Start an evolution
Principal’s Message
UBC generates ideas that start evolutions. Ideas that change the way people think and the way the world works. We see this change as an evolution, one that improves upon what has come before and inspires the generations that follow.
At the UBC College for Interdisciplinary Studies (CFIS), we see unprecedented opportunities in the years ahead as we prepare to respond to the profound challenges of the future.
Our start an evolution campaign has two ambitious goals—to raise $1.5 billion and to double the number of alumni engaged in the life of the University.
Some of our most complex local and global issues—environment and sustainability, civil society and social policy, health and wellbeing—require the collaborative effort of engaged individuals to inspire breakthroughs, provoke deeper understanding, and ignite practical solutions.
Why? To increase our capacity to change the world for the better, through student learning, research, and community engagement. You can help start an evolution through involvement and investment. This can be as simple as reconnecting with UBC or as generous as making a donation. We invite you to get involved and combine your energy with ours. Together with UBC, you can help create solutions for the issues you care about. This is your opportunity to make a contribution with long lasting effects. This is your chance to help start an evolution and support thinking that can change the world.
We have great aspirations and great expectations. Our UBC students, researchers, and staff are working hard to achieve that competitive edge—that quality of thought and practice—necessary to meet challenges, exploit opportunities, and deliver benefits. Our purpose is to find common ground among academic disciplines and researchers, and to bring individuals, communities, and supporters into new relationships that promote long-term, continuous impact.
I invite you to join us in this transformative process. Your support of our people and projects, through your time, your talent, and your resources, will expand that margin of excellence and quality of engagement which will ensure the resilience of our communities. When we share our courage to make new connections, our curiosity to grapple with complex issues, and our compassion to build better communities, we can accomplish great things and build a future worthy of the generations that will come after us.
What could we do together?
Hugh Brock Principal, CFIS
What factors allow children to thrive? //
Inspiring policy on children’s success
Clyde Hertzman asked this question as a physician and epidemiologist when he began investigating the processes and qualities that lead to success in adulthood. His pursuit of answers evolved into the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), which rallies British Columbia’s six largest universities around reducing inequality in childhood development. “HELP is uniquely positioned to draw on the research strength and expertise of scholars across a wide continuum,” he says, “to create, promote, and apply new knowledge through leading interdisciplinary research to help children thrive.” By identifying factors in a child’s environment that influence health, educational performance, and economic potential, HELP inspires child and family-friendly policy and practice. HELP’s ongoing mission has attracted funding from the British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Development, and the support of donors such as The Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation and The Lawson Foundation.
Clyde Hertzman is Canada Research Chair in Population Health and Human Development, and jointly-appointed Professor in HELP and the Faculty of Medicine’s School of Population and Public Health. He has played a central role in linking population health to human development, emphasizing the special role of early childhood development as a determinant of health. Hertzman and HELP have such a tremendous influence on national and international policy that HELP was named the global knowledge hub for the World Health Organization Commission on the social determinants of health. Hertzman himself was named Health Researcher of the Year, the highest scientific honour from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. But Hertzman’s work is far from done. HELP’s next project is to develop a national monitoring program for all regions in Canada to determine whether children across the country are truly thriving.
how does culture affect community? //
Empowering indigenous communities The Province of British Columbia is engaged in a Treaty process with indigenous communities which, once completed, will place enormous planning responsibilities on First Nations. Indigenous communities face a growing demand for individuals and teams skilled in leading consultative planning processes that address the specific challenges of urban and rural population shifts, employment rates, health care and housing—in the process, developing the infrastructure for strong families and engaged communities. Only a handful of university campuses across Canada have begun to address the needs of indigenous communities within their planning curricula. UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning has an opportunity to provide leadership and support in moving the process of planning, discourse, and engagement forward by offering an academic concentration in indigenous planning within its master’s degree program. Leonie Sandercock leads SCARP’s Indigenous Planning Initiative through its pilot phase. As a Professor in SCARP, she uses film as a catalyst for dialogue with First Nations on the possibilities of healing, reconciliation, and partnership. She and Giovanni Attili recently completed Finding Our Way, a documentary that looks at relations between First Nations and non-Native Canadians in northern BC.
