Congratulations to Dr. Jo-ann Archibald and Dr. Balbir Kaur Gurm for receiving the 2021 YWCA Women of Distinction Award

Congratulations to Dr. Jo-ann Archibald and Dr. Balbir Kaur Gurm for receiving the 2021 YWCA Women of Distinction Awards!

Dr. Jo-ann Archibald BEd’ 72:

Jo-ann – Q’um Q’um Xiiem is an esteemed scholar and member of the Soowahlie First Nation and Professor Emeritus, Educational Studies at UBC. Dr. Archibald was the first Associate Dean of Indigenous Education in a Canadian university. In this role, she substantially increased the numbers of Indigenous undergraduate and graduate students and faculty members, expanded Indigenous course and program offerings, established Indigenous Ph.D. scholarship funding and expanded partnerships with Indigenous communities and other post-secondary institutions. Jo-ann co-developed Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement (SAGE). This student peer support network has become a province-wide multi-disciplinary peer support and mentoring network that supports more than 100 Aboriginal graduate students annually to make significant educational and social change using research, Indigenous knowledge and community-oriented approaches.

Dr. Balbir Kaur Gurm BSN’ 83, MA’90, EdD’04:

Balbir Kaur is the Founder and Chair of Network to Eliminate Violence in Relationships (NEVR), and a Professor Faculty of Health, Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Dr. Gurm started the grassroots, interdisciplinary group in 2011 and has grown to more than 200 members from more than 100 participating organizations, groups and individual members. Dr. Gurm’s book Making Sense of a Global Pandemic: Relationship Violence and Working Together Towards a Violence Free Society was published in 2020 and includes multiple perspectives and resources to provide a comprehensive overview of relationship violence. It serves as an online platform and living resource. As a Nursing Professor, Dr. Gurm is a role model for nursing students. She introduces the concepts of violence being a community issue and facilitates nursing students to participate in community activities within their classes

Click here to read more about this award!

Farewell Message from Dean Frank

By Ayla Collins

June 16, 2021

Dear friends and colleagues,

It has been my privilege to serve as your Dean for the past ten years. No other role could have tempted me away from my home and life in Halifax, but the opportunity to join and lead one of the largest and most distinguished faculties of education in Canada seemed like one I could not pass up. Thank you for the opportunity, and thank you for the trust you placed in me as your Dean.

This Faculty brings together an extraordinary team of students, scholars and professional staff, with wide-ranging experiences and scholarly interests. Our Faculty has a unique standing in the Province, with a longstanding commitment to teacher education, educational research, and education across the lifespan. Every program we offer is infused with and underpinned by scholarly work, much of it conducted by our own faculty members and graduate students. We have an exceptional record of success in Tri-Council funding. Each year, numerous faculty members receive external honours and recognition. It is no surprise to me that our Faculty of Education is now ranked tenth in the world—you deserve no less.

What has given me the keenest satisfaction over the past ten years is not the Faculty’s rankings, nor the opening of our new building, nor the steady increase in research funding. It is the relationships that we created and nurtured: with Musqueam, with the Syilx, and with the many other Indigenous communities who have hosted our NITEP field centres and our students; with schools and school districts across the province; with international scholars and learners who have visited our Faculty or invited us to work alongside them in their home communities, including locations such as the Dadaab refugee camp. These relationships have enriched our scholarship, our programs and our lives and have contributed in important ways to our Faculty’s work and mission.

I offer all of you—students, alum staff, and faculty members—my most sincere thanks for joining me on this ten-year journey. I would like to recognize, in particular, several people who have made my job as Dean much easier:

