2024 UBC Faculty of Education Staff Wellness Afternoon | July 30, 2024

UBCV Schedule

12:00 – 1:00 pm | BBQ Lunch on the Grass Meridian in front of the Neville Scarfe Building (2125 Main Mall), including a welcome from the Dean

1:00 – 1:15 pm| Break and Travel

1:15 – 2:15 pm | Session 1, with options including:

Jewellery Making with Sherri
Yoga with Lisa from Find Your Sunrise
Nitobe Memorial Garden Self-Guided Walk
Chill with Indoor Games and Arts and Crafts
Move U Crew Outdoor Games
Weaving Coasters with Natasha (note that this is a two-hour session starting at 1:30 pm, and registrants cannot register for Session 2)
UBC Foraging Workshop (note that this is a two-hour session starting at 1:30 pm, and registrants cannot register for Session 2)

2:15 – 2:45 pm | Break and Travel

2:45 – 3:45 pm | Session 2, with options including:

Salsa Dancing
Comedy Improv Workshop
Beaty Biodiversity Museum Self-Guided Tour
Museum of Anthropology Guided Tour
Chill with Indoor Games and Arts and Crafts
Move U Crew Outdoor Games

3:45 – 4:00 pm | Break and Travel

4:00 – 4:30 pm | Ice Cream Social on the Grass Meridian in front of the Neville Scarfe Building (2125 Main Mall)

UBCV staff: Register by 12:00 pm on Monday, July 22, 2024.

UBCO staff will receive an email with UBCO activities and registration details.

Questions? Please contact the Staff Wellness Afternoon Planning Committee Co-chairs, Johanna Mills at johanna.mills@ubc.ca and Ana Susnjara at ana.susnjara@ubc.ca.

Dr. Dónal O’Donoghue

By jmills9

Associate Dean, Academic and Graduate Studies

Scarfe 311E
Tel 604 822 5316
Email donal.odonoghue@ubc.ca

Dr. Surita Jhangiani

By avril hwang

Interim Associate Dean, Equity

Scarfe 2608
Tel 604 827 2174
Email surita.jhangiani@ubc.ca

Contact For:

Providing strategic leadership to build and foster equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the Faculty
Overseeing and coordinating the planning and implementation of EDI initiatives
Overseeing the implementation of the University and Faculty Strategic Plans within the Faculty of Education;
Working closely with the Director of the English Language Institute to provide strategic oversight to the unit;
Working closely with the Academic Director of the UBC-Ritsumeikan Academic Exchange Programs to provide strategic oversight to the programs, in consultation with the Provost’s Office, as required

Dr. Jan Hare Appointed Dean, UBC Faculty of Education

By Paula Sabti

June 27, 2024

Congratulations to Dr. Jan Hare on her appointment as Dean, UBC Faculty of Education

The UBC Board of Governors has accepted the President’s recommendation to appoint Dr. Jan Hare as the Dean of the Faculty of Education for a five-year term, commencing July 1, 2024.

Dr. Hare, an Anishinaabe-kwe scholar and educator from the M’Chigeeng First Nation in northern Ontario, is a professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education of the UBC Faculty of Education. Since 2021, she has served as Dean pro tem of the Faculty of Education and has held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Pedagogy.

Dr. Hare received a BASc in Child Studies from the University of Guelph; a BEd from Nipissing University; an MA in Educational Psychology from the University of Western Ontario; and a PhD in Educational Studies from UBC.

Dr. Hare is deeply committed to advancing equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization in education. Her research investigates how Indigenous knowledge systems can transform educational practices and is anchored in robust Indigenous community engagement. She is both an advocate and supporter of Indigenous student success, demonstrated through her work in literacy learning in early learning contexts, pathways to post-secondary education for high school students, new models for Indigenous-led teacher education, and the advancement of Indigenous graduate students through mentorship and research. Her current work is focused on ways of evaluating Indigenous knowledges and pedagogies in online learning environments, as well as establishing transformative Indigenous-settler relations by applying innovative educational methodologies.

As a leading international Indigenous scholar, Dr. Hare actively shares her findings not only through journal articles and books, but also popular Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other community platforms, further underlining her dedication to educational innovation and the integration of Indigenous pedagogies in educational spheres.

Dr. Hare has been a dedicated member of UBC’s leadership for several years, including her appointments as Dean pro tem (2021-2024); Associate Dean of Indigenous Education (2016-2022); and Director of NITEP – UBC Faculty of Education’s Indigenous Teacher Education Program (2016-2021). She also held the Professorship of Indigenous Education in Teacher Education (2014–2018) and was a Faculty Associate at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice (2013-2018).

Join us in congratulating Dr. Jan Hare on this appointment, where her leadership will inspire continued innovation and advance educational excellence.

Read the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic’s announcement.

alumNIGHTS with the BC Lions

By virginia tung

BC Lions - Official site

You’ve successfully been entered to win a set of two tickets to see the BC Lions on Saturday, July 13, 2024! Doors open at 3:00 PM.

Learn more about the event here.

Questions? Contact education.alumni@ubc.ca

Dr. Danielle Lamb and Michael Wilkinson presented with the 2023-24 Dean’s Awards for Staff Excellence

By avril hwang

June 14, 2024

Congratulations to Dr. Danielle Lamb and Michael Wilkinson, recipients of the 2023-24 Dean’s Awards for Staff Excellence

Dr. Jan Hare, Dean pro tem, recognized several outstanding staff members nominated for the 2023-24 Dean’s Awards for Staff Excellence and announced Dr. Danielle Lamb and Michael Wilkinson as the winners of this year’s awards.

Outstanding Service

The Outstanding Service category recognizes staff members who have demonstrated commitment to community service, inclusive practices, high-quality interactions, innovative methods in daily tasks, or fostering consensus and action.

Dr. Danielle Lamb

Program Manager, Doctor of Education program
Research Facilitator, Okanagan School of Education
Project Manager, Co-Curricular-Making — Honouring Indigenous Connections to Land, Culture and the Relational Self

Danielle has provided stellar support across multiple roles, significantly enhancing our Faculty’s research and educational programs. She has supported faculty in navigating complex grant applications and has spearheaded critical projects, including the launch of new academic programs and research initiatives. Her innovative approaches have increased both efficiency and effectiveness in areas of program management, research facilitation and equity practices.

Nominees in the Outstanding Service category

Susan Bowers, Department of Language and Literacy Education (LLED)
Deborah Gromer, School of Kinesiology (KIN)
Dr. Danielle Lamb, Okanagan School of Education (OSE)
Vindy Lin, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP)

Emerging Leader

The Emerging Leader category recognizes staff members who effectively lead change, inspire with a clear vision, enhance their workplace, passionately understand their role’s impact, pursue professional growth, serve as a role model in interactions and innovation, or invest in mentoring others.

Michael Wilkinson

Manager, Human Resources and Administration, Office of the Dean
Michael has demonstrated high-quality service and commitment across various roles, playing a pivotal role in human resources and administration to enhance equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization initiatives. He has led significant initiatives impacting hiring and orientation processes, chaired the adjudication committee for staff grants, and developed mentorship programs and workshops. His leadership contributes to the Faculty’s operational success by continuously improving practices and driving culture-building activities.

Nominees in the Emerging Leader category

Faeyza Mufti, Learning Design and Digital Innovation (LDDI)
Lu Tian, Teacher Education Office (TEO)
Michael Wilkinson, Office of the Dean (DNSO)

The Faculty of Education extends congratulations to all nominees.

The awards were presented at the 2024 Staff Appreciation Lunch on June 4, 2024. View the event photo album.

Dr. Liv Yoon awarded New Frontiers in Research Fund

By Paula Sabti

June 3, 2024

Congratulations to Dr. Liv Yoon, recipient of the New Frontiers in Research Fund: 2023 International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

Dr. Liv Yoon and her team have been awarded the New Frontiers in Research Fund: 2023 International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation for the project, “Addressing Intersecting Crises: Climate, Housing, and Compounding Health Vulnerabilities for Senior Tenants,” where she serves as co-principal investigator.

Dr. Yoon’s research focuses on understanding and addressing the inequitable impacts of climate change-induced extreme events, such as heatwaves and wildfires, on indoor environments, particularly for senior, low-income, disabled, and racialized tenants in coastal cities. The goal is to enhance livability and health without displacing or disempowering vulnerable populations.

Research Summary

In cities around the world, the uneven impacts of climate change-induced extreme events such as heatwaves and wildfires are acutely felt indoors. Research on indoor environmental quality is emerging but often overlooks the social, political, and legal determinants of the built environment and health. An important co-determinant of health is housing. In many cities, housing is increasingly unaffordable and unfit for a changing climate. Tenants are left sacrificing safety for affordability because the buildings least prepared for climate change are often the most affordable. Tenants have little control over their units and cannot easily access adaptation measures. Senior tenants who are low-income, disabled, and/or racialized are particularly vulnerable – compounding their compromised physiological response to environmental threats. Governments have introduced programs to increase access to cooling (e.g., retrofits, free air conditioners). But if not accompanied by proper tenant protections, these initiatives could lead to displacement or rent hikes, meaning that adaptation and mitigation efforts could create unintended negative and inequitable outcomes for health and living standards.

