Register for the 2025-26 Dean's Distinguished Lecture | October 2, 2025

Register for the 2025-26 Dean’s Distinguished Lecture | October 2, 2025

The 2025–26 Dean’s Distinguished Lecture will feature Dr. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, acclaimed Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg artist, scholar, and thought leader whose work weaves story, song, and activism with Indigenous ways of knowing. Drawing on traditional knowledges to envision a collective future, Dr. Simpson highlights how art and education can connect us more deeply to culture, community, and the land.

The Dean’s Distinguished Lecture is an annual series that amplifies the voices of leading educators, researchers, and artists who are addressing some of society’s most pressing challenges.

Host

Join Dr. Jan Hare, Dean of the Faculty of Education

Distinguished Speaker

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician, writer, and academic, who has been widely recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. Her work breaks open the boundaries between story and song—bringing audiences into a rich and layered world of sound, light, and sovereign creativity.

Working for two decades as an independent scholar using Nishnaabeg intellectual practices, Leanne has lectured and taught extensively at universities across Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Europe and has over twenty years of experience with Indigenous land-based education.

Leanne is the author of eight books, including A Short History of the Blockade and the novel Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies, which was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction and the Dublin Literary Prize. Her collaboration with Robyn Maynard, Rehearsals for Living, is a National Best Seller and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for non-fiction.

Leanne is also a musician. Her latest release, Theory of Ice, was named to the Polaris Prize short list, and she is the 2021 winner of the Prism Prize’s Willie Dunn Award. Leanne’s new work, Theory of Water, was published in 2025 by Alchemy at Knopf Canada and Haymarket Books in the United States.

Date

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Time

4:30 to 6:00 pm PDT

Location

Virtual Livestream

RSVP

The event has concluded.

Webinar Recording

Questions

Please contact communications.educ@ubc.ca.

ORE Writing Retreat: From Proposals to Publications | October 07, 2025

By alin38

ORE Writing Retreat: From Proposals to Publications

The Office of Research in Education is pleased to share an opportunity for faculty, postdoctoral fellows, staff, and their students to write in a supportive environment. Bring your writing projects and write alongside others in this 2-hour, facilitated and structured writing retreat and co-writing space. Co-writing in this shared space will have attendees working on their writing projects independently, while surrounded by others doing the same.

A structured writing retreat can be an important part of the development of a regular writing habit – it can increase productivity, reduce stress, stimulate conversation, foster confidence, and improve the quality of our writing, according to academic writing retreat specialists (Murray, 2014; Murray & Newton, 2009). Those interested in attending can bring a range of writing projects to work on: proposals, publications such as chapters, books, reports, conference abstracts, grant-writing, curricula, practitioner articles, news articles, and all manner of social media.

Schedule

This Writing Retreat will last for two hours. Most of the duration will allow attendees to write and work independently, with scheduled breaks and a final debrief.

Registration

Please register for the session format that suits you best. Please contact educ.ore@ubc.ca should you have any questions.

Date

October 07, 2025, Tuesday

Time

12:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Format

Hybrid session (join in-person or on Zoom)

*Light refreshments will be provided for in-person attendees

In-Person Location

Neville Scarfe Building, Room 313

Attending Online?

A calendar invite with the zoom link will be sent to registrants

RSVP

Registration for this event has closed. Please contact educ.ore@ubc.ca if you have any questions.

Meet your Host

Dr. Samia Khan, Associate Dean, Research

Dr. Samia Khan is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy and the Associate Dean, Research within the Faculty of Education. She is a trained academic writing retreat facilitator and has hosted writing retreats for the past 5 years in the UK, Canada and UBC.

Additional Resources

Working on a grant application? Connect with the Faculty of Education’s Research Grant Facilitator in the Office of Research in Education, Regina Baeza Martinez, for one-on-one consultations or feedback on draft proposals.

References

Murray, R. (2014). Writing in social spaces: A social processes approach to academic writing. Routledge.

Murray, R., & Newton, M. (2009). Writing retreat as structured intervention: Margin or mainstream? Higher Education Research & Development, 28(5), 541-553.

Kenya’s Dadaab Refugee Camp: Training teachers in one of the world’s largest & longest-running settlements

By Johanna Mills

August 27, 2025

A UBC Faculty of Education–led teacher education initiative enabled more than 300 members of the Dadaab refugee community to earn teaching credentials and become teachers in one of the world’s largest and longest-running refugee settlements in northeastern Kenya. Coordinated by Dr. Samson Nashon and Dr. Rita Irwin, and developed with partners in Kenya and Canada, it provided displaced learners with pathways to professional qualifications while strengthening local schools.

Though the initiative has since concluded, its impact continues through the work of its graduates and through ongoing Faculty of Education research on teaching and learning in contexts of displacement.

Read the full story on UBC’s Office of Global Engagement, here.

Rural and Remote Teacher Education Program (RRED)

By Avril Hwang

Hybrid program: In-person (Off campus – Nelson) and Online
2-year program

Book Launch: Until Even the Angels | October 8, 2025

By virginia tung

Event Description

Join us for a literary crime novel book launch by Suzanne Scott Tomita, PhD’11!