The absolutely exceptional staff working on the Sixth Floor, especially Anna Bin, Clara Ng and Suzanne Scott, who have all served on my Senior Leadership Team; along with them I would like to recognize Michael Murphy. All four have worked by my side for years and have been instrumental in the advancement of the Faculty’s goals and priorities.
My External Advisory Board, who continually challenged me to do better and reach further.
All those who served on my Senior Leadership Team over the years, most especially my current associate deans Dr. Patsy Duff, Dr. Jan Hare, and Dr. Marianne McTavish.
Dr. Mary Bryson, who provided such exceptional leadership across many of the portfolios that underpin our success: faculty affairs, equity and innovation. It would be impossible for me to overstate how much I have relied upon their expertise and advice for the past five years.
Our many donors for their philanthropic interest in and support of the Faculty, and whose generosity supports so many students, programs and initiatives.
Our current students and our alum community—I will watch your career paths and achievements with interest and hope to remain connected with you all.
Our faculty emeriti, whose legacy remains foundational to the Faculty’s continuing success. I offer a special recognition of those faculty members who are retiring at the end of June, 2021: Dr. Peter Crocker (KIN), Dr. Garnet Grosjean (EDST), Dr. Shelley Hymel (ECPS), and Dr. Richard Young (ECPS). I wish you all the best in this next phase of your lives.

I remain grateful to the leadership at the University, most especially Dr. David Farrar, Dr. Angela Redish, Dr. Andrew Szeri and Dr. Ananya Mukherjee Reed, who served as my Provosts, for their unflagging support of our Faculty. I also thank Dr. Martha Piper, Dr. Stephen Toope, Dr. Arvind Gupta and Dr. Santa Ono, who served in the role of President during my tenure as Dean and whose leadership was an inspiration to me. Finally, I note with gratitude with unflagging support and sage advice offered to me by many UBC colleagues, most especially my fellow Deans, Faculty Relations and the Office of the University Counsel.

Please know that I will forever be indebted to the entire Faculty of Education community for all the hard work, support and wise counsel that helped make my ten years as Dean a success. I hope you feel confident, as I do, that this exceptional Faculty stands well positioned not only to endure, but also to embark on an exciting new phase of its journey under the leadership of Dr. Jan Hare, your incoming Dean pro tem. I know I am leaving the Faculty in very good hands.

Best,
Blye

Dean’s message to Alumni and Emeriti

By avin saririan

Dear Alumni and Emeriti,

The absolutely exceptional staff working on the Sixth Floor, especially Anna Bin, Clara Ng and Suzanne Scott, who have all served on my Senior Leadership Team; along with them I would like to recognize Michael Murphy. All four have worked by my side for years and have been instrumental in the advancement of the Faculty’s goals and priorities.
My External Advisory Board, who continually challenged me to do better and reach further.
All those who served on my Senior Leadership Team over the years, most especially my current associate deans Dr. Patsy Duff, Dr. Jan Hare, and Dr. Marianne McTavish.
Dr. Mary Bryson, who provided such exceptional leadership across many of the portfolios that underpin our success: faculty affairs, equity and innovation. It would be impossible for me to overstate how much I have relied upon their expertise and advice for the past five years.
Our many donors for their philanthropic interest in and support of the Faculty, and whose generosity supports so many students, programs and initiatives.
Our current students and our alum community—I will watch your career paths and achievements with interest and hope to remain connected with you all.
Our faculty emeriti, whose legacy remains foundational to the Faculty’s continuing success. I offer a special recognition of those faculty members who are retiring at the end of June 2021: Dr. Peter Crocker (KIN), Dr. Garnet Grosjean (EDST), Dr. Shelley Hymel (ECPS), and Dr. Richard Young (ECPS). I wish you all the best in this next phase of your lives.

Please know that I will forever be indebted to the entire Faculty of Education community for all the hard work, support and wise counsel that helped make my ten years as Dean a success. I hope you feel confident, as I do, that this exceptional Faculty stands well-positioned not only to endure but also to embark on an exciting new phase of its journey under the leadership of Dr. Jan Hare, your incoming Dean pro tem. I know I am leaving the Faculty in very good hands.

Best,

Blye

Dr. Blye Frank (He, Him, His)
Dean & Professor, Faculty of Education (UBC-V & UBC-O)
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus | Unceded Musqueam territory

A special fund has been created in honour of Dean Blye Frank’s lifelong research focusing on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Education.

