The Okanagan campus of UBC shares in the reputational benefits of an established institution that ranks at the top tier of higher education institutions in Canada and among the top 50 in the world. As a recently established campus of UBC with a prior tradition of providing strong liberal arts and sciences education, its relatively small size enables it to be flexible and quickly responsive to opportunities, even while it is a highly diverse institution that comprises a wide variety of visions, intellectual and personal perspectives, and academic and social needs. This newness, flexibility, and diversity create an exciting campus where the possibilities appear unlimited. Representing such a complex entity on a board responsible for the governance of the entire university is a profound and challenging responsibility.
My vision for representing UBC Okanagan on the Board of Governors is to ensure that the student, faculty, and community elements of the campus are understood and appropriately resourced and supported to take advantage of the opportunities its unique profile provide it.
If elected as your faculty representative on the UBC Board of Governors, my sensibilities will be informed by a successful academic teaching and publishing career alongside extensive academic administrative experience in Canada and the US. Those experiences have provided a good understanding of the diverse needs of a university campus. Long-time family connections in the Okanagan Valley and in B.C. and Alberta also give me a sensitivity to the regional context in which UBC Okanagan should be supported to flourish.