
My congratulations to the recipients of the President’s Service Award for Excellence and the President’s Staff Award.
Measures Announced to Address the C.U.S. FROSH Events
We are announcing today the measures we are taking.
Update on UBC Action in Response to the C.U.S. FROSH Events
Our university has been in the news since Friday September 6th, and for all the wrong reasons.
Letter to the UBC Community
In this year’s annual letter, I highlight the work that we are doing together to build a stronger and even more influential UBC.
UBC announces strategy to help boost economic impact of innovation in B.C.
Today I unveiled a five-point strategy to help the University drive forward innovation in the B.C. economy.
Measures announced to address CUS FROSH event
UBC is announcing three immediate measures to address problems that surfaced during FROSH events.
UBC Okanagan’s Hangar centre takes health and fitness to new heights
I was thrilled to participate in the official opening of the newest building at the UBC Okanagan campus — a fitness and wellness centre that meets a tremendous need for the university community. The $4.1-million Hangar Fitness & Wellness Centre will provide space to serve the fitness needs of more than 8,000 students, and over […]
Join the Conversation – Town Hall 2013
Join me on Thursday, September 12 in Vancouver and Monday, September 16 in the Okanagan for the 2013 President’s Town Hall or watch the live webcast.
Announcing the Formation of the UBC China Council
The University of British Columbia is pleased to announce the establishment of the UBC China Council.
UBC has signed a historic agreement with China’s Chongqing government.
I am pleased to announce that the University of British Columbia has concluded an unprecedented, five-year strategic cooperation agreement with China’s Chongqing government.
September 11 Vancouver Board of Trade Address
In my final address to The Vancouver Board of Trade, I will map my vision for innovation at UBC, and invite business leaders to see UBC as a key partner in the evolution of an innovation ecosystem in this province.
Join the Conversation – Town Hall 2013
Join me on Thursday, September 12 in Vancouver and Monday, September 16 in the Okanagan for the 2013 President’s Town Hall or submit your questions to me online.
2013 Spring Congregation and Convocation Speech
Congratulations to the graduating class of 2013. Read my convocation and congregation speech here.
Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending (Random House Canada, 2011)
Barnes is a truly great writer, but I do not think that this slim volume deserved the Man Booker Prize. Characteristic of Barnes is the precise sketching of scene and character, the sense of wistfulness that accompanies all attempts to recreate (or at least to unearth) the past. The central character, Tony, digs deep into […]
Alice Munro, Dear Life (McClelland & Stewart Doubleday Canada, 2012)
I think that Munro is, quite simply, the best writer that Canada has yet produced. Her prose is tight but fluid, and her characters rich and complex within the narrative discipline required of the short story form. Despite the extraordinary resilience of her mostly female protagonists, there is always something brittle and fragile on the […]
Vikram Seth, From Heaven Lake (Vintage Departures, 1987)
Seth is best known as the author of the sprawling novel of Indian family life, A Suitable Boy, which I loved despite its messiness. From Heaven Lake is an entirely different beast, a taut travelogue of a hitchhiking journey through China in the early 1980s. Seth was a graduate student in China, and near the […]
HRH The Duke of York visits UBC
The University of British Columbia and the Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation today welcomed His Royal Highness The Duke of York, KG.
Coat of Arms Refinements
The Coat of Arms has been an integral part of the university since its 1915 inception by UBC’s first president Frank Wesbrook. It has now been restored to its original splendor and elegance in time for our new-look 2013 graduation. While the elements and the meaning of the Coat of Arms have not changed, the […]
UBC hosts gathering of international university presidents, students
Presidents and students from universities around the world will be at the University of British Columbia May 8-10 to explore the impact of new technology on learning and research for the annual meeting and presidential symposium of Universitas 21 (U21).
Celebrating the 20th Year of the Longhouse and 25 Years of the First Nations House of Learning
Twenty-five years ago, the First Nations House of Learning was established, and 20 years ago, the Longhouse was built to house it. Both were among the first of their kind in North America.
Innovative Partnership Powers Living Lab Initiative
I had the pleasure today to announce that the University of British Columbia has entered into a new and innovative partnership with Alpha Technologies and Corvus Energy.
VP Human Resources Reappointed
I am delighted to announce that the UBC Board of Governors has reappointed Ms. Lisa Castle, Vice-President Human Resources.
Australian Governor General Visits UBC
I met with Her Excellency Ms. Quentin Bryce, Governor General of Australia today on her first visit to UBC.
To: All UBC Students, Faculty and Staff
I will be stepping down as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia at the end of June 2014, after serving for eight years in what has been an inspiring and rewarding position.
Flexible Learning at UBC
Four factors are rapidly taking us beyond the tipping point for major change in postsecondary education.
Rapid Transit Key to Unlocking Potential of UBC/Broadway Corridor
The City of Vancouver and the University of British Columbia released a KPMG study that shows a rail-based rapid transit system is needed to meet the corridor’s significant economic potential.
Op/Ed: Rapid Transit for UBC-Broadway Corridor Key to Economic Success
My opinion piece for the Vancouver Sun with Mayor Gregor Robertson
Arts and Sciences Centre Officially Opens
Today I attended the official opening of the multi-purpose Arts and Sciences Centre at UBC’s Okangan campus.
Affecting Change in Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Since 2011, I have co-chaired a Canada West Task Force, comprised of university presidents and athletic directors from Canada West (CW). It was struck to develop proposals for restructuring competitive arrangements in CW and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).
Landmark new facility at UBC’s Okanagan campus officially opens today
Today I joined Minister Ben Stewart and the UBC Okanagan community to celebrate the official opening for Engineering, Management and Education building at UBC’s Okanagan campus. This impressive high-tech building is designed to inspire students and produce extraordinary research collaboration and houses the School of Engineering, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Management and the College […]
Iris Murdoch, The Black Prince (Penguin, 1973)
Purely by accident I have recently read three books published in 1973, two by Murdoch (she was quite prolific) and one by Gordimer (see entries for November 2012). All three novels are strongly shaped by the politics of their time, in Murdoch’s case the politics of gender relations, and in Gordimer’s the politics of African […]
Meaghan Delahunt, In the Blue House (Bloomsbury, 2001)
This book is magical, and I found it gripping. The now-standard feminist insight that “the personal is political” is given voice in this beautiful work. Ranging from the cold Kremlin bedroom of a brutal Stalin to the warm courtyard of Frieda Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s Blue House in Mexico, the spaces of this novel are […]