2006
A new $45 million spinal cord research facility
Prof Toope helps open a state of the art home for the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD).
UBC, Musqueam sign memorandum of affiliation
A new agreement lays out a process to create programs that encourage Aboriginal youth to pursue university education.
2007
UBC first in Canada to adopt global access policy
Working with the student group Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, UBC adopts a policy to ensure global access to UBC technologies.
University graduates 250,000th student
At its fall congregation ceremony, UBC passes a major milestone by graduating its 250,000th alumnus.
2008
The $79.7M Irving K. Barber Learning Centre opens
Built around the refurbished core of the 1925 UBC Main Library, the new facility offers 250,000 square feet of new and renovated space for learning and research.
UBC names first ombudsperson for students
The university creates a new office to advocate on behalf of students and to provide advice and support in resolving student matters.
2009
A $68M investment in green infrastructure
Federal and provincial governments provide major funding to renovate the Biological Sciences West and South buildings, and to benefit the geoexchange system at UBC’s Okanagan campus.
Emperor and Empress of Japan visit UBC
His Majesty Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko come to UBC and visit the Nitobe Memorial Garden and the Museum of Anthropology.
2010
A host venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
The university welcomes more than 250,000 spectators to the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre to watch hockey and sledge hockey.
Beaty Biodiversity Centre opens
The $50 million project is home to 25 investigators, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum and Canada’s largest blue whale skeleton.
UBC, Max Planck formalize partnership
Prof. Stephen Toope signs a partnership with Max Planck Society President Peter Gruss. The Society is Germany’s foremost basic research institution and home to 32 Nobel Prizes.
2011
A major new student housing finance endowment
Student housing receives a huge boost with the creation of a new fund to help achieve the goal of having 50 per cent of undergraduates live on campus.
Canada’s largest fundraising and alumni engagement campaign
The university embarks on a $1.5 billion fundraising campaign with a twin goal of doubling the number of alumni engaged in the life of the university by 2015.
2012
Honorary degrees awarded to Japanese Canadian students of 1942
Seventy years after Japanese Canadians were forced to leave their West Coast homes, UBC honours 76 students who were unable to complete degrees.
UBC personalizes admissions for incoming students
The university revamps admissions to include both grades and life experiences, and puts in place a new personal service model.
2013
UBC receives $25 million for African students
The MasterCard Foundation gives a major grant to provide comprehensive scholarships for more than 110 students from Africa to study at UBC.
New UBC Vantage College launches
The university sets up a new 12-month pathway program for exceptional graduates of school systems that are different from schools in North America.
2014
A $1.5 billion Canada First Research Excellence Fund
The federal government announces major new research funding. Says Prof. Toope: “I was extremely pleased by the announcement of a new program. Over the next few years, as the fund is fully implemented, UBC stands to benefit greatly from new resources to support our very best research areas, stronger international research collaboration and improved knowledge translation.”
Task force tackles gender-based violence, Aboriginal stereotypes
Prof. Toope launches a task force to tackle attitudes and lack of understanding that came to light during student-led FROSH events.
UBC welcomes Canada’s largest brain centre
The $70 million Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health is opened, uniting integrated research and patient care to change the way disorders are treated.