Update on Winter Session, Term 2
Dear members of the UBC community, I would like to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking to you from the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. Earlier this month, we announced that UBC would deliver online instruction until February 7. Today, we are confirming that the majority of instruction will be […]
Community Update, October 20, 2021: Vaccination Declaration Non-Compliance
Dear members of the UBC community. I’m pleased to announce that eight weeks into the Fall term, we are continuing to do very well with regard to COVID-19. As of October 19, 95% of students, faculty and staff have declared their vaccination status. Of those who have declared, 96% have declared they are fully vaccinated […]
Do Your Part: Declare Your Vaccination Status
Dear members of the UBC community: As you know, all students, faculty and staff must complete an online, confidential declaration of vaccination status at rapidtesting.covid19.ubc.ca/. It’s quick and easy to complete the declaration. I’d like to thank the many members of the UBC community who have already completed the declaration. If you haven’t completed it […]
Community Update, August 27, 2021: Mandated Masks and Vaccinations
Dear members of the UBC community. I would like to acknowledge that I am speaking to you from the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. Yesterday, I sent out a UBC Broadcast relating to vaccinations, masks and COVID-19 testing. I encourage you to read the message in full as it contains important […]
Community Update, August 20, 2021: Preparing our campuses for Fall 2021
Dear members of the UBC community. I would like to acknowledge that I am speaking to you from the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. It’s just a few weeks away from the start of the Fall term. If you’re coming to UBC for the first time, welcome! This is a significant […]
Update, August 13, 2021: Supporting Mandatory Indoor Masking and Vaccination
Dear members of the UBC community. I would like to acknowledge that I am speaking to you from the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. I have heard from many members of the UBC community asking for the university to introduce mandatory non-medical masks and vaccines for those returning to campus in […]
Weekly Update, June 11, 2021: A Phased Approach to the Fall
Dear members of the UBC community. I would like to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking to you from the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. With the start of the academic year just three months away, I’m looking forward to welcoming back our students, faculty and staff. According to BC’s […]
Weekly Update, May 21, 2021: Plans for Fall 2021
Dear members of the UBC community. As I noted in my UBC Broadcast earlier this week, we continue to work closely on our plans for the Fall with public health officials at the provincial and regional levels. You can find more details at broadcastemail.ubc.ca. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is optimistic that we will […]
Weekly Update, May 14, 2021: Join the Vaccine-Nation
Dear members of the UBC community. Today I’d like to talk about COVID-19 vaccinations. More than two million vaccine doses have already been administered in BC, and tens of thousands of people are getting their vaccines every day. Everyone over the age of 18 in British Columbia can now register for a vaccination appointment so, […]
Weekly Update, January 22, 2021
Dear members of the UBC community. We begin the new year with hope, and anticipation of a better year ahead. Already, many vulnerable seniors and frontline workers have been vaccinated in British Columbia, and we can look forward to more widescale vaccination against COVID in the coming months. But just because vaccination has begun, it […]
Weekly Update, November 20, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community. I would like to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking to you from the traditional and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. Lately we’ve heard hopeful news about COVID-19 vaccines, with two of the groups working on a vaccine announcing promising results. However, it will be months before […]
Weekly Update, November 6, 2020
Dear members of the UBC Community: I would like to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking to you from the traditional and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. Je voudrais commencer par reconnaître que je vous parle depuis les territoires traditionnels et non cédés des peuples Musqueam. As you know, this week we switched […]
Weekly Update: September 14, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community: Recently, the number of COVID-19 cases in British Columbia has been increasing dramatically. This past Friday alone, there were 132 new cases. Hospitalization from COVID-19 are at their highest in four months. We all must do what we can to fight COVID19. Therefore, UBC is implementing a new measure […]
Weekly Update: June 26, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community. I hope you’re all doing well. Like many of you, I was disturbed by the violence depicted in a video of a police wellness check in January involving a student in the community. I condemn the behaviour shown in the video and the use of excessive force in any […]
Weekly Update: June 12, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community. It’s just twelve short weeks before the beginning of the Fall term, and UBC faculty and staff are busy preparing to welcome back thousands of new and returning students. This year UBC will be welcoming students from across Canada and from over one hundred and fifty countries around the […]
June 2020
Welcome Welcome to the June 2020 issue of Letter to the Board, a regular communication to members of the UBC Board of Governors. Naturally, most of our attention – along with the rest of the world – has been focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. In this newsletter I will give a brief summary of the […]
Weekly Update: May 29, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community. I hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy. What a difference a year makes. This time last year, the Vancouver campus was alive with the excitement of graduation – as thousands of graduates and their families came to UBC to celebrate. And students, faculty […]
