Dr. Francis R. Andrew
Before becoming Emeritus I spent 40 years teaching and promoting languages and good writing at UBC. I have also supported the teaching of French, French Immersion and Bilingual Education. As a founding member of the Centre de la Francophonie de UBC, I have advanced the cause of a bilingual and inclusive Canada. My interest in becoming a member of Senate is to pursue this cause and also to defend the option of non-traditional students to take credit and non-credit courses at UBC.
The voices of non-traditional adult learners and the voices of the part-time, casual or adjunct instructors who teach them and the staff that support them are rarely heard on campus. As we enter a new decade with President Ono and define a new vision for UBC, it is important to keep the university open to all learners and allow members of the community to participate actively in the learning process. Continuing Education is mandated by the University Act and does not take any resources away from regular students as it is mainly self-funded. Several faculties have Continuing Education units. Continuing Studies, now Extended Learning, fills some of the gaps. In 2015, my last year as Program Director, Continuing Studies had about 16,000 registrations a year, 600 part-time instructors and 180 staff. It was second only to its counterpart at the University of Toronto. Giving a voice to all these learners and their instructors will be one of my main preoccupations as a Senator.