To learn more or to make a gift please follow the link below.

https://give.ubc.ca/projects/dean-frank-graduate-scholarship-education/

Congratulations to our SSHRC and NSERC Grant Recipients

By Ayla Collins

June 15, 2021

The Faculty of Education extends its congratulations to the faculty members who have won awards in recent external research grant competitions

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) supports postsecondary-based research, research training and knowledge mobilization activities in the social sciences and humanities. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) funds visionaries, explorers and innovators who are searching for the scientific and technical breakthroughs that will benefit our country.

Please join us in celebrating our faculty members’ outstanding work and the impressive recognition that it has received:

SSHRC Partnership Development Grants

Dr. Kerry Renwick (EDCP)
Growing a Transnational Food Literacy Education Partnership (3 years)

SSHRC Insight Grants

Dr. John-Tyler Binfet (OSE)
Undergraduate Student Stress Reduction Through Virtual Canine Comfort (3 years)

Dr. Shannon Bredin (KIN)
Engaging Indigenous Youth Through Traditional Land-based Activities (5 years)

Dr. Peter Crocker (KIN)
UBC co-applicants: Dr. Erica Bennett (KIN), Dr. Andrea Bundon (KIN)
Exploring Psychological Well-being and Adaptation Processes in Paralympic and Olympic Athletes: A Critical Study of Privilege and Marginalization in the Age of COVID-19 (2 years)

Dr. Suzanne de Castell (MET)
Para-Cognitive Play: What Classroom Ecologies Can Teach Us About Game-Based Learning and Assessment (5 years)

Dr. Rita Irwin (EDCP)
UBC co-applicant: Dr. Shannon Leddy (EDCP)
Retracing, Reimagining and Reconciling our Roots (4 years)

Dr. Jennifer Jenson (LLED)
School’s Out: Ludic Pathways to STEM Equity? (5 years)

Dr. Anusha Kassan (ECPS)
Newcomer Youth and School Integration: An Arts-Based Engagement Ethnography in the French and English Public System (3 years)

Dr. Stephen Petrina (EDCP)
Philosophy of Media and Technology for Children and Youth (5 years)

Dr. Karen Ragoonaden (OSE)
Mindfulness and Antiracist Education: Developing Critical Reflection (3 years)

NSERC Discovery Grants

Dr. Edward Kroc (ECPS)
Essential and Incidental Measurement Error: Bayesian Estimation and Inference When Sample Measurements are Random-variable-valued (5 years)

Dr. Cameron Mitchell (KIN)
Understanding the Matrix: Regulation of the Human Muscle Extra Cellular Matrix (5 years)

Research Tools and Instruments Grants

Dr. Michael Koehle (KIN)
Upgrade to the UBC Environmental Physiology Laboratory to include Ozone Exposure Capacity

For the full list of grant recipients, please visit the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation Research Community News page.

Dr. Cynthia Nicol reappointed as the David F. Robitaille Professor of Mathematics and Science Education

By Paula Sabti

June 15, 2021

Congratulations to Dr. Cynthia Nicol on her reappointment as the David F. Robitaille Professor of Mathematics and Science Education for a three-year term beginning September 1, 2021

Endowed in 2000, the David F. Robitaille Professorship in Mathematics and Science Education was established to support Faculty initiatives focusing on the application of technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics, science and technology education, and to serve as the catalyst for initiating, promoting and supporting programs and research that enhance science, mathematics and technology skills at elementary and secondary levels or enhance teacher skills in those areas.

Dr. Nicol, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, UBC Faculty of Education, lived and taught on Haida Gwaii in the Pacific Northcoast before moving to Vancouver to pursue her doctoral studies. Collaborating with educators and communities, she explores new ways of making mathematics responsive to all learners by connecting math, community and culture, emphasizing place and community-based education, and exploring social justice issues through mathematics.

Over the past four years, Dr. Nicol has worked to develop a living model of culturally responsive mathematics education based on intersecting theories of culturally responsive pedagogies, place-based pedagogies, Indigenous epistemologies and critical mathematics education. She has also supported and successfully collaborated with numerous participants in the David Robitaille International STEM Network, which includes many of her EDCP colleagues, on a variety of issues.