Weekly Update: May 22, 2020
Dear members of the UBC community. I hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy. We’ve seen in the news lately that we’re definitely flattening the curve here in BC – thanks to all of us doing our part – and the province is gradually beginning to re-open. Not only that, […]
Weekly Update: May 15, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope you and your loved ones are well. This week the university made three important announcements as it and the province start phased returns. First, we told you about the status of the fall term. As you know, COVID-19 required the university to shift to online instruction in […]
Weekly Update: May 8, 2020
> Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope you and your loved ones are well. The university made the very difficult decision in March to cancel in-person graduation ceremonies in order to follow provincial health guidelines. We promised then we would work on a virtual ceremony so we can honour our graduating students for […]
Weekly Update: May 1, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope you and your loved ones are well. The health and wellbeing of our university community remains UBC’s top priority and we continue to follow the expert guidance of our Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, as we work together to limit the spread of COVID-19. With physical […]
Weekly Update: April 24, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope that you and your loved ones are well. I want to begin with excellent news for our UBC students, indeed for students across Canada. On Wednesday the federal government announced a nine billion dollar student aid package in recognition of the economic impact of COVID-19. The proposed […]
COVID-19: UBC and the Community
Over this past month, our everyday lives have changed in ways we never could have imagined. Here at UBC, faculty, staff and students have worked together on the enormous task of moving many of the University’s core functions online. With great sacrifice and understanding, you have paused research, classroom teaching, and other important work that, […]
Weekly Update: April 17, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope that you and your loved ones are well. Six long weeks ago we issued a bulletin to our campuses telling you all to go to ubc.ca for travel and health information related to COVID-19. Looking back, it’s incredible to see how much has changed for the university […]
COVID-19 Remarks to the April 16 2020 Board of Governors Meeting
Good morning everyone. Thank you for joining us for this meeting via zoom video conference. I will give high-level remarks this morning regarding COVID-19 and the extraordinary impact it has had on our university, our province, our nation and the world. I trust you have received my regular communications via broadcast email, our newsletter UBC […]
COVID-19: A Message to International Students
Dear international students, I want to take this opportunity to speak to you directly in what I know are very challenging times for you, as they are for all of us at UBC. International students in Vancouver and the Okanagan are facing unique struggles right now. I know some of you are also experiencing financial […]
Weekly Update: April 9, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope that you and your loved ones are well and that you are safe and physically distancing. Before I begin, I’d like to wish all of our students, both at UBC Okanagan and UBC Vancouver, all the best for their final exams. I have a few items to […]
Weekly Update: April 3, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: I hope that you and your loved ones are well and that you are staying safe. First, I’d like to share some good news. A few UBC faculty members, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students were caught in a travel ban in Peru. At least one faculty member and one […]
Weekly Update: March 27, 2020
Dear Members of the UBC Community: First of all, I want you to know that I’ve been thinking about you over this past week. I know that UBC, like the whole world, has been under tremendous stress during these challenging times. I hope that you and your loved ones are well and that you […]
Spring Graduation: An Update
Many people, including students, faculty and staff, have been asking about the university’s plans for one of the highlights of the year, spring graduation. Today, I’d like to update you on our plans for this special event. I love graduation. Seeing our graduating students celebrating with their loved ones, always fills me with pride. This […]
A Message to Students: The importance of physical distancing
Dear students, As you know, the university, the region and the country are working as hard as possible to flatten the curve of COVID-19’s spread in the population. Everyone has a role to play – including you. Our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and our Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, have been very clear – […]
COVID-19 Update: Working Together We Will Meet The Challenges We Face
Dear Members of the UBC Community: The COVID-19 crisis has created a challenge that none of us could imagine even several weeks ago. There are many issues that we are all currently dealing with as a university, as a region, as a nation and globally. I wanted to reach out at this time to connect […]
Transition to online classes at UBC
As you know, governments and institutions around the world are grappling with the spread and impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The situation continues to evolve and it has become an unprecedented scenario for the university. Today I am announcing the transition to online classes effective Monday March 16, 2020 for the remainder of the […]
Community update on UBC’s response to COVID-19
I’m writing to update the community on UBC’s response to the quickly evolving situation with COVID-19. UBC is a community and it’s important for our community to know that our number one priority is to ensure our students, faculty and staff are supported and safe, whether in British Columbia or abroad. For updated information on […]