Dr. William R. Buchan passed away on June 19, 2022. Prof. Buchan taught in the Department of Family Practice.
Dr. François Bénard reappointed Associate Dean, Research, BC Cancer Research Institute
A message from Rob McMaster, Vice-Dean, Research, UBC Faculty of Medicine; Kim Nguyen Chi, Vice President & Chief Medical Officer, BC Cancer; and Heather Findlay, Chief Operating Officer, BC Cancer
We are pleased to announce that Dr. François Bénard has been re-appointed as the Associate Dean, Research, BC Cancer Research Institute (BCCRI), Faculty of Medicine, UBC and the Senior Executive Director, Research, BC Cancer until May 31, 2027.
Dr. Bénard is a Distinguished Scientist at BC Cancer, a Professor in the Department of Radiology at UBC, and holds the BC Leadership Chair in Functional Cancer Imaging. As a clinician scientist, his research interests are in positron emission tomography (PET), nuclear medicine, cancer imaging and targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy.
In addition, he is a recipient of the 2015 NSERC Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering. He is also the Scientific Director of the Centre of Excellence for Functional Cancer Imaging at BC Cancer. His interests combine state‐of‐the art clinical care with a thriving translational research program in imaging and radionuclide therapy. His research focuses on the development of novel radiopharmaceuticals for cancer diagnosis and therapy, and their translation and application to improve the care of cancer patients.
As the Associate Dean, Research, BCCRI and Senior Executive Director, Research, BC Cancer, Dr. Bénard is responsible for setting and facilitating a comprehensive cancer research strategy and agenda for British Columbia in collaboration with research leadership provincially, nationally and internationally as well as the overall strategic leadership and operational management of the research institute. Dr. Bénard will oversee the scientific direction and management of BCCRI in support of the Institute’s mission to conduct discovery, translational and clinical research to benefit the health of the populations we serve.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Bénard on his reappointment and thank him for his continued leadership and commitment to this important work.
2022 Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Awards
A message from Dermot Kelleher, Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President, Health, UBC.
I am pleased to announce recipients of the 2022 Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Awards.
These awards are an important opportunity to acknowledge faculty members who exemplify exceptional contributions in the areas of education, research and/or service, and who are dedicated to advancing our five core values and our vision of transforming health for everyone.
The 2021 award categories include:
- Excellence in Education
- Excellence in Foundational Science Research
- Excellence in Clinical or Applied Research
- Service to the University and Community
- Advancement of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusiveness
- Overall Excellence – Early Career
- Overall Excellence – Mid-career
- Overall Excellence – Senior Faculty
Please join me in congratulating our 2022 award recipients. I look forward to formally celebrating the recipients and their accomplishments at our Annual Awards Reception in the late fall.
This message was sent to all faculty and staff in the Faculty of Medicine.
Community update from Dean Dermot Kelleher
A message from Dermot Kelleher, Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President, Health, UBC.
"Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow"
- Ripple by The Grateful Dead
I was introduced to this song by a bass player in a Dublin punk rock band who surprisingly told me that it was his favourite song. The lyrics, particularly the verse above — written in the form of a haiku — contemplate a spirit of reflection and tranquility in the face of a rapidly changing world.
All of us in this Faculty of Medicine will surely appreciate the importance that a summer of tranquility will bring. With the pandemic slowly receding, this is a time to reflect, to regenerate some of our frazzled neurons, and to rejuvenate. It has been a very difficult few years in so many ways and the pace has been relentless. So, as things begin to return to normal — perhaps a new normal — it is time to reconnect with those things that are important to us, whether taking time to enjoy the simple pleasures, be it dinner with family or friends, having a relaxed conversation, or finding the opportunity to venture out into the world and travel. My wish for all of you is that you take the time to step back a little this summer and take the opportunity to “climb a mountain or jump in a lake,” to read a good book, visit a gallery, or just stop and look around and marvel at the beautiful nature that surrounds us.
