In the spirit of spreading kindness and advocating for those who need it, UBC invites faculty and staff to participate in Pink Shirt Day on Wednesday, February 28.
Now a global movement, Pink Shirt Day grew from an act of kindness in Nova Scotia when a group of students supported a fellow student being bullied for wearing a pink t-shirt to school.
UBC Human Resources share ways you can get involved, resources for support and learning, a downloadable Zoom background, and more.
For the current funding year (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024), staff and research associates are welcome to submit professional development funding claims on a first-come, first-served basis until the annual funding pools are exhausted or by March 1, whichever comes first.
Professional development (PD) funds are intended to support learning activities that will enhance your workplace knowledge or skills and support your career growth at the university.
Dr. Doug Cochrane passed away on February 17, 2024.
A pediatric neurosurgeon and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Surgery, Dr. Cochrane taught in the Division of Neurosurgery for almost three decades alongside his work at BC Children’s Hospital. His contributions to the Faculty of Medicine were recognized with the Distinguished Achievement Award for Service to the University & Community in 2011.
Dr. Cochrane also served in a number of leadership roles in healthcare in the province, including as Board Chair of B.C.’s Interior Health until Feb. 2024, as well as Vice President of BC Medical Affairs and the Provincial Health Services Authority and as the founding Chair of the BC Patient Safety and Quality Council (now Health Quality BC).
Read the tribute to Dr. Cochrane from Interior Health, and a statement from B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix.
The BC, Musqueam and UBC flags were lowered on Thursday, March 7, 2024 in remembrance.
Move UBC is an annual university-wide initiative in February to encourage faculty, staff and the wider university community to reduce time spent being inactive. During Move UBC this month, find out about:
Finding ways to break up sedentary or stationary behaviour throughout the day can help you move more and feel better. Try these five easy ways to get moving during Move UBC:
Join Public Safety Canada’s Research Security Centre for a series of safeguarding science webinars. Research support staff, faculty, postdocs and grad students are invited to register for one of ten dates in February 2024.
The webinars aim to assist participants:
Climate Emergency Week at UBC, February 12–16 2024, brings together communities of climate action at UBC.
Join events, workshops and activities, and take collective action for justice, people and the planet.
In fall 2023, the Integrated Renewal Program – Student (IRP Student) began rolling out Workday Student, a renewed, reliable, and secure student information system to support UBC’s academic mission. Workday Student will replace UBC’s current student information system, connecting UBC’s HR, Finance, and Student systems in a single, configurable, and easy-to-use application.
As part of the ongoing phased launch of the new system, starting from February 26, 2024 Workday Student will launch capabilities that support students to study, advance and graduate from UBC. This launch phase will impact all UBC student information system users, including staff, faculty and current students.
Workday Student will be used for the 2024 Winter session onward, running in parallel with the current student information system, which will remain in use for activities related to 2023 Winter and 2024 Summer sessions. Learn more about the coexistence period.
The system will launch in a phased approach:
Register for the Launch 2 preparation call-in session to learn more about the upcoming changes.
Faculty and staff can learn more about using Workday Student through the training hub. Start with one of the foundational Canvas courses, then find training materials specific to tasks relevant to your role.
Teaching faculty and instructors will have access to Workday Student based on individual assignment to 2024 Winter course sections.
No action is required in Workday Student by teaching faculty and instructors until after student registration for 2024/25 course sections begins in June 2024. Find more information and resources for teaching faculty & instructors.
Explore resources on the Integrated Renewal Program – Student website:
If you have questions about the rollout, please contact the Faculty of Medicine IRP Student Team at med.IRPStudent@ubc.ca.
A message from Dermot Kelleher, Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President, Health.
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Jörg Gsponer has been appointed interim Head, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, effective to June 30, 2024.
Dr. Gsponer is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Using advanced computational methods to explore genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data, his research aims to better understand cellular processes in cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. He has made significant contributions to the field of computational biochemistry, and was awarded a Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award for Overall Excellence in recognition of his work.
As interim Head, Dr. Gsponer will provide strategic leadership to the department, helping foster excellence and innovation in education, research and service.
Dr. Gsponer’s appointment follows the leadership of Dr. Leonard Foster, who was appointed Head in 2018 following interim leadership from 2016. During his time as Head, Dr. Foster recruited nine new faculty to the Department and established new partnerships with BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the Edwin S. H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging. He also led and supported a variety of equity, diversity and inclusivity initiatives, including the establishment of one of the first departmental EDI committees in the Faculty. I would like to thank Dr. Foster, who was recently appointed Director, Life Sciences Institute, for his leadership and outstanding contributions while in this role.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Gsponer on his interim appointment.