To: Faculty, staff and students in Vancouver and the Okanagan
One hundred years ago, the new University of British Columbia opened its doors with few resources, modest ambitions, and a strong resolve. Our founders welcomed UBC’s first students in 1915 with a promise to “provide a satisfactory education” and to conduct “respectable” research.
What a difference a century makes! UBC’s best – now acknowledged to rank among the best in the world – have proved that we can aim much higher. Working together, our faculty, staff, and students have demonstrated that our pursuit of excellence in learning, teaching, and research is making a lasting and positive difference to our world.
I now invite you to join us, in celebrating this milestone year in UBC’s history.
At our Okanagan campus, on September 28th, we will mark both the UBC Centennial and the 10th Anniversary of UBC Okanagan. The ceremony will feature the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Okanagan Nation Alliance and the University of British Columbia.
September 30th will then see the launch of UBC’s Centennial and the opening of the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre on our Vancouver campus. For those of you unable to attend the event, it will be webcast live at http://www.ubc100.ca/live
UBC has grown over the last 100 years, from a provincial institution with just 379 students to an internationally renowned research powerhouse with 60,000 students and more than 300,000 alumni across the globe. Wherever they may be, our talented graduates are building upon their education to enrich the social, environmental, and economic sectors of their society, and contributing to the well-being of their fellow citizens.
I invite you to make your own mark during this Centennial year, by submitting a pin to the Global Impact Map at http://www.ubc100.ca/impact-map or by attending one of the many Centennial programs and initiatives taking place on both our campuses. There is also an opportunity for faculty, staff and students in Vancouver to be part of a historic photograph to be taken on September 30th, recreating the iconic ‘UBC’ photo taken at the end of the Great Trek in 1922. Further details can be found at http://www.ubc100.ca/2015
This Centennial not only offers us the occasion to celebrate a century of success; it also gives us an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the goals of an exceptional learning environment, true global citizenship, a civil and sustainable society, and a program of outstanding research, all in the service of the people of British Columbia, Canada, and the world.
I hope you will join us on this exciting journey!
Martha C. Piper
Interim President and Vice-Chancellor