Her current projects focus on ways to support educators interested in more culturally responsive teaching practices, including Indigenous practices. Dr. Nicol’s collaborations with educators, school administrators, Elders, and community members on Haida Gwaii, has led to:

the development of a locally, nationally and internationally recognized model for place-based mathematics education
a book, Living Culturally Responsive Mathematics Education with/in Indigenous Communities
an online land-enhanced mathematics methods course for UBC Indigenous teacher education students
an online UBC mathematics education graduate program designed to reach potential students in rural and Indigenous communities

Visit Dr. Nicol’s profile to learn more about her work, research and publications.

The Office of Indigenous Education: Indigenous Peoples Day 2021

By Ayla Collins

When: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 – Monday, June 21st, 2021, various times.
Where: Zoom, link TBD; please register using the online form at the bottom of this page to receive the Zoom link.

The Office of Indigenous Education will be hosting daily sessions online through Zoom in celebration of Indigenous Peoples Month.

The goal of these sessions is to promote and celebrate Indigenous knowledge and ways of being through community, storytelling, sharing with Elders, beading, baking, and more. Sessions are open to everyone!

Event Details

Date	Time	Event	Guest
Tuesday, June 15, 2021	12:00 pm – 1:15 pm	Visiting Elders	Eric Mitchell, Chris Marchand
Wednesday, June 16, 2021	12:00 pm – 1:15 pm	Beading Circle	Chloe Erlendson
Thursday, June 17, 2021	12:00 pm – 1:15 pm	Bannock Baking	Jennifer Anaquod
Monday, June 21, 2021	12:00 pm – 1:30 pm	Speaker Event	Larry Grant

More information, and the registration form can be found at this link:

Indigenous Education News and Events

Dr. Sandra Scott receives an NSERC PromoScience program grant

By Paula Sabti

June 9, 2021

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Scott for receiving an NSERC PromoScience program grant

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. NSERC directly funds university professors and students, as well as Canadian companies, to conduct research and training activities.

NSERC’s PromoScience program supports hands-on learning experiences that inspire the next generation of scientists and research leaders, offering financial support for non-profit organizations working with young Canadians to promote an understanding of science and engineering. All eligible applications are peer-reviewed by the PromoScience/NSERC Awards for Science Promotion Selection Committee. Members are chosen from the science and engineering promotion community, and the education community, based on their stature and expertise.

To learn more about NSERC’s PromoScience program, visit the program webpage.

Dr. Sandra Scott, Associate Professor of Teaching, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, UBC Faculty of Education is passionate about science, environmental education and elementary science. A self-described naturalist, scientist, and educator of, for, and in the environment, she was a classroom educator, marine educator and park naturalist prior to joining UBC.

Dr. Scott’s research follows a practitioner inquiry approach that embraces the notion of slow EcoPedagogy. She is interested in the ways learners experience and interpret the world as they explore their knowledge of science, aesthetics, ethics and history. Her Intergenerational Landed Learning Project partners children with community gardeners, educators and scientists, to grow food and learn how environmental and agricultural sciences can improve the health of the planet and ourselves. NSERC’s PromoScience program grant will help fund the project to reach more schools and elementary children, more Indigenous youth, integrate Indigenous ways, knowledges, and traditions, and provide professional development, both face-to-face and virtually, for more educators, preparing them to bring an inclusive living science component to students in their schools. To learn more, visit the Intergenerational Landed Learning Project website.

To learn more about Dr. Scott’s work, research and publications, visit her profile.

To learn more about all four UBC-led projects funded by the PromoScience program, visit the Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation’s NSERC PromoScience program webpage.