This year has been extraordinary in the life of the Faculty of Medicine. Once again, our faculty, staff and learners have surpassed themselves in education, research and clinical care delivery. We’ve consistently pushed the envelope in terms of what can be achieved and consistently surpassed expectations. It’s no coincidence that we’ve broken into the top 25 in the QS World University Rankings for Life Sciences and Medicine on the basis of outstanding contributions in research and education.
Just as critically important, there has been extraordinary work done in transforming our culture by embedding respect, equity, diversity and inclusion into everything we do. While this work must not let up, it’s encouraging to see the great strides that have been made, with great thanks to Roslyn Goldner and her team in the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
Much of this has been achieved by focusing on the goals and strategies within our refreshed strategic plan Building the Future, which has laid out our framework for action across four pillars: Research, Education, Organization and Partnership. The unsung heroes of the development of the strategic plan have been the core team of Dr. Chris Lovato, Shanda Jordan Gaetz, and Gabriel Rose, who, sadly for us, is moving to Toronto. We wish Gabe all the very best as he moves on to new opportunities. And special thanks are also due to our outstanding pillar leads, committees and their support teams. Lastly, the Office of Creative & Communications team led by Katie White have done an extraordinary job of disseminating the plan and its outputs, nationally and globally.
For now, as we enter the summer, I’ve resurrected my playlist with some of my old and current favourites. For me, music really does take me to past places and times, as well helping with the cross-fertilization of new thoughts and ideas. In this summer playlist, I’ve included a few Bob Dylan songs sung by other people (easier to hear the lyrics!), as well as some new thought-provoking music from the Toronto band The Weather Station. For those of you who are grappling with to-do lists, I have included Running Up That Hill, Helpless and Here Comes the Summer! Lastly, I’ve included Ripple by the Grateful Dead and Nature Boy based on an old Nat King Cole song, two of a kind in evoking a place of peace and contemplation.
So, thank you to everyone for your outstanding and continued support of the Faculty of Medicine. I hope that you all take time to refresh and rejuvenate over the summer.
This message was sent to all faculty, staff and learners in the Faculty of Medicine.
Dr. Cheryl Holmes reappointed Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education
A message from Roger Wong, Vice Dean, Education.
I am pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Cheryl Holmes as Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME), for a five-year term effective July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2027.
Dr. Holmes has accomplished a great deal during her first term in the role as Associate Dean, UGME, which included oversight and leadership over the MD Undergraduate Medical Education Program (MDUP) throughout extraordinarily challenging pandemic times, identifying activities that are crucial in preparation for the upcoming 2025 MDUP accreditation, implementation of the new governance structure of the UGME, refreshing the social accountability mandate, mission, goals and exit competencies of the program, and addressing the UGME learning environment including mistreatment of students.
In her role, Dr. Holmes will continue to lead and manage undergraduate medical education within the Faculty of Medicine. Working and collaborating with the Regional Associate Deans, and as Chair of the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee, she will continue to play a key role in fulfilling UBC’s academic health vision in undergraduate medical education across the province of British Columbia and ensure that undergraduate medical education activities align with the Faculty of Medicine’s 2021-2026 strategic plan.
We look forward to our continued work with Dr. Holmes as she enters her second term in this role. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Holmes on her reappointment.
June 2022
2022 Faculty Salary Increases
The faculty salary increase process for 2022 is now underway. Thank you for returning the completed faculty salary increase spreadsheets to us in a timely manner. Some of the upcoming key dates to keep in mind are as follows:
June 7 – 9: Increase components loaded to Workday. These will appear on the Additional Data tab in the Personal section. Compensation will not yet change.
June 7 – 15: Freeze period. Do not initiate any transactions for faculty members included in the increase spreadsheets.
June 13 – 15: Compensation increased in Workday.
June 15 – 30: For those faculty members who have an “up/down” compensation model (i.e., as General Salary Plan amounts increase, Clinical Allowance Plan amounts are to be decreased), please process the corresponding compensation change to reduce the clinical earnings amount in Workday to prevent overpayment on July 15th.
