Milestones mark 1996/97 year

May 22, 1997

1996

May:

  • Prof. Frank Abbott is announced as dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical
    Sciences, taking over from Prof. John McNeill who served as the faculty’s
    fourth dean for close to 12 years.

June:

  • William L. Sauder becomes chancellor of the university.

  • The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences celebrates its 50th anniversary.

  • Former UBC President Douglas Kenny dies at the age of 72. Kenny served
    as president from 1975-1983.

July:

  • The faculties of Arts and Graduate Studies appointed new
    deans     for concurrent six-year terms. Prof. Shirley Neuman, from the
    University of Alberta, and UBC Prof. Frieda Granot are deans of Arts and
    Graduate Studies respectively.

  • Construction begins on St.
    John’s College     at UBC fulfilling a life-long dream for graduates of
    St. John’s University, which was closed in Shanghai 45 years ago. St. John’s
    will be a residential college for master’s and PhD students, senior scholars
    and distinguished visitors.

  • UBC and the Sing Tao Foundation announce the establishment of a graduate
    school of journalism     at UBC.

August:

  • UBC and BC TELECOM form a 10-year
    partnership     to design and build a broadband, fibre-optic infrastructure
    linking sites throughout UBC’s 400-hectare campus.

September:

  • A campaign is launched
    to save the Museum of Anthropology’s unique outdoor collection of free-standing
    totem poles. More than one million visitors have viewed the houses and poles
    since 1961.

  • UBC’s Women Students’ Office celebrates
    75 years     of serving the needs of women students and welcoming them to
    the campus community. Mary Bollert became the university’s first adviser
    of women in 1921.

October:

  • Dr. John Cairns is appointed dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

  • The C.K. Choi Building for the Institute of Asian Research officially
    opens    . The Choi building provides a new home for the 19-year-old institute
    which houses five research centres focusing on different regions of Asia:
    China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and India and South Asia.

  • UBC alumni celebrate Evelyn Lett’s 100th birthday. Lett, who graduated
    from UBC with a BA in 1917, an MA in 1925 and who received an honorary degree
    from UBC in 1958, has been active at the university since its founding.

November:

  • Dr. Martha Piper, vice-president,
    Research and External Affairs at the University of Alberta, is announced
    as UBC’s 11th president. Piper succeeds David Strangway who completes his
    second, six-year term on July 31. Piper takes up her new duties as president
    in August.

December:

  • UBC Library moves 500,000
    books from the Main Library to the Walter C. Koerner Library.

1997

January:

  • Prime Minister Jean Chretien announces
    UBC will be the venue for world leaders during the Asia Pacific Economic
    Co-operation (APEC
    ’97    ) meeting on Nov. 25.

February:

  • A campus-wide immunization
    program     is set up to innoculate 15,000 faculty, staff and students against
    measles. The campaign was triggered by a provincial outbreak first identified
    among students at Simon Fraser University.

March :

  • School of Music faculty and students are among the performers at the gala
    inaugural concert     held in the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts.

 

April:

  • UBC hosts a national conference titled Academic
    Freedom and the Inclusive University    . The conference attracted prominent
    academics, social activists and commentators who discussed issues such as
    political correctness, racism and sexism.

May: