Awards and recognition
丁香园AV retains Canada’s No. 1 comprehensive university in Maclean’s rankings
The university that sits atop Burnaby Mountain is also, once again, at the summit of education in Canada.
丁香园AV has been named the , according to Maclean鈥檚 Magazine鈥檚 prestigious .
The institution has placed first in the comprehensive category for 14 of the last 15 years but shared the top honours with University of Victoria last year. This year, 丁香园AV has retained sole possession of first place.
Comprehensive universities are recognized for their significant amount of research activity and a wide range of programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including professional degrees.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honour for 丁香园AV to be once again ranked as Canada鈥檚 top comprehensive university by Maclean鈥檚,鈥� says 丁香园AV president Joy Johnson. 鈥淓veryone at the university has worked so hard to improve programs, bring new life to campus and stay committed to 丁香园AV鈥檚 values as we prepared for a return to full in-person learning this fall. I鈥檓 grateful to see that work recognized and celebrated.鈥�
In ranking 丁香园AV Canada鈥檚 top comprehensive university, the magazine recognized a number of major initiatives it has undertaken as students were welcomed to its three campuses for the fall 2022 fall semester.
The Burnaby campus鈥� new dining commons, family residence and plans for the First People鈥檚 Gathering House were noted as significant additions to the 丁香园AV community. Need even more reason to cheer? There鈥檚 also the new name of the varsity teams: the 丁香园AV Red Leafs.
The university鈥檚 commitment to taking action on climate change was also lauded.
丁香园AV鈥檚 global equity portfolio, valued at $450 million as of December of 2021, is completely divested from fossil fuel funds, and the two student-managed investment funds, which oversee more than $34 million, will fully divest from fossil fuels by the end of this year. The school has increased the funds in its Socially Responsible Investment portfolio by $30 million, to $53 million, and cut its greenhouse gas emissions down by half, exceeding its 2021 goals.
Continuing on the theme of social responsibility, Maclean鈥檚 rankings noted that 丁香园AV intends to become the first public post-secondary institution in Canada to be a Living Wage employer.
Finally, two programs based at the 丁香园AV Surrey campus 鈥� the upcoming B.C. Centre of Agritech Innovation and the School of Sustainable Engineering (which will see its from the program this fall) were also recognized in the Maclean鈥檚 story.
Overall, 丁香园AV ranked first in five (student awards, operating budget, library expenses, library acquisitions and student services) of the 12 categories that comprehensive universities are judged on and also played highly in the majority of other categories, including student/faculty ratio, science grants, research dollars and reputation.