Dear members of the UBC community:
I am pleased to confirm that we are now entering the next phase of UBC’s strategic planning process.
Over the last few months we have conducted a series of events and consultation activities: from open houses on our Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, and other learning and research sites, to Executive and Dean retreats and broader online surveys. I’d like to thank Dr. Emma Cunliffe for helping to establish the foundations for the plan and for her contributions in moving us forward, and to thank all of you who have provided valuable input to the process so far.
In the spring of this year we outlined a series of draft priorities, based on contributions from our internal community and external partners. Over the summer months, I have engaged with the Deans and other leaders to explore these draft priorities further, and articulate them within an overarching framework that incorporates the wealth of feedback received through the earlier consultation process.
Over the coming weeks we shall be establishing representative Working Groups to substantiate the framework through objectives and strategies attached to each major area. Throughout the fall there will be opportunities for dialogue around the emerging plan via open houses and online channels – further updates will be issued in due course.
As I noted in my last Letter to the Community, the Provost and Vice-President Academic for UBC Vancouver, and the Vice-President Research and Innovation, will be adopting key roles in the final stages of this journey, as will the Provost and Vice-Principal Academic, UBC Okanagan. We will also continue to work closely with the faculty, staff, students and alumni who make up the strategic plan Steering Committee, and our intent is to share the refined vision, framework and underpinning strategies with the Board of Governors in early 2018 for ratification.
In the meantime, I encourage you to visit www.ubc.ca/strategicplan where you can access reports outlining details of the process and what we have heard to date. The site will be updated throughout the course of this next phase.
This is an extremely important process for the university and I am proud to be leading it. Thank you for your continued engagement as we work together to develop a vision and plan that will set the foundation for UBC’s next century.
Best wishes
Professor Santa J. Ono
President and Vice-Chancellor