Updates, news and stories

Michael White

Michael White joined UBC in 2014 as Associate Vice-President of Campus and Community Planning, and leads a team dedicated to creating a vibrant, live-work-learn community at the university’s campuses in Vancouver and the Okanagan. A UBC alumnus, Michael is passionate about the intersection of community engagement and urban planning. He spent 10 years as a municipal planner for the City of Vancouver and later worked as manager of planning in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He returned to Canada in 2011 as a consultant, before joining UBC in 2014 to begin his current role.

Skeleton staff: curating the big blue whale

Chris’s passion for nature was what first sparked his involvement with the Beaty Museum. While an undergraduate in animal biology at UBC, he began volunteering with the Cowan Tetrapod Collection in 2006 helping to move it into the newly constructed Beaty Museum in 2007. A part-time position followed, during which he completed a certificate in Museum Studies from UVic’s Cultural Resource Management program.

Philip Barker

Raised in the Okanagan, Dr. Philip Barker joined UBC in 2015 to serve a dual role focused on research and innovation. As Associate Vice-President Research, Dr. Barker has responsibility for innovation across the UBC system, while as Vice-Principal Research, he is responsible for providing leadership and direction on all research matters on the Okanagan campus. Dr. Barker is a molecular biologist and biochemist by trade, and his research lab has published more than 100 scientific papers on signals that regulate life and death decisions in neurons and cancer cells. He co-founded a biotechnology company, holds several patents, and has developed and licensed a number of technologies.

Emma Cunliffe

From Australia originally, Dr. Emma Cunliffe came to UBC in 2002 to do a Master’s in Law. She only intended to stay for a year, but her master’s turned into a PhD and eventually a faculty position at the Peter A. Allard School of Law. In January 2017, she started a two-year term in a completely new capacity — that of senior advisor to President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Santa Ono.

A new take on the classroom builds space for better learning

Hubert Lai

Hubert Lai, Q.C. was appointed as UBC’s University Counsel in 2001. At the time, he was the youngest person to have ever served in such a capacity at a major Canadian university. As well, from 2006 to 2007, he simultaneously served as the university’s Associate Vice-President, Government Relations. Since 2007, Hubert has served as a member of the University Executive. In 2012, he was appointed as Queen’s Counsel by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Learning empathy and respect through play

Santa Ono

Professor Santa Ono is UBC’s 15th President and Vice-Chancellor. Prior to joining UBC, Professor Ono served as the President of the University of Cincinnati (UC). Under his leadership, UC achieved its largest enrolment in its history and received numerous accolades, including being named Public University of the Year by the Washington Center. Earlier in his career, Professor Ono served in a variety of teaching, research and administrative positions at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and the Schepens Eye Research Institute, University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012, inducted as a member of the National Academy of Inventors in 2014, and inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars in 2015. His principal research interests focus on the immune system and eye disease.

Jennifer Burns

Jennifer Burns is UBC’s Chief Information Officer and leads the strategic oversight of campus-wide Information Technology services that support over 70,000 users. An experienced leader within higher education, Jennifer joined the university in 2002 and held a number of roles within the Information Technology department before beginning her current role in 2015.

Hot Lunch showcases the power of food to unite

Taking an ‘animated’ approach to teaching

How a little bit of theatre is shaping the doctors of tomorrow at UBC