By Breeonne Baxter on May 5, 2015
UBC has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2015, the only post-secondary institution to be named to the list. This special designation recognizes the employers that offer the country’s best benefits for younger workers.
UBC received this award, for its work on attracting and retaining young employees, for the third year in a row. Some of the services that UBC offers to support young employees:
New grads who work at UBC can continue to benefit from many aspects of the university experience, including access to UBC Library, Canada’s second largest research library; access to one of Canada’s largest intramural programs; opportunities to participate in on campus clubs and events; and opportunities to work with or alongside some of the world’s best researchers and innovators.
Posted in Uncategorized | Link | No Comments
By Breeonne Baxter on April 22, 2015
UBC has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2015, for the fourth straight year.
UBC’s many sustainability oriented initiatives include the Sustainability Coordinators Program involving over 80 staff and faculty, the Sustainability Ambassadors Peer Program for students, and, as part of the “zero waste” program, achieving a waste diversion rate of 67%.
Other green initiatives include:
- UBC was the first university in Canada to develop a sustainable development policy in 1997, followed by the opening of the first sustainability office in 1998.
- UBC partnered with other BC-based universities in 2008 to write and sign the “Climate Change Statement of Action for Canada” that commits signatories to develop emissions reductions and develop annual greenhouse gas inventories.
- Over 1,000 UBC employees participated in the spring and fall Bike to Work Week campaigns – riding over 10,000 kilometres. UBC was recognized as best workplace and best in the higher education category for its participation levels.
- In support of a provincial-wide initiative, the University has installed 20 electric vehicle charging station that are available for use by employees with electric vehicles.
- UBC’s new “Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility” uses clean wood chippings and sawmill residues to generate up to two megawatts of energy for the Vancouver campus, producing enough electricity to power 1,500 homes as well as reducing the university’s natural gas consumption by 12 percent.
Read the 2013/2014 Annual Sustainability Report to learn more about UBC’s sustainability efforts, or visit sustain.ubc.ca.
Posted in Uncategorized | Link | No Comments
By Breeonne Baxter on March 31, 2015
UBC is proud to be named as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers in 2015, as ranked by Mediacorp Canada Inc. This prestigious contest rewards Canadian companies that stand out through their efforts to create diverse, inclusive workplaces.
“What an honour! This award recognizes employers that have exceptional diversity and inclusiveness programs in the workplace,” said Dr. Sara-Jane Finlay, UBC’s Associate Vice President, Equity and Inclusion. “At UBC, we strive to create an environment that recognizes the importance of excellence, equity, and mutual respect for our students, faculty and staff.”
Some of the reasons why UBC was selected as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers 2015:
- established an Equity and Inclusion Office, which encourages dialogue on equity and inclusivity on campus and provides education and training to heighten awareness of human rights, equity and diversity across campus — the office also meets with all new academic heads to discuss the advancement of equity and diversity at UBC.
- through the university’s Equity Enhancement Fund, sponsored six on-campus projects that increased awareness of equity and diversity, including the Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy school’s “Inclusive Campus” campaign to promote equity in the participation of students with disabilities in health and human service professional programs
- the university organizes campus-wide barrier-free recruitment and selection workshops and is currently working on initiatives to advance the recruitment and selection of persons with disabilities, in partnership with local community organizations.
- appointed a Director of Intercultural Understanding Strategy Development to help develop a framework for advancing UBC’s commitment to intercultural understanding, which acknowledges the existing and growing diversity of the university’s student body, faculty, and staff — as part of this initiative UBC conducted interviews with faculty and staff and organized student focus groups in order to identify barriers to intercultural understanding on campus.
- also maintains an Aboriginal Strategic Plan to enhance recruitment, support and advancement of Aboriginal staff and faculty.
- organizes an annual Gender Diversity in Leadership Forum to connect female faculty members to leaders in their Faculties as well as within the University, and maintains a Leadership Advisory Group, which is responsible for expanding existing leadership opportunities at UBC and increasing diversity in related succession pipelines.
- offers “equity briefings” for search committees responsible for senior-level academic positions.
- welcomed additional facilitators of the university’s “Positive Space” campaign, which aims to make UBC a more receptive and welcoming place for LGBT individuals — and has offered approximately 180 workshops to staff and students on LGBT issues since 2002.
For more information on UBC’s people practices, please visit Focus on People.
Posted in Uncategorized | Link | No Comments
By Breeonne Baxter on March 5, 2015

See the Vancouver and Okanagan 2014 Workplace Experiences Survey results at https://focusonpeople.ubc.ca/workplace-experiences-survey/.
We have a list of the units receiving a unit report in the coming weeks, available at https://focusonpeople.ubc.ca/workplace-experiences-survey/. Please contact your HR Advisor if you need assistance in interpreting the reports.
Posted in Workplace Experiences Survey | Link | No Comments
By Breeonne Baxter on June 2, 2014
Recognizing the contributions of staff members to the UBC community, in 2014 eleven President’s Staff Awards have been awarded to staff at the Vancouver campus. The President’s Staff Awards recognize the personal achievements and contributions to UBC and to the vision and goals of the University.
The 2014 recipients are:
Leadership
- Ann Campbell, Director, Office of the VP Research & International
- Lowell McPhail, Managing Director, International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD)
Creativity & Innovation
- Erick James, Lab Manager, Botany
- Doug Polson, Technical Supervisor, Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Enhancing the UBC Experience
- Sandy Lapsky, Administrator, Geography
- Stacey Simpson, International Student Coordinator, Dean’s Office, Faculty of Science
Global Citizenship
- BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU) Group: Kate Turcotte, Fahra Rajabali, Shannon, Piedt, Diana Leung, and Aybaniz Ibrahimova; Development Neurosciences and Child Health.
- Andy Johnson, Flow Cytometry Manager, Biomedical Research Centre
Emerging Leadership
- Devni De Silva, Assistant Director Finance & Operations, UBC Press
- Samantha Turner, Research Communication Coordinator, Wine Research Centre
Advancing Diversity & Inclusion
- Carola Hibsch-Jetter, Manager, Strategic Initiatives, Dean’s Office, Faculty of Science
We will have full citations for the PSA recipients available this fall.
Learn more about Staff Awards at UBC at http://www.focusonpeople.ubc.ca/awards/.
Posted in Uncategorized | Link | No Comments