President’s awards for staff: Call for nominations
February 18, 2025
Do you have a colleague who inspires you to be your best, or know a staff member who made innovative contributions to shape the future of teaching, research or work at UBC?
To recognize and celebrate those who demonstrate outstanding achievement and excellence within the UBC community, faculty, staff and students are invited to nominate staff for the below award categories by 4 pm, Friday, March 28.
Visit the UBC Focus on People website to read past recipient profiles and their contributions to making UBC a great place to work, learn and research.
Award categories
President’s Service Awards for Excellence
The President’s Service Awards for Excellence are the premier staff award at UBC, and honour staff with sustained exceptional contribution. All staff with five or more years of continuous service are eligible for this award.
President’s Staff Awards (Vancouver)
The President’s Staff Awards honour exceptional contribution from staff in specific areas that are important to UBC. All staff at UBC Vancouver with two or more years of continuous service are eligible.
The six categories of the President’s Staff Awards include:
- Leadership
- Enhancing the UBC Experience
- Creativity and Innovation
- Advancing Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence
- Wellbeing
- Collaborative Excellence
The call for nominations for the UBC Okanagan Principal’s Staff Awards will be announced later this year.
This call for nominations was shared by UBC Broadcast on February 12.
February 13, 2025
A message from Robert McMaster, Vice Dean, Research and Fiona Dalton, President & CEO, Providence Health Care.
We are pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Darryl Knight as Associate Dean, Research, Providence Health Care Research Institute (Providence Research), UBC Faculty of Medicine for a five-year term effective to June 30, 2029. He has also been reappointed as President, Providence Research and Vice President, Research and Academic Affairs at Providence Health Care.
Dr. Knight is a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and a cell biologist with an international reputation in the area of lung and airway remodeling. He has previously served as Associate Director of the James Hogg Research Centre (now the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation).
Dr. Knight is also a founding member of several prominent health research initiatives and currently holds leadership roles in a variety of national and international research networks. His efforts to enhance collaboration between researchers, clinicians and policymakers have been instrumental in strengthening Providence Research’s mission to improve patient care and health systems.
In his previous term as Associate Dean, Research, Providence Research and President, Providence Research, Dr. Knight’s leadership has been integral in advancing Providence Research’s strategic goals, including enhancing interdisciplinary research, fostering meaningful community partnerships and driving impactful innovations in health care. His vision for the future of Providence Research — as part of the care, research and innovation network working with the new St. Paul’s Hospital at the Jim Pattison Medical Campus — focuses on expanding research capacity, increasing Providence Research’s global visibility, and further strengthening its contributions to clinical research, health policy and practice.
We extend our sincere congratulations to Dr. Knight on his reappointment and look forward to his continued leadership as Providence Research builds on its world-class reputation for excellence in health research.
February 11, 2025
The upcoming Beyond 75: Imagining the future of medicine at UBC event in Vancouver has been rescheduled from February 26 to Wednesday, April 23, due to important renovations currently underway at Vancouver General Hospital.
All registrations have automatically been carried over to the new date, and members of the community registered to attend have been contacted via the email address attached to their registration.
If you have registered but are no longer able to attend the new date, please use the linked form to update your RSVP, or contact communications.med@ubc.ca.
- Date: Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 5–6:45 pm (reception to follow)
- Location: Vancouver General Hospital | Virtual option available
Please note that in-person registrations have reached capacity at this time.
February 10, 2025
Deepen your understanding of disability awareness and inclusion in the workplace by joining this online workshop developed specifically for Faculty of Medicine faculty, staff and learners.
Led by equity advisor Dr. Jon Breen, each session includes interactive discussions with participants, interviews with researchers and people with disabilities and an opportunity to identify and analyze the many disability-related realities of the workplace.
Join an upcoming workshop date to enhance your awareness, understanding and commitment to disability inclusion in the workplace.
Workshop dates: February 25, March 13, April 16, May 6, May 23 & June 18 (each session offers a repeat of the workshop)
Learn more about how Dr. Breen and Dr. Susan Forwell are increasing awareness and understanding of disability in the workplace at UBC and beyond through the development of these workshops.
February 7, 2025
Faculty members at UBC Vancouver are invited to submit a proposal to work with UBC’s Emerging Media Lab to explore how to incorporate technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning into your teaching, learning or research projects.
The Emerging Media Lab is an experimental lab space where faculty, staff, and students from all disciplines collaborate to evolve learning by creating tools and techniques using emerging media technologies.
Submit a proposal for the summer 2025 cohort by March 15, 2025.
February 7, 2025
UBC’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) application will update with a new name and look on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
If you use UBC’s VPN service, AnyConnect will be replaced with a new, rebranded version called Cisco Secure Client from 9 am on February 18.
After the update, you will notice a new name (Cisco Secure Client) and a refreshed look when you connect to VPN, but functionality and the way you connect will stay the same.
February 7, 2025
Climate Emergency Week at UBC, February 10–14, 2025, brings together communities of climate action at UBC.
Join events, workshops and activities, and take collective action for justice, people and the planet.
Featured events
- Wednesday, Feb. 12, 10 am | Workplace Sustainability Showcase
- Join UBC Vancouver Campus + Community Planning for a celebration of the inspiring sustainability initiatives driven by UBC staff and faculty across campus. From waste diversion to community gardens, discover how your colleagues are championing sustainability within their departments—and learn how you can get involved! The event will consist of project presentations, a walk-around tour of different projects, and refreshments.
- Wednesday, Feb. 12, 12 pm | Climate Conversation: The ‘Climate’ of Political Polarization and Misinformation in Canadian Politics
- In this tumultuous period in Canadian politics, concerns over issues like polarization as it relates to climate change, and climate misinformation are front of mind for many. Join the Climate Solutions Research Collective and the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions for an informal conversation on climate misinformation in Canada.
