University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is located on Point Grey in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located just 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver, it is located on the water, near several beaches, with views to the local mountains, and the 763-hectare Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which serves as a green-belt between the campus and the city.UBC, along with the park and the residential University Hill, is in the University Endowment Lands.
|
image:Chem1.JPG
One of UBC's oldest buildings: Chemistry | |
| Motto: Tuum est (Previous official translation: "It's up to you"; now: "It's yours") | |
| Founded | 1908 |
| School type | Public |
| Chancellor | Allan McEachern |
| President | Martha Piper |
| Location | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Enrollment | 28,893 undergrad, 6,489 grad |
| Campus surroundings | Forest, ocean, beach |
| Campus size | 425 acres maintained |
| Mascot | Thunderbird |
Facts and figures
In 2001, UBC had 1,740 full-time faculty, and 7,339 non-faculty full-time employees. It boasts 28,893 undergraduate students, 6,489 graduate students, and 180,000 alumni in 120 countries. UBC had an operating income of $366 million CAD in 2001. Buildings on campus occupy 1,091,997 gross m2, located on 172 hectares of maintained land. Current UBC president is Martha Piper, and VP Students Brian Sullivan.
In 2001/2002, UBC had one of the lowest undergraduate tuition rates in Canada, at $2,181 CAD per year for a full-time program. This was due to a freezing of tuition rates by the New Democratic Party government. In 2002 the Liberal government came into power, and removed the tuition freeze. In 2002/2003 UBC increased its undergraduate and graduate tuition rates by roughly 30%; give or take 10%, depending on faculty/school. This has led to increased enrollment and better facilites, but also to student unrest, union strikes, and population unrest. UBC plans to increase tuition fees by another 30-40% in the upcoming 2003/2004 Academic Year.
Alumni
The most famous alumni from UBC include:
- Nobel laureate, economist Robert Mundell
- Supreme Court Justice Beverley McLachlin
- past B.C. premierss Ujjal Dosanjh and Mike Harcourt
- author and historian Pierre Berton
- opera singers Ben Heppner and Judith Forst
- composer Michael Conway Baker
- educator and Man In Motion, Rick Hansen
- writer William Gibson
- filmmaker Bruce Sweeney
- actor Nicola Cavendish
- astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason
- senator Pat Carney
- former Canadian prime ministers Kim Campbell and John Turner
- University of Victoria president Dr. David Turpin
- journalists Allan Fotheringham and Stevie Cameron
Famous instructors
- David Suzuki, biologist
- Nobel prize winner in chemistry 1993, Michael Smith
Brief History
- In 1877, the history of UBC actually begins, when a proposal for a provincial university was first made.
- 1899, Vancouver College is created and is affiliated with Montreal's McGill University.
- 1906, UBC was taken over by McGill and was called McGill University College of British Columbia.
- 1908, the University of British Columbia was formed.
- 1910, Point Grey is chosen as the location for the new campus.
- 1914 marks the first year of construction at the new Point Grey location.
- 1922 The Great Trek: students frustrated with over-crowded condtions, from the present downtown campus to the Point Grey location, after collecting 56,000 signatures for a petition to complete the new campus.
- 1925, UBC officially moves to the Point Grey campus.
Current Faculties and Schools
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
- Faculty of Applied Science
- School of Architecture
- Faculty of Arts
- School of Audiology and Speech Sciences
- School of Community and Regional Planning
- Continuing Studies Department
- Faculty of Dentistry
- Faculty of Education
- Faculty of Forestry
- Faculty of Graduate Studies
- College of Health Disciplines
- School of Human Kinetics
- School of Journalism
- Faculty of Law
- School of Library, Archival and Information Studies
- Faculty of Medicine
- School of Music
- School of Nursing
- School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- School of Rehabilitation Sciences
- Sauder School of Business
- Faculty of Science
- School of Social Work and Family Studies
Sites of interest
Gardens
- UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research [1]: the first UBC department, it holds a collection of over 8000 different kinds of plants used for research, conservation and education
- Nitobe Memorial Garden [1]: built to honour Japanese scholar Inazo Nitobe, the garden has been the subject of a 15+ year study by a UBC professor, who believes that its construction hides a number of impressive features, including references to Japanese philosophy and mythology, shadow bridges visible only at certain times of year, and positioning of a lanterns that is filled with light at the exact date and time of Nitobe's death each year. The garden is behind the university's Asian Center, whose roof features a glass and wood structure from Japan's exhibit at Tokyo Expo.
Museums and Galleries
- Museum of Anthropology at UBC (MOA) [1]: mostly First Nations collections, such as totem poles. Also antique Chinese and European ceramics collections.
- Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery [1]: exhibit mostly contemporary North American art. Has two rooms (often divided into three).
Libraries
- Asian Library: The Asian Library houses the largest research collection in Asian languages in Canada, its holdings in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian and Indonesian exceeding 500,000 volumes. Special materials include the valuable Puban collection (蒲坂藏書樓藏書), Swann collection, Song Xuepeng collection (宋學鵬藏書), Jing Yi Zhai (景頤齋藏書), Japanese government publications, research materials on Chinese Canadian settlement in British Columbia and Pearl Delta Area as well as Japanese Canadian studies collections. Its rare book collection, mainly from the Puban collection, ranks 5th in North America.
- Main Library: After a recent renovation of the third-floor atrium in 2001, the Chapman Reading Commons [1] and the Chung Collection of immigration documents [1] were created. In autumn of 2003, one-third of it (formerly Ridington Computing Room and FIne Arts LIbrary) was demolished in preparation for new glass-walled study areas.
- Walter Koerner LIbrary: many newer (post-1980s) humanities books were moved here from Main Library after its creation. Its modern design (most walls are see-through glass) contrasts that of Main Library, which locates across from it through a plaza that contains a fountain and the Leon Ladner Bell Tower (ringing every half an hour, sometimes with classical music)
Performance Arts Theatres
- Chan Centre for the Performing Arts: classical music; many high school students graduate here.
- Frederic Wood Theatre ("Freddy Wood Theatre"): mostly performed by UBC's own BFA drama students.
Sports Arenas
- Aquatic Centre [1]: except for designated times, there is a charge for students and non-students alike.
- Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre: when unused during final exam periods (December and May), chairs and tables are placed inside for students to take tests.
Student Services and Residences
- Student Union Building (SUB) [1]: offices of many clubs, half a dozen restaurants, and the inexpensive 425-seat Norman Bouchard Memorial Theatre ("The Norm Theatre").
- Totem Park: A residence primarily for first and second year undergraduate students.
- Place Vanier: A residence primarily for first and second year undergraduate students.
- Gage Towers: A residence primarily for third and fourth year undergraduate students.
- Fairview: A residence primarily for graduate students.
External link