June 30: 1% lump sum processed for eligible members of the bargaining unit.
Workday Freeze
There is a freeze for certain Workday transactions from June 7 to June 15. Please refer to the attached ‘processing’ spreadsheet which provides further details. Please keep in mind that only those eligible for the 2022 increases fall under the freeze. For all other faculty (i.e. Postdocs, RA’s, Clinical Faculty, Academic Administrator appointments etc.), you can continue to submit transactions in Workday.
2022 Faculty of Medicine Awards
A reminder that nominations are open for the 2022 Faculty of Medicine Awards (see attached). Please review the new award categories and nominations guidelines carefully. Please submit your nominations by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, June 10, 2022 to fom.recognition@ubc.ca.
Academic Renewal Round 2
The call for proposals for academic renewal funding has been sent. The original email is attached for your reference. The deadline for proposals will be September 2, 2022 EOD and space approval and financial validation must be in place before the proposal is submitted. If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Barker.
Unpaid Clinical Fellow Offer Letters
It has been brought to our attention by the UBC Immigration Consultant that there have been a few cases whereby unpaid clinical fellow work permit applications were refused on the basis of self-funding their appointment by their own savings (i.e. not paid by UBC, their home institution, or a third party external agency). If your Department/School has any “self-funded” clinical fellows starting in your unit in the coming months, please review their funding sources and ensure they are not self-funded by their personal savings.
In addition, for a Clinical Fellow to be eligible to apply for a work permit under the LMIA exemption code C45-Foreign medical (or dental) residents and medical research fellows, it is required that the offer of employment indicates “the annual income offered to the foreign national…” As such, the FoM offer letter template for clinical fellows (unpaid by UBC) has been updated and uploaded to MedNet. Please ensure that the external funding sources and amount of funding for clinical fellows (unpaid by UBC) are indicated in the offer letter. Please be mindful that UBC or a third party external agency must pay a wage/stipend similar to other clinical fellows in their field. This optimizes the success of the candidate being successful in their work permit application.
Please contact Jane.Zhang@ubc.ca or Irish.Krolikowski@ubc.ca if you have questions.
Clinical Faculty Streamlined Appointment Documents
Per Memo on Changes to Clinical Faculty Application Process dated October 30, 2020, a streamlined process where teaching need is immediate was created to minimize the processing time for clinical faculty appointments in Workday with the intention to reduce the impact on our educational programs, departments/schools, and clinical faculty members.
All streamlined appointment applications will be processed at the rank of Clinical Instructor with Department Head/School Director’s approval. The application package to the Department/School should include:
- Application for Clinical Faculty Appointment
- Confirmation from the program where the candidate will be teaching (i.e.: RAD, program director, medical director, etc.) that includes what the candidate will be scheduled for and why teaching need is immediate.
- Clinical Faculty Payment Instructions (if applicable)
- Electronic Fund Transfer Form is strongly encouraged (if applicable)
For processing streamlined appointments in Workday, please attach the required documents per Checklist for Clinical Faculty Appointment – Streamlined Process on MedNet and make sure to add a comment “Streamlined Process” in the comment section. Please note that a CV is not required for streamlined appointments.
Clinical Faculty Appointment Process for Locums
This is a reminder that locums are required to have a clinical faculty appointment if they are involved in teaching. Locums can be appointed/reappointed for shorter periods (minimum one (1) year) to allow for more frequent review on the continued need for a clinical faculty appointment. Appointment process will follow one of the pathways: streamlined appointment process or the regular process under normal circumstances.
FoM HR Roundtable
A reminder that there will be HR Roundtable on Respectful Environments on Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 10:30-12:00 pm. This will be an opportunity for you to meet and speak with Roslyn Goldner, Executive Director, Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) and Robyn Campol, Learning Environment Advisor, REDI. More information on this Roundtable session can be found here. To RSVP, please click this link, by Friday, June 10, 2022.
FoM Workday HR Community of Practice
We have some updates and information to share with the Workday HR CoP group.
Contingent Workers
This is a reminder that both the Term of Use document (attached) and the HR fast track form will need to be filled, signed, and approved for hiring existing or new contingent worker apts. Please email Margarita Reyes margarita.reyes@ubc.ca for approval.
All contingent worker appointments must be renewed on an annual basis. Appointments should not exceed one year.
New BC Minimum Wage, effective June 1, 2022
Per HR Network News, as of June 1, 2022, UBC’s Integrated Service Centre (ISC) department will automatically raise the hourly rate of any employees paid below the new minimum wage to the new rate of $15.65/hour in Workday.
If your Department/School has salaried students, please ensure that their salary is at least equivalent to the minimum wage for the number of hours they work.
Work Permit Renewals and MSP Coverage
Per UBC HR Memorandum dated January 13, 2022, if an employee works in BC under a work permit and is enrolled in the Medical Services Plan (MSP), the employee’s MSP coverage will end at the end of the month that their work permit expires and will be reinstated upon receipt of a new work permit. For this reason, it is imperative that employees on work permit apply as far in advance of the expiry date of their current work permit as possible. This will avoid a lapse in MSP coverage and ensure that these employees can legally continue to work for UBC.
A reminder that administrators can keep on top of visa/permit expiry dates for your faculty, staff & students by running the report “Foreign Worker Permit Information – Distributed“. You can view IRCC processing times here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/check-processing-times.html
Job Aid – Changing Faculty From Paid to Unpaid
Attached is the updated job aid for switching faculty members (e.g. Adjunct Professors) from “term” to “unpaid term” when their compensation plan has ended. The steps in the job aid will ensure the faculty member’s unpaid appointment will be coded correctly as “unpaid term” with no compensation plans. This has been uploaded to MedNet under FoM Specific Job Aids.
Support Employees to Complete Onboarding Tasks
All new and re-hires must complete all onboarding tasks in Workday. It is especially important that they complete the following tasks as soon as they are appointed to avoid payment, tax slip, or benefits coverage issues.
- Provide a primary address
- Complete the payment election
- Complete direct deposit tasks
- Complete tax elections
- Complete benefits enrollment (if eligible)
You can run the “Onboarding Status Summary – Distributed” report to see which employees have not yet completed their onboarding tasks by reviewing the “Not Started” and “In Progress” columns, and send reminders to these employees to complete their onboarding tasks in Workday. The “onboarding effective date” of the report defaults to 90 days ago to get recent hires but can be changed to cover a longer or shorter periods.
If you have new hires who don’t have a SIN to complete some of the tasks above because they just arrived BC from outside of Canada, please refer to May 2022 Faculty HR newsletter for information on how to appoint them correctly in Workday and avoid payment issues while they wait for their SIN.
Employees without Direct Deposit Report
Senior HR Partner can run a report called “Employees without Direct Deposit – Distributed” and get a list of employees without direct deposit in Workday in your sup orgs. We encourage you to run this report and remind employees on the list to set up direct deposit in Workday in a timely manner to prevent payment issues and financial hardship for these employees.
Reminder! Vacation Accruals During Maternity/Parental Leave
Depending on the employee group, employees on maternity or parental leave may be entitled to pro-rated vacation accruals. You can obtain those vacation accruals by submitting a ticket to the ISC after the employee’s leave has started. The ISC will provide you with the vacation accrual information, which you can then use to calculate their vacation entitlement. Add the additional vacation time to the employee’s time off balance using the Maintain Accrual BP.
Dr. Paul Winwood extended as Regional Associate Dean, Northern BC, UBC and Associate Vice-President, Northern Medical Program, UNBC
A message from Dermot Kelleher, Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President, Health and Roger Wong, Vice Dean, Education.
