UBC Reports | Vol. 47 | No. 08 | April
19, 2001
Endowment will foster interdisciplinary work in faculties of Graduate Studies
and Commerce
Canadian National has pledged $1.25 million to UBC to create
the CN Chair in Transportation and International Logistics.
UBC will match CN’s gift to establish the
$2.5-million CN
Chair.
The interdisciplinary chair will focus on research and teaching in
the fields
of transportation, operations, logistics, supply chain management, land-use
planning and community decision-making to lead to improved overall
efficiency
in the world’s transportation sector.
“UBC has a strong commitment to foster a truly
international university
and our partnership with the North American rail industry leader means that
we will be able to attract more top international scholars and
students in this
field,” says UBC President Martha Piper.
“CN is proud to be a partner with UBC,” says
CN president
and chief executive officer Paul M. Tellier. “This
chair will help
develop new expertise and lead research in transportation and
logistics. Canada’s
economic competitiveness and prosperity depends very much on the
continued strength
of its freight railroads. For that reason, this field of study builds for the
future.”
The endowment will bring together transportation expertise from the Faculty
of Graduate Studies’ School of Community and Regional Planning and
the Faculty
of Commerce and Business Administration.
“It is our goal to acquire the human and physical resources to develop a globally significant capability in
the area of transportation and logistics,” says Faculty of Graduate Studies
Dean Frieda Granot.
“The new chair will create an important and permanent strength in teaching
and research in the transportation sector.”
Building on the university’s strong research and teaching in transportation,
logistics and public policy, the chair will conduct research that contributes
to national and international dialogue in the transportation
sector. UBC
and CN will share expertise and new learning through
workshops, conferences
and executive training in the partnership.
Home of Canada’s oldest academic and professional graduate planning program,
the School of Community and Regional Planning maintains a strong
focus on urban
land use and transportation planning with expertise in integrated policy and
planning research, professional education and community service.
Commerce’s Centre for Transportation Studies fosters research and outreach on
economic and public policy issues in transportation and logistics while the
Operations and Logistics division offers a specialization in
transportation and logistics at the undergraduate and master’s level.
