Jithin Shaji
University Centre opens
July 2009 The $33-million, 7,300-square-metre University Centre opened. A hub for student activity and engagement, the UNC includes student learning spaces, collegia lounges, the J. Peter Meekison Student Centre, a sushi bar, student club space, offices for student service departments and a variety of social and gathering spaces.
UBC Okanagan names first Researcher of Year
March 2009 Heinz Bauschke, one of Canada’s top researchers in the field of optimization, was named UBC Okanagan’s first-ever Researcher of the Year. Bauschke and his family used the $5,000 Researcher of the Year prize to create an endowment for an annual award recognizing the most outstanding undergraduate student in analysis.
Infusion of funds for new buildings
September 2008 British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell announces nearly $100 million in provincial government funding that will allow construction of three major new projects—UBC’s Okanagan Health Sciences Centre, the Arts and Sciences 2 Building, and the Engineering/Management Building.
Varsity Athletics introduces The Heat
March 2008 UBC’s Okanagan campus unveiled its new varsity athletics team name, the UBC Okanagan Heat, at the third-annual Valley First UBC Okanagan Athletics Scholarship Breakfast. The Heat moniker succeeded the Okanagan Lakers, a team of student athletes from both Okanagan College and UBC Okanagan.
FCCS announces Writer in Residence program
December 2007 Novelist and short story writer Lynn Coady is named UBC Okanagan’s first-ever writer in residence. Since then, UBC has welcomed playwright Marie Clements, historical fiction and non-fiction author Fred Stenson, and novelist and short story writer Annabel Lyon. More than 1,000 students and community members have engaged with the Writer in Residence program.
Researchers garner Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Funds
July 2007 Seven new research programs at UBC’s Okanagan campus receive more than $880,000 in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
UBC Okanagan launches Distinguished Speaker Series
December 2006 Novelist and historian Ronald Wright, is the first speaker featured in UBC Okanagan’s new Distinguished Speaker Series public lecture. The series has welcomed several high-profile presenters, including former Commander of the International Space Station Chris Hadfield; renowned autism spokesperson and animal behaviour expert Temple Grandin; iconic science broadcaster Jay Ingram; social activist […]
Alumnus Charles Fipke announces $6-million gift
September 2006 Kelowna resident Charles Fipke—a UBC alumnus and the discoverer of diamonds in Canada’s Far North—donates $6 million through his foundation to UBC’s Okanagan campus to build the Charles E. Fipke Centre for Innovative Research.
First graduation ceremonies
June 2006 On June 6, 470 members of UBC Okanagan’s very first graduating class crossed the stage to receive their degrees in two ceremonies. Honorary degrees were conferred upon Dr. William Bowering, a former Okanagan University College president who expanded post-secondary education in the Okanagan, and upon Jeannette C. Armstrong, then-director of the Okanagan […]
UBC Okanagan opens its doors to 3,500 students
September 2005 On September 6, 2005, more than 3,500 students began the first day of classes at UBC’s Okanagan campus. An opening ceremony, colloquium and music concert was held two days later to inaugurate Canada’s newest university campus.
