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Category Archives: Board of Governors
The faculty at UBC-Vancouver also want in!
It can get quite lonely for faculty representatives on the Board of Governors. I have written before about the latent disparity in status between the elected and the appointed. But there is also the occasional dreadful feeling: what if no … Continue reading
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Nota Bene
I was not surprised to receive some push back on my last blog. I have also had a chance to revisit some of the issues I raised and the way they sounded. They are important, and it is certainly my … Continue reading
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How far and how much could a university administration commit its successor?
Ever since Stephen Toope announced the date of his resignation from the presidency of UBC, I and a few other members of the Board of Governors have been struggling with some tough questions. Should this administration stop, or at least … Continue reading
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The people who let you “matter” and those who don’t
Being singled out by the Ubyssey as one of “The people who mattered at UBC in 2012-13” brought much honour and satisfaction, but also introspection. For someone who fusses regularly about whether his latest actions mattered, the mention by the venerable … Continue reading
A “piece of mind” on university governance revisited
“Your post was so highly elliptical that individuals involved will be pissed and onlookers will be puzzled,” wrote one friend. The latter part of his statement got my attention. A few other personal emails, Menzies’ comment below, and Wakefield’s column … Continue reading
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When the faculty needs to step up for their universities
Stephen Toope announced yesterday that he would be stepping down as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia at the end of June 2014. This is a very unfortunate turn of events for UBC, and not only because the guy … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors
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University Governance, Gender Equity and the 2% Solution
It has been the talk of the town. Not that UBC is addressing past gender inequity in professors’ pay, but by the way it is doing it. Other Canadian universities have distributed salary adjustments to female faculty, but UBC was … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors
Tagged Board of Governors, decentraliztion, gender equity, university governance
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The 2013 BC government budget and what it means for UBC
The BC 2013 budget document is out. It doesn’t even use the words: productivity, innovation, research, university, or college. By taking a leaf out of the feds’ work manual, the provincial government is expecting us to rejoice upon hearing that … Continue reading
A historic institutional housing action plan at UBC
Cambridge and Oxford Universities have one. The Weizmann Institute has one, and so does Harvard, Princeton, NYU, Columbia, Stanford, UCLA and UC-Irvine. And in a Canadian first, in a move that will differentiate UBC from any other university in Canada, UBC has now … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors, UBC Housing Action Plan
Tagged Housing Action Plan, Recruitment, Retention, UBC
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University governance: From UBC to the University of Virginia and back
“What’s happening at the University of Virginia is surreal, a real estate developer is now running the place,” wrote Jay Rosen, a professor of journalism at NYU. At the same time, UBC, normally at the receiving end of this kind of statement, was being commended … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors
Tagged Board of Governors, Helen Dragas, Kris Olds, Teresa Sullivan, U. Virginia, UBC
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The business community to the rescue of the research community
Tuesday’s UBC Board of Governors meeting was the best I’ve witnessed in my last four years on the Board. A worthwhile agenda loaded with potentially transformational items, a great display of sound “governing” by the Governors, a magnificent presentation by … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors
Tagged BIRS, Board of Governors, Brad Bennett, Innovation, Karen Prentice, Mitacs, Stephen Toope
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We have a plan!
A UBC Housing Action Plan that is, which –I believe– will help improve housing choice and affordability for faculty, staff, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students on the Vancouver campus. Actually, it is still only a discussion paper waiting for your … Continue reading
When University Presidents send out “few public bouquets” to Government
“Even on the most exalted throne in the world we are only sitting on our own bottom”– Michel de Montaigne. “Sometimes Canada Gets it Right” is a recent joint op-ed by U. of Toronto President, David Naylor and UBC President, Stephen Toope. … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors, Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Banting, CERC, KIP, Lazaridis, Naylor, Perimeter Institute, Toope, Tri-council, Vanier
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My opening remarks at the UBC housing forum
Various and somewhat distorted versions of my statements at yesterday’s UBC housing forum were published on several websites. I am therefore posting here the full text of my opening remarks.
“Campus as a living lab”… for sound governance and common sense
Review committees for Deans and VPs should not comprise direct aides and immediate subordinates of the person under review. Besides fueling –often unwarranted yet prevalent– skepticism vis-a-vis the evaluation process, current practices have the potential to undermine it by shutting … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors
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“A no-brainer, if you ask me”
That was in an email from a colleague at one of UBC’s better departments. “Gents, In your capacities as …, and BoG-dude (AKA faculty representative on the Board of Governors), have a look at these two links. A no-brainer, if you ask … Continue reading
Lessons learned: Housing at NYU, Columbia, Harvard, UCLA and UC-Irvine
Last June, I and a few other UBC Governors and senior staff visited NYU, Columbia, Harvard, UCLA, and UC-Irvine. Just like UBC, these universities are located in areas where housing prices are prohibitive. And just like them, UBC is in … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors, UBC Housing Action Plan
Tagged Columbia, Harvard, NYU, ubc housing, uc irvine, UCLA
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The problem with developing a “Housing Action Plan” for UBC (II) – Cash Flow
The UBC administration is quite aware of how critical the issue of housing is to the future of the university and is committed to addressing it. The President said as much in his latest town hall meeting, and the Board … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors, UBC Housing Action Plan
Tagged land leases, ubc administration, uc irvine
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The problem with developing a “Housing Action Plan” for UBC (I) – Attitudes
Many hurdles face the prospect of a sound “Housing Action Plan” for UBC, not the least of which being personal attitudes shaped by Vancouver’s real estate subculture, the variable academic standards within the university, the ethical issues of eligibility and … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors, UBC Housing Action Plan
Tagged ubc administration, ubc community, ubc housing
3 Comments
