Awards and recognition
¶ˇĎăÔ°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.
¶ˇĎăÔ°AV has been named the , according to Maclean’s Magazine’s 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, ¶ˇĎăÔ°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.
“It’s an honour for ¶ˇĎăÔ°AV to be once again ranked as Canada’s top comprehensive university by Maclean’s,” says ¶ˇĎăÔ°AV president Joy Johnson. “Everyone at the university has worked so hard to improve programs, bring new life to campus and stay committed to ¶ˇĎăÔ°AV’s values as we prepared for a return to full in-person learning this fall. I’m grateful to see that work recognized and celebrated.”
In ranking ¶ˇĎăÔ°AV Canada’s 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’ new dining commons, family residence and plans for the First People’s Gathering House were noted as significant additions to the ¶ˇĎăÔ°AV community. Need even more reason to cheer? There’s also the new name of the varsity teams: the ¶ˇĎăÔ°AV Red Leafs.
The university’s commitment to taking action on climate change was also lauded.
¶ˇĎăÔ°AV’s 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’s rankings noted that ¶ˇĎăÔ°AV intends to become the first public post-secondary institution in Canada to be a Living Wage employer.
Finally, two programs based at the ¶ˇĎăÔ°AV Surrey campus – 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’s story.
Overall, ¶ˇĎăÔ°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.