We strategically combine the insights of environmental health and climate justice to study the indoor environments of senior tenants’ homes and foster equitable climate action. This requires interdisciplinary and trans-sectoral research to measure and create livable thresholds, prototype justice-based interventions, monitor implications of new climate policies on housing, and support community-based climate resilience measures. In Barcelona, New York City, and Vancouver – three major coastal urban centres facing the intersecting crises of climate and housing – we will pursue four initiatives:

measure indoor environmental quality and its impact on health
implement and evaluate in-building communal ‘climate safe’ rooms
monitor the unintended outcomes of climate adaptation and mitigation policies on tenancy
identify mechanisms that may lead to climate-related rent increases or displacement

Together, these initiatives provide environmental, health, and social data to 1) inform public discourse that propels adaptation and mitigation efforts without displacing or disempowering senior tenants, and 2) safeguard the right to secure, high-quality housing in the context of climate change especially for those facing environmental and social injustices.

Learn more about all of UBC’s NFRF recipients, partners and collaborators by reading the Office of the Vice-President Research + Innovation’s announcement.

The New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) supports world-leading interdisciplinary, international, high-risk / high-reward, transformative and rapid-response Canadian-led research. The 2023 International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation unites international research funders to harness interdisciplinary and trans-sectoral global expertise to address the needs of those most impacted by climate change, including communities in low- and middle-income countries, Indigenous territories, and groups vulnerable due to their geographic, social, or economic conditions.

Drs. Anusha Kassan and Hongxia Shan awarded 2023-24 SSHRC Partnership Development Grants

By Paula Sabti

June 5, 2024

Congratulations to Drs. Anusha Kassan and Hongxia Shan, 2023-24 SSHRC Partnership Development Grant recipients

Dr. Anusha Kassan, Dr. Hongxia Shan, and their respective team members have secured 2023-24 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partner Development Grants.

Dr. Kassan leads the project “Capturing Stories of Child Language Brokering: An Arts-Based Engagement Ethnography with Newcomer Families.” This grant will support deeper insights into Child Language Brokering, where newcomer parents and guardians depend on their children for linguistic translation and interpretation in various contexts, enhancing understanding of immigrant integration into Canadian society.

Similarly, the SSHRC Partnership Development Grant will support Dr. Shan’s project, “Adult Learning and Education in Immigrant Settlement and Integration (ALE-in-ISI) Partnership,” further contributing to research in this area.

Learn more about all of UBC’s SSHRC Partner Development Grant recipients, partners and collaborators by reading the Office of the Vice-President Research + Innovation’s announcement.

The SSHRC is the federal research funding agency that promotes and supports research and training in the humanities and social sciences. SSHRC Partnership Development Grants support the development of partnerships, or the design and testing of new partnership approaches to nurture existing and emerging opportunities for research collaboration, best practices and/or models that can be adapted by others or scaled up to a regional, national or international level, in the social sciences and humanities.

Zuhra Teja, BEd’96, MA’03 receives 2024 Alumni Educator of the Year Award | June 17, 2024

By kl18d

We are delighted to announce that Zuhra Teja, BEd’96, MA’03, has been selected as Alumni Educator of the Year by UBC Faculty of Education.

The Alumni Educator of the Year Award was created in 2012 to recognize outstanding achievements by UBC Faculty of Education alumni who are making exceptional impacts in the lives of their students and learning communities.

Zuhra Teja, BEd’96, MA’03

Alumni Educator of the Year 2024
Dr. Zuhra Teja has dedicated herself to improving the success and wellbeing of students facing diverse challenges that extends to children with autism, complex disabilities, refugees, and those living in unstable or under-resourced environments. Having a family history spanning 4 continents, each place presented their own sets of challenges and inspired her passion for teaching.

Through her work and research, she has supported educators and students in a wide range of settings–from resource-deprived communities in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, to remote areas of BC, to Vancouver–implementing Social-Emotional Learning practices and supporting the needs of students with autism.

In Zuhra’s current role as the Vice-Principal for the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders in Delta, she provides exceptional service. With the Principal, she supervises a talented team that coordinates and provides school-based services, and designs capacity-building models of training, consultation, and assessments to support all school districts and independent schools across BC. Zuhra credits her parents, mentors, and colleagues for her
accomplishments.

Learn more about this and other Faculty of Education Alumni Awards.

When

Monday, June 17, 2024 | 8:30 AM – 8:50 AM PDT

Where

Online

Registration

Questions? Please contact Michael Murphy, Associate Director, Alumni Engagement at education.alumni@ubc.ca.

MONOVA Reception | July 9, 2024

By kl18d

Dr. Jan Hare, PhD’11, Dean, invites all Faculty of Education alumni and staff to attend a reception at the Museum of North Vancouver on Tuesday, July 9. You’ll get to explore the gallery exclusively, enjoy some light refreshments, and connect with UBC Education Alumni. Plus, discover fascinating tidbits about North Vancouver’s past.

Date

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Time

6:30 to 8:00 pm PDT

Location

MONOVA: Museum & Archives of North Vancouver
115 Esplanade W North Vancouver, BC V7M 0G7

Registration

Thank you for your interest. Although registration has now closed, we welcome onsite registration. We look forward to having you!

Questions? Please contact Michael C S Murphy, Associate Director, Alumni Engagement at education.alumni@ubc.ca.