¶¡ÏãÔ°AV

As we head into the first long weekend of the summer – and a well-deserved break for many – I’d like to thank you for another remarkable academic year.

True to our mission as Canada’s engaged university, we hosted major conferences and events, including a highly successful ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Public Square Community Summit on Confronting the Disinformation Age.

We made progress responding to the 34 Calls to Action of the ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Aboriginal Reconciliation Council Report, and honoured the achievements of 164 Indigenous graduates, a record for the University.

We celebrated the 30^th anniversary of our Vancouver Campus with those who helped to establish it and those who continue to build it.

On Burnaby Mountain, we broke ground on a new stadium and residence, and opened a new pub next to a soon-to-open Student Union Building.

And in Surrey, we completed construction on a stunning building which, starting in September, will house a new Sustainable Energy Engineering program.

At the same time, we continued to build our academic reputation and research strengths: maintaining our Maclean’s standing as Canada’s top comprehensive university for the fifth year in a row; and increasing our annual research income to $142 million (the fastest rate of growth over the past decade of any major Canadian university).

We owe these and our other successes to the hard work of our talented faculty, dedicated staff and brilliant students, together with the generous support we have received from government and industry partners, as well as our devoted alumni and loyal supporters.

Thank you all for your many contributions to ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV.  

Over the next year, I will be working to move several key projects forward, and to set the stage for a new president.  I am excited about what lies ahead for us to accomplish together in the coming academic year.

In the meantime, I and others from ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV will be participating in several community events this July to which I encourage you to come:

• , now is its ninth year, takes place from July 4 to 14 at various Lower Mainland venues. ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV is proud to be a Founding Partner of the festival, and we look forward to another celebration of art, culture, film, food and dialogue.
• The President’s Employee Barbeque will be held at the Burnaby Campus on July 10.  Staff and faculty from all campuses are welcome.
• ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV is once again supporting the Celebration Stage at the  on July 20 and 21 at Holland Park.  

Whatever your plans, I wish you a safe and happy summer, and I look forward to connecting with you back here in few months ready to engage anew.