December 2, 2024
Transcription of Dean Hare’s 2024 Holiday Video Message
Boozhoo, Aanii, and warm greetings to you all.
As we approach the end of this calendar year, let us take a moment to reflect on our journey—a year filled with collaboration, commitment, shared purpose, and meaningful progress. Together, we have embraced new opportunities and faced challenges with unwavering dedication to educational excellence. To our students, faculty, instructors, staff, alumni, donors, partners, and community members—the passion you bring to the UBC Faculty of Education is nothing short of inspirational. Through groundbreaking research, innovative teaching, and meaningful community engagement, we are setting a global standard in educational leadership.
This has been a year of milestones.
We are proudly celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NITEP), which has welcomed the largest-ever cohort of first-year students.
Our recent Dean’s Distinguished Lecture on Generative AI in Education embraced the future of learning, deepening our commitment to accessible and forward-looking educational spaces.
We have now appointed the inaugural director for our forthcoming Centre for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Inclusive Education, a new initiative that will complement our robust SOGI educational efforts by providing essential resources and fostering inclusivity.
Our sense of pride extends to our School of Kinesiology, where many past and present students coached and competed on the global stage at the Paris Olympics, highlighting the global impact of our Faculty’s commitment to excellence in sport education.
We have also embarked on a new chapter in our Faculty’s strategic planning process, carefully shaping our goal to not only respond to the evolving educational landscape, but to lead within it.
This year has also been marked by significant challenges for many members in our community, and I am deeply moved by the spirit of mutual support within our community. It is heartening to know that we are here for one another, with resources available to help us find strength and balance. Our shared dedication to a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive future remains steadfast, and together, we will navigate these times with compassion and care.
This holiday season, I encourage you to find time for rest and connection with loved ones and with the land. I wish you a peaceful and rejuvenating winter break, and I look forward to welcoming the new year with renewed energy and enthusiasm.
Miigwech – thank you.