This initiative is supported by two key elements: an Adjunct Practice Professor in Aboriginal Planning to bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical application, and scholarship support to attract indigenous students to take up this learning opportunity. By developing individuals and teams capable of leading consultative planning processes in First Nations communities, indigenous communities can engage with professional planners equipped with culturally appropriate approaches to community development, and become empowered with the skills and knowledge to achieve their aspirations for sustainable social and economic development.
Like canaries in coal mines, seahorses are flagship species that allow us to better understand and conserve marine life and resources. In the 1980s, Amanda Vincent was a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge when she discovered that seahorses had never been studied in the wild. In the 1990s, her global detective work revealed that many seahorse species were facing extreme pressure from overexploitation, and entire marine ecosystems were being damaged. In 1996 Vincent and Heather Koldewey of the Zoological Society of London launched Project Seahorse. They established an international team of researchers and community development staff to protect seahorse populations and improve the state of marine resources for those who depend on seahorse fishing. Vincent brought Project Seahorse’s headquarters to UBC in 2002 when she joined the Fisheries Centre as Canada Research Chair in Marine Conservation. By then the team had evolved to 40 researchers, students, and staff, with projects and alumni working on every continent. “We’re a small team that achieves big results,” says Vincent. “Not only has Project Seahorse helped protect the world’s most fragile and biodiverse marine ecosystems. It has also been a launching pad for many brilliant and dedicated young scientists—the next generation of conservationists.”
Vincent’s appreciation of the interdependencies between marine life and human communities has ignited bold partnerships. Project Seahorse has teamed with the Zoological Society of London, John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and TRAFFIC network’s East Asia office in Hong Kong. In the Philippines, the Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation leads regional conservation initiatives. In honour of her conservation efforts, Amanda Vincent received the inaugural Whitley Award in 1994, which enabled her to collaborate with Asian partners to study the basic biology of exploited seahorse populations and to assess conservation implications of the trade. She has since received the Chevron Conservation Award, the Pew Fellowship, the Rolex Award for Enterprise, and was shortlisted for the Indianapolis Prize. TIME Magazine named her a leader for the 21st Century. Project Seahorse’s use of the charismatic seahorse to focus global efforts on marine conservation has attracted a wide range of donors, from Guylian Chocolates—famous for its seahorse and seashell-shaped chocolates—to individual supporters who care about the wellbeing of the sea. Thirteen-year-old Tessa Exley heard the call for support. Over seven years, she has raised $1500 to help secure a future for our oceans.
Hippocampus breviceps. Photo by David Harasti. Guylian Seahorses of the World 2005. Project Seahorse
What songs are seahorses singing? //
Listen to the lessons of seahorses
How will green buildings change our future? //
Building the next generation of green buildings
Over the next 20 years the world’s urban population is projected to increase by two billion people, increasing the demand for sustainable urban infrastructure. UBC’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) will be a flagship facility that engages corporations, governments, and communities in sustainable building initiatives and practices. CIRS is led by John Robinson, who is also Executive Director of the University Sustainability Initiative and jointly-appointed Professor in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, and the Department of Geography. His research focuses on the intersection of sustainability, social and technological change, behavioural change, and community engagement processes. While the mainstream green building movement emphasizes reducing the environmental impact of building construction and operation, CIRS will lead a new model that lives within existing energy flows and improves its local footprint. CIRS will harvest waste heat and rainwater to supply all of its heating and potable water needs; collect energy and export it to nearby buildings; biologically treat wastewater from other campus buildings; and redirect storm-water runoff to improve habitats for local species. It will also serve as a living laboratory that allows researchers to develop and test advanced sustainable building technologies, and motivate other groups to adopt sustainable building and urban development practices.
Professor John Robinson. Photo by Martin Dee.
This project will demonstrate how green buildings can provide net-positive energy, occupancy, and community engagement benefits to local regions. Through careful examination of the building’s design, construction, and operation processes, these lessons may be replicated in other building developments and promoted as practical and cost-effective alternatives to systems that rely on non-renewable energies and provide little interaction with their immediate communities.
