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- Head of UBC Mathematics: The end of an era
- Nicole Tomczak-Jaegermann 1945-2022
- UBC Campus Vision 2050, in a word, lacks vision
- Louis Nirenberg (1925-2020)
- UBC: The ill-fated revolt of those who ought to know better
- Shiny, happy, oblivious science
- NSERC has lost its bearings … again
- The Learning & Research of the UBC Board of Governors (II)
- The Learning & Research committee of the UBC Board: What a difference a year makes (I)
- UBC: Failures in governance are slowing down the pace of academic renewal
- A research community at the mercy of a leaderless NSERC
- A busy first four months on the UBC Board of Governors
- Academic publishing in the time of sanctions and boycotts
- Maurice Sion: 1927 – 2018
- Robert M. Miura: 1938 – 2018
- When the Walls of Governance Come Crumbling Down
- Why I am voting against the tuition increases for domestic students
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- Why I am resigning from the directorship of the Wall institute
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Author Archives: Ghoussoub
Universities’ Soviet style PR will be saved by social media – Part I
The most discussed subject in university board meetings, after finance and capital projects of course, is most likely to be communication and its connection to public relations. Universities know that they are failing at it, yet they don’t seem to … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
5 Comments
PPP: Plagiarism, Philanthropy and Politics
Last September, I received a request to referee a mathematics paper that was submitted for publication to a serious European journal. I admit that I detest when such requests arrive, but …. the editor-in-chief is a friend that I admire … Continue reading
The Kafkaesque grip of bureaucrats on Canada’s peer review and granting process
The observer couldn’t believe what she was hearing as she watched one of the subgroups consisting of 5 panelists in NSERC’s new conference model. “The applicant has a couple of papers in the Journal of … . Does anyone know … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
13 Comments
Which bureaucracies will survive the new media age?
Tony Clement tweeted the government’s opposition to the latest CRTC ruling on usage-based billing for Internet services. I may have learned about it before his Public Affairs department did. Everyone talks about Wikileaks and the role of social media in … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
5 Comments
Is your body simply a means of transport for your head?
Michelle did it again the other day. I was in a meeting in Toronto when I received her text message: “As a university professor, do you consider your body to be simply a means of transport for your head?” I … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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21 upcoming “Pieces of Mind”
Here are some of the issues I will be posting on in the next few weeks – not necessarily in the order below. Some are ready, others need to be polished and analysed further. Please chip in if you will. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
NSERC … A Senior Scientist Speaks Out
Don Fraser, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto has taught and trained several generations of Canadian statisticians, and he is still at it. He also continues to contribute high-level research. He was –as recently as last summer– an invited … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
10 Comments
Guest Blogger John B. Walsh: Insidious buzzwords and all that jazz
Nassif Ghoussoub needs your help. Every time I go into his office to tell him what he should blog about, he simply tells me to write it myself. He is obviously desperate. Let me tell you how desperate he is. … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
3 Comments
The Brand-Free Advantage-A student’s take
Submitted by a UBC student who wishes to remain anonymous How would you describe Canada’s Universities in a few words? U of T is huge, traditional, well established, and therefore academically credible. McGill’s where the party is at and located … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
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Faculty representation: Here we go again!
A few weeks ago, in an exceptionally professional and selfless act, Darrin Lehman declined to take his position as a faculty representative on the UBC Board of Governors. This is because of the potential conflict with his current administrative position … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors
1 Comment
Assessing Science is hard! NSERC bureaucrats should know it, but then so do we!
Dozens of Canadian scientists are now back home from Ottawa after a week of “grant selecting” at NSERC. Many are self-satisfied by their 5 days of empowerment (the “Ottawa power trip”?). Others are embittered by the ever-tightening bureaucratic grip on … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
4 Comments
A maverick on the Board of Governors? You ain’t seen nothing yet
Please meet Joe Peek, the faculty who was recently elected trustee on the University of Kentucky Board. “Now that you have foolishly elected me as your faculty trustee, I have lost all respect for you, thereby fully qualifying me to … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors
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20 years of NSERC funding for Discovery
Many thanks again to Queen’s Professor, David Wehlau for rummaging with NSERC’s search engine to come up with very useful historical data for the funding of the Discovery Grants program. David was of course interested in the historical trends for … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
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UBC and U of T: A tale of two student housing initiatives
Last week, both UBC and the University of Toronto announced major plans to increase student housing opportunities on their campuses. Two completely different approaches, both motivated by the same determination to “go even more global”, and by their respective government’s … Continue reading
Knowledge and Economics require different measuring sticks
Invention and Innovation are obviously closely interrelated. But innovation is about economics, while discovery and invention are about knowledge. Innovation is about now, discovery is about now and the future. The problems arise when we start using the same measuring … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
5 Comments
Psst! Pass it on! Concerns about NSERC’s ways
An NSERC evaluation group member “who would like to remain in the background” has forwarded the following memo to a colleague “who should remain anonymous” asking him if he would forward it to the “Piece of Mind” blog. Is this … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
2 Comments
Tea partying is busting the NSF budget
US House Republicans released a continuing resolution (CR) bill proposing to cut $100B from FY11 budget. How did the National Science Foundation (NSF) fare?
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
1 Comment
Are headhunting firms shaping the leadership of Canada’s universities?
Executive search agencies, also known as headhunters, are now engaged in the recruitment of most senior administrators in Canadian universities. How important is their influence on the pool of academic leaders, and are they worth their cost?
Innovate or perish? Not so fast
Kevin Lynch is back lecturing in the Financial Post on what Canada’s researchers need to do to solve the country’s economic woes, and reminiscing about his own days in government, when he was essentially running the country’s S&T agenda before … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
3 Comments
Buying $190 million worth of excellence
At the invitation of U. Alberta’s President, Indira Samarasekera, the who’s who of Canada’s political, business, academic, and media elite converged yesterday on the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa to celebrate the establishment of the Canada Excellence Research Chair Program (CERC). The official … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
4 Comments
Piece of Mind 