UBC Reports | Vol. 49 | No. 8 | Aug.
7, 2003
Law isn’t the only faculty to get a new dean this year.
The Faculties of Medicine and Science have also appointed
new heads.
Dr. Gavin Stuart, an oncologist and noted cancer researcher,
will take over as Dean of Medicine in September while Prof.
John Hepburn, the current head of UBC’s Chemistry Dept.,
will take up his duties as Dean of Science effective November
1.
Stuart currently heads the Dept. of Oncology at the University
of Calgary, is vice-president of the Alberta Cancer Board
and directs the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary. In addition
to a broad understanding of academic administration, he is
noted for his clinical skills and is highly visible on the
national research scene for his work in cervical and ovarian
cancers.
As dean, Stuart will lead initiatives such as the building
of the Life Sciences Centre at Point Grey that joins medical
and life sciences laboratories and the new distributed medical
education program that will double the number of B.C.’s
medical school graduates by 2010.
Hepburn is internationally renowned for his research in laser
spectroscopy and laser chemistry. He came to UBC in 2001 from
the University of Waterloo. As head of the Chemistry Dept.,
Hepburn has been a tireless promoter of excellence in research
and teaching. He earned his BSc from the University of Waterloo
in 1976. He continued his education at the University of Toronto
where he obtained his PhD in 1980. He began his academic career
at the University of Waterloo in 1982 as an assistant professor
of Chemistry and Physics, becoming chair of the Chemistry
Dept. in 1998.
Prof. Moura Quayle of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
and Prof. Michael Isaacson of the Faculty of Applied Science
have both been re-appointed for second terms. The two were
first appointed in 1997.
During her first term, Quayle oversaw the transformation
of the undergraduate curriculum into four new degrees — Bachelors
of Science in Agroecology, Food, Nutrition and Health, and
Global Resource Systems, and Bachelor of Environmental Design
(in collaboration with the Faculty of Applied Science School
of Architecture), and the establishment of several new centres
— the Wine Research Centre, the Centre for Aquaculture and
Environment, the Centre for Plant Research, the Centre for
Landscape Research, the Food and Resource Economics Research
Group, and the UBC Farm.
Major accomplishments during Isaacson’s first term include
the development of several new programs including the Commerce
Minor, the IT Minor, the combined BA/BASc degree, the Integrated
Engineering Program, and the joint UBC/UNBC degree in Environmental
Engineering, and the opening of the Clean Energy Research
Centre.
