UBC This Week

 

 UBC This Week will resume Jan. 5, 2012.

 

Recent UBC Media Releases

Dec. 15 Majority of B.C. women take prescription drugs during pregnancy: UBC study
Dec. 15 Generations disagree on public funding priorities: new poll data
 

Upcoming Event Highlights

Dec. 16 “Rocks of Interest To A Young Geologist” By Ruth Beer
Dec. 17  Hiroshima – Photographs by Miyako Ishiuchi
Dec. 18  Luis Camnitzer exhibition
Dec. 19  Early Bird – MMI Group Practice Sessions
Dec. 20  Turning Challenges into Teachable Moments
Dec. 21  Taste & Games of Nations
Dec. 22  UBC Poetry Slam
Dec. 23  A Green Dress: Objects, Memory, and the Museum
   
  Find out what else is happening at UBC this week. For sports events, visit the UBC Athletics site at http://www.gothunderbirds.ca/calendar.aspx.

 

UBC People


UBC People

New UBC Press director appointed

John Hepburn, Vice President Research and International, announced the appointment of Melissa Pitts as director of UBC Press effective April 1, 2012.
 
Pitts, who is currently assistant director of UBC Press, joined UBC Press in 2005 and has been responsible for the reorganization of the sales and marketing operations, the implementation of a major information and publishing management system and, as acquisitions editor, has overseen the publication of a number of award-winning books.
 
She was recently elected as president of the Association of Canadian University Presses and completed a term as chair of the Book and Periodical Council, a national umbrella organization of associations involved in the writing, editing, publishing and manufacturing, distribution and lending of books and periodicals in Canada.
 
Pitts succeeds Peter Milroy who has been director of the Press since 1990. Milroy will become director emeritus and will remain at the Press until the end of 2012, assisting with transitional issues and undertaking special projects. He will also work within the larger UBC community to identify future opportunities for enhancing and improving scholarly communication.
 
For more information, visit: www.ubcpress.ca

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UBC English professor’s film selected for Telefilm Canada and Rogers award

A film by Sandra Tomc, associate professor in the Dept. of English and a documentary filmmaker, has been selected by Telefilm Canada and Rogers Group of Funds to receive funding through the Theatrical Documentary Program in 2011-2012. Tomc co-authored Citizen Marc with her husband and filmmaking partner, Roger Larry.

The film is a documentary feature about B.C. marijuana legalization activist Marc Emery, who is currently serving five years in a U.S. prison for selling marijuana seeds over the internet. A biographical look at Emery’s passionate libertarianism and his long struggle against “government,” Citizen Marc traces the convoluted, often comical path of Emery’s life as a protestor and a narcissistic life-style celebrity and self-styled existential hero.
 
The duo will use the $70,000 award towards finishing the film for theatrical and television distribution. The film has been picked up by a major Canadian film distribution company and will be shown in festivals, Canadian theatres, and on television over the next two years.

Initial funding support was given by a Canadian Media Fund grant and a UBC Hampton grant.

For more information, visit: http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/en/news/releases/2011/12/12/telefilm-canada-and-rogers-group-funds-announce-funding-eight-canadian-thea

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Anne Condon receives University of Washington Diamond Award

UBC Computer Science department head Anne Condon is the recipient of the 2012 University of Washington College of Engineering Diamond Award for her distinguished achievement in academia. The award honours outstanding alumni and friends who have made a significant contribution in the field of engineering.

For more information, visit: https://www.cs.ubc.ca/news/2011/12/anne-condon-receives-university-washington-diamond-award

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Veterans Transition Program

Members of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs visited the Faculty of Education at UBC on Dec. 12 to learn about the Veterans Transition Program. Four Members of Parliament and several staff members received an overview of the program and had the opportunity to meet and hear from veterans who had served overseas and had personally benefited from the program.

Established in 1999, with funding exclusively from the BC/Yukon Command of The Royal Canadian Legion, the Veterans Transition Program is a group-based program developed at UBC by psychologists and medical experts to help men and women returning from military service transition to productive civilian life. The program is facilitated by Marvin Westwood, professor in UBC’s Faculty of Education, Dept. of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education, and Dr. David Kuhl, an associate professor in UBC’s Faculty of Medicine.

Over 200 veterans have participated in the program to date, all of whom reported benefits. Recent and ongoing research has shown reduced trauma symptoms, decreased depression and increased self-esteem.

For more information, visit: http://educ.ubc.ca/newsandinfo/foe-news

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Twenty-four UBC students receive B.C. Aboriginal Student Awards

Twenty-four UBC students have been recognized with B.C. Aboriginal Student Awards. The awards, which are granted with scholarships from $1,000 to $3,500 in value, are given annually to Aboriginal students pursuing post-secondary education in British Columbia. One-hundred and seventeen students from 21 institutions received the awards this year, with UBC having the greatest number of recipients.

For more information, visit: http://www.victoriafoundation.bc.ca/web/node/607

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TechTrek Saturday workshop program

The TechTrek Saturday workshop program brings grade 8-12 high-school students and parents to campus for a half-day of computer-science activities including programming robots, learning to design programs and games, and listening to industry professionals and university experts talk about the cutting edge of technology. Registered students can enter to win prizes.

For more information and registration visit: http://www.techtrek.ca/

• Jan. 21: Guest speaker Felicity Herst from Silicon Sisters
• March 3: Guest speaker Wayne Wooten from Pixar
• March 31. Guest speaker to be announced

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