Dr. Jo-ann Archibald Q’um Q’um Xiiem, OC, Professor Emerita, receives the 2021 YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Education, Training and Development

By Paula Sabti

June 7, 2021

Congratulations to Dr. Jo-ann Archibald Q’um Q’um Xiiem, OC, Professor Emerita, for receiving the 2021 YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Education, Training and Development

The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards honours extraordinary women leaders and businesses. The Education, Training and Development Award honours an academic, educator, administrator or other champion of learning who inspires a passion for life-long learning in those around her and has made a significant and sustained difference in Metro Vancouver. The recipient contributes through practice, research or administration in a learning environment including the education system, employee training and development, community education and/or alternative programs. She motivates others to gain knowledge, set goals and seek opportunities.

To learn more about the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, visit the awards page.
To learn more about all of the 2021 YWCA Women of Distinction Awards recipients, visit the recipients page.

Indigenous scholar, author, and pioneer in the advancement of Indigenous education, Dr. Archibald was the first associate dean for Indigenous Education at UBC, former director of the Faculty’s Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NITEP), and Professor Emerita in the Faculty’s Department of Educational Studies. She completed her Bachelor of Education at UBC in 1972 and completed both a master’s and a doctorate in education.

A member of the Stol:lo Nation, Dr. Archibald is a visionary and an agent of change who is nationally recognized for creating culturally relevant teacher education and graduate programs for Indigenous students. During her career of more than 40 years, her work transformed the learning landscape through curriculum and program development, policy, teaching and research.

2020/21 Highlights from the Development and Alumni Engagement team

By Ammaarah Fakim

Dear Faculty of Education community members,

The Development and Alumni Engagement team would like to share some of our highlights from 2020–21 and to thank our donors, alumni, and emeriti for their inspired philanthropy.

We look forward to ongoing support from our wonderful Faculty of Education community. Please reach out if you are considering making a gift as we continue to fundraise for these projects.

All our best,

Suzanne Scott, Michael Murphy and Harry Young

Giving Day

UBC held its first-ever online Giving Day in April and we want to thank our donors for their support in supporting CampOUT!, Institute for Veterans Education and Transition (IVET), Indigenous Education, the Bimema Family Award in Teacher Education, and the Physical Activity Research Centre (PARC).

Bimema Family Teacher Award

Special thanks to Dr. Bathseba Opini for championing this award named in honour of her family to support Black Teacher Education students. We are delighted to share that we have surpassed our goal of $50,000.00

*Additional funds are most welcome.

Edith Lando Centre for Virtual Education

The Edith Lando Charitable Foundation gifted the Faculty of Education $1.5M for the creation of the first-ever Centre for Virtual Education to support marginalized learners in rural and remote areas, immigrant and refugee families, and Early Childhood Education Instructors.

Tuey Charitable Foundation scholarships and bursaries

Alumni Joan and Leon Tuey have gifted $1.1M towards scholarships and bursaries for students studying Early Childhood Education and Art Education. The gift also represents the first contribution towards the Gordon Smith Chair in Art Education.

Dean Blye Frank Graduate Scholarship in Education

Scholarships totalling $10,000 have been made available annually through a gift from Robert Quartermain, in honour of Dean Blye Frank, for outstanding graduate students in the Faculty of Education whose research focuses on creating education policy and education curriculum, and educating educators in sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) inclusive education.

Additional funds are most welcome!

Henrik Moberg Parker Memorial Award in Kinesiology

Awards totalling $2,000 have been made available annually through gifts from friends and family in memory of Henrik Moberg Parker (2001-2020) for students in the Bachelor of Kinesiology program who are participating in varsity or club sports. Preference will be given to students who volunteer with children who have special needs. Henrik was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia. After graduating from Vancouver College in 2019, he entered the Bachelor of Kinesiology program at UBC. Henrik was a leader on his hockey and soccer teams, and volunteered regularly with children who have special needs.

Estate gift from emeritus Dr. Donald Wilson

Emeritus Dr. Donald Wilson designated a gift of $100K from his estate to the Faculty of Education.

We are very grateful to Dr. Wilson and his family for this generous gift.

Grad 2021: Message from ECED Director, Dr. Laurie Ford: Congratulations Class of 2021

By Ammaarah Fakim