Why should you care about students? //
They cross bridges to tomorrow Our students define what our communities are today and what they can be tomorrow. Your gift to the CFIS Student Support Fund acts as the key in the lock: it opens doors. Better yet, think of your gift as the bridge over the river: it gets us from where we are today to where we need to be tomorrow. Donations to the fund enhance student awards and graduate programs by providing muchneeded opportunities for teaching and research assistantships, student-organized conferences, and research travel that enhance and improve student life in every corner of UBC. Interdisciplinary students are often at the forefront of uncharted methodologies and processes—from finding therapeutic solutions that protect brain cells from strokes, to discovering patterns in transit use among new immigrants so that communities may better develop transit corridors.
As interdisciplinary students are often pioneers in bridging formerly segregated modes of inquiry, they must constantly communicate with other researchers and community members on how they remain curious about their topic, how they gather their courage to chart new waters, and what techniques and skills they use to elevate their compassion for the benefit of communities. Adequate financial resources will allow CFIS students to respond to new challenges as we cross the bridge together into tomorrow’s opportunities. To view videos of CFIS students describing their work, please visit www.cfis.ubc.ca/about/videos CFIS graduate programs: Asia Pacific Policy Studies Bioinformatics Cell and Developmental Biology Community and Regional Planning Genome Science and Technology Interdisciplinary Oncology Neuroscience Resource Management and Environmental Studies Women’s and Gender Studies
Blair Gage is a PhD student in the Cell and Developmental Biology graduate program and Diabetes Research Lab, exploring cures for types I and II diabetes. He approaches his research with a sense of immediacy as his mother was diagnosed with type I diabetes over 20 years ago, and he himself may be at a high risk for the disease.
Invest in Your Passion: CFIS Campaign Priorities The College for Interdisciplinary Studies is embarking on a historic $100 million fundraising campaign. With your support, we can create positive and lasting change for interdisciplinary inquiry and our world, through these key priorities: Support Students Our students define what CFIS is today, and what it will be tomorrow. Donations to student awards and graduate programs provide opportunities to enhance and improve student life. • CFIS Student Support Fund Help students with assistantships, studentorganized conferences, and research travel. • Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Policy Studies (MAPPS) Program Fund Help students deepen their understanding of contemporary Asia and the Pacific Region. • Peter Oberlander Scholarship in Community and Regional Planning Help international students pursue graduate studies in Planning. Support Research From the beginning of their careers, our students and researchers have crashed through preconceptions and staked out new frontiers. But breaking new ground has its costs. The pace and scope of change require investments on an ongoing basis. Your support allows us to bring together world-class researchers and students, space and materials.
• Project Seahorse Help us advance global marine conservation and management of fisheries, marine habitats, and trades. • CFIS Principal’s Opportunities Fund Help fuel emerging student opportunities in a variety of interdisciplinary learning and research programs. • Sustainable Transportation Help advance research on how city planning affects people’s travel decisions and health. Support Community Engagement The world doesn’t stand still; neither can we. Our students and researchers address critical problems in communities and regions. To do so, they need the resources to respond to new opportunities and challenges. We count on the continuing concern and participation of our donors to help us find solutions that connect us to our world and its people. • Justice and Reconciliation Program Help war-affected communities in Northern Uganda strengthen local approaches to justice. • Friends of Asian Research Help advance interdisciplinary research and teaching on policy issues that deepen our understanding of contemporary Asia. • Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies Help improve women’s lives and explore equity issues in Canada and abroad.
Financial Goal: $100 million Full list of priority projects available on request.
Join us to explore what we could do together.
How can you get involved?
Larry Sproul Director, Development Tel: 604.827.5556 E-mail: larry.sproul@ubc.ca Nancy Cardozo Associate Director, Development Tel: 604.822.1313 E-mail: nancy.cardozo@ubc.ca Ryan Smith Associate Director, Development Tel: 604.822.4376 E-mail: ryan.smith@ubc.ca Laura Vaughan Development Officer Tel: 604.822.0631 E-mail: laura.vaughan@ubc.ca Jeffrey Hsu Development Coordinator Tel: 604.822.9274 E-mail: jeffrey.hsu@ubc.ca Sabrina Yan Development Coordinator Tel: 604.822.2378 E-mail: sabrina.yan@ubc.ca
Cover photo: Sarah Race.