We are pleased to announce the extension of Dr. Paul Winwood as the Regional Associate Dean (RAD), Northern BC effective July 1, 2022 until June 30, 2024. Dr. Winwood serves as the RAD, Northern BC in the Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia and Associate Vice-President, Northern Medical Program (NMP), University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC).
Dr. Winwood is responsible for ensuring a high-quality educational and research experience for faculty as well as all learners and trainees in the North, working with the University of Northern BC and Northern Health. Over this next term, he will continue to integrate regional medical teaching, training and research and ensure alignment with strategic plans of the Faculty of Medicine and UBC, building on the momentum and success of the implementation of the UNBC Division of Medical Sciences, the expansion of health professional programs to the North and the development of research activities.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Winwood on his extension.
May 2022
2022 Faculty Salary Increases
The process to administer the July 1, 2022 faculty salary increases has begun. Please refer to the attached email with important dates and upcoming deadlines.
Annual Honorary Reappointment Process
A reminder that the deadline to return your School/Department’s completed Honorary Reappointment spreadsheet is Tuesday, May 10th, 2022. Your Department/School should have received a link to view your Honorary Reappointment spreadsheet through OneDrive. Please note that Faculty Relations confirms that a separate Termination BP is not required for anyone for which there is “N” in Column A (Terminate position as of June 30, 2022).
2022 Faculty of Medicine Awards
Nominations are now open for the 2022 Faculty of Medicine Awards (see attached announcement). Please review the new award categories and nominations guidelines carefully. Please submit your nominations by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, June 10, 2022 to fom.recognition@ubc.ca.
Expiring Faculty PD Funds
On April 13, 2022, Central HR sent out a customized e-statement to faculty members who have PD Funds expiring on June 30th, 2022, please see attached for a copy of the communique. The communique was not sent to those who do not have funds expiring this year. If faculty members have questions about their expiring PD funds amount, please contact HR at faculty.pd@ubc.ca.
Academic Renewal Round 2
Our second call for proposals for academic renewal funding has officially been sent out. The original email is attached for your reference. The deadline for proposals will be September 2, 2022 EOD and space approval and financial validation must be in place before the proposal is submitted. If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Barker or Sandy Liu.
Administration of Salary Awards Workshop
Our team will be running a workshop on the Administration of Salary Awards (from an HR perspective). The intention of the workshop will be to provide an overview of what Departments/Schools are required to provide in an application when a faculty has registered as an applicant for a salary award. The workshop will not cover the research component of the application, but will focus on determining an eligible rank of the candidate, identify what supporting documents are required and what is required on the Department Head’s Form for the application to move through to the next steps. The target audience include Administrators and HR Manager/Coordinators in Departments/Schools with academic faculty. A date will be set for June and sent out to Administrators.
Direct Deposit Forms & Mailing Addresses for Foreign Workers
As mentioned in our April newsletter, additional language and a separate Payroll Direct Deposit Authorization Form have been added to the offer letters for term appointees not in the Faculty Association, including Research Associates, Postdoctoral Research Fellows, and Paid Term Appointments, to collect new hires’ direct deposit information and confirm that employees will update their banking elections in Workday prior to their first pay. Please visit the Faculty Relations website for the latest offer letter templates for term appointees.
We are aware that some foreign workers may not have a Canadian bank account set up as of the beginning of their appointment because they are waiting for their SIN to be approved. If this is the case, administrators can proceed with processing the foreign workers’ appointment in Workday without a signed Payroll Direct Deposit Form with the condition that the foreign worker has a valid work permit and a proof of application for a SIN within three (3) days of the start date of their employment.
Additionally, we strongly recommend administrators to enter the correct mailing addresses at the Pre-Hire step in Workday, especially in cases whereby the employee is unable to set up their direct deposit at the start of their appointment. Payroll has identified incorrect Workday mailing addresses as a common problem that is resulting in cheques being lost or sent to incorrect addresses. Thank you in advance for your efforts in obtaining data and entering correct addresses into Workday with the goal of preventing financial hardship for these employees.