Suzanne Scott Tomita is a fundraiser and author who has been living in Singapore for the past three years. She recently published Until Even the Angels, her debut literary crime novel — set in Singapore in the 1950s — with Penguin Random House SEA.

Read more about Suzanne in this recent UBC Magazine My Town Spotlight.

About the Book

When successful London real estate agent, Isabelle Goh, is left close to death in an attempted assassination, Detective Ayesha Nur begins a case that not only brings her face to face with her own demons, but sends her on a journey to unravel Goh’s long-hidden secrets. What happened a half-century ago in post-colonial Singapore? Who was baby Rosie and how did her disappearance so many years in the past lead to the shooting in modern-day London?

Date

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Time

6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Doors at 6:30 pm, event starts at 7:00 pm; free to attend and all are welcome.

Location

Main Street Book Warehouse
4118 Main St
Vancouver, BC
Canada V5V 3P7

Questions

Please contact education.alumni@ubc.ca.

Nominate a Faculty of Education alum for the 2025 Alumni Builder Awards

By virginia tung

Alumni Builder Awards 2025

This award recognizes UBC alumni who have:

Significantly contributed to UBC by:
- supporting the UBC vision of “inspiring people, ideas and actions for a better world” through volunteer engagement;
- strengthening transformative learning opportunities for students through supporting curriculum development, career readiness, hiring, and experiential and work-integrated learning; or
- building meaningful connections with the UBC community and its partners.
Demonstrated leadership in the areas of philanthropy, volunteerism or community service beyond the performance of the individual’s normal duties or the exercise of the responsibilities of a profession to which that individual belongs.
Made a lasting impact on their communities and UBC through the aforementioned contribution.

Eligibility:

Posthumous nominations will not be considered, eligible UBC alumni must be living.
Awards cannot be given to current members of the University’s Board of Governors, the alumni UBC Board, alumni UBC Achievement Award recipients or honorary degree holders.
Current alumni UBC and UBC Staff are not eligible, yet faculty members are eligible.

Sorry. This form is no longer available.

Questions? Please contact education.alumni@ubc.ca

Celebrating Faculty of Education External Grant Awardees

By Johanna Mills

August 21, 2025

We are pleased to recognize the following faculty members for their success in the recent external research grant competitions. These awards highlight the depth, breadth, and impact of research excellence across our Faculty, while also strengthening our contributions to scholarship, innovation, and society at large. Congratulations to all recipients and their collaborators on these outstanding achievements.

SSHRC Insight Grants

Support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities. Funding is available to both emerging scholars and established scholars for research initiatives of two to five years.

Applicant: Dr. Mark Beauchamp
Co-investigator: Dr. Eli Puterman
Project: The ‘Global Goals Project’: An international randomized trial to examine the effectiveness of open goals to promote physical activity

Applicant: Dr. Peter Cole
Co-investigator: Dr. Patricia A. O’Riley
Project: Mutual Nurturance in the High Amazon for a World on Fire

Applicant: Dr. Anusha Kassan
Co-investigator: Dr. Suna Eryigit-Madzwamuse
Project: An Arts-Based Engagement Ethnography of Newcomer Student Wellness in French and English Institutions of Higher Education in Canada

Applicant: Dr. Maureen Kendrick
Co-investigator: Dr. Margaret Early
Project: Digital Multimodal Composing-To-Learn: Perspectives, Practices, and Possibilities for Multilingual Learners

Applicant: Dr. Guofang Li
Co-investigator: Dr. Lee Gunderson
Project: Investigating the Relationship between First Language Proficiency and English Reading Comprehension among Multilingual Learners in Upper Elementary Years in BC

Applicant: Dr. Amy Metcalfe
Project: Making a home on campus: The first 50 years of student housing at the University of British Columbia

Applicant: Dr. Anne Phelan
Project: Therapeutic Practices in Teacher Education: Impact and Significance

Applicant: Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen
Co-investigator: Dr. Sarah Horn
Project: Digital Childhood: Understanding the Effects of Screen Time on Development and Well-being in School-Aged Youth

Applicant: Dr. Robert VanWynsberghe
Project: When Strong Currents Meet: Swimming in the Waters of Transformative Social Innovation Pedagogies

Co-investigator(s): Drs. Mark Beauchamp, Marina Milner-Bolotin
Project: A Cross-Country Study: Investigating Inequalities in Adolescent Learning and Well-Being during COVID-19 and Mitigating Factors

Co-investigator: Dr. Sandra Zappa-Hollman
Project: Development and validation of an academic language socialization self-assessment tool

SSHRC Insight Development Grants

Support research in its initial stages. Funding is provided for short-term research development projects of up to two years that are proposed by individuals or teams.

Applicant: Dr. Shannon Bredin
Project: Empowering Change through Awareness: A Virtual Strategy to Address Emotional Abuse in Sport

Applicant: Dr. Glory Ovie
Project: Black Educators at the Intersections: Understanding the Experiences of Black Educators in Alberta and British Columbia K-12 Schools

Applicant: Dr. Leyton Schnellert
Co-investigator(s): Drs. Carly Christensen, Bathseba Opini
Project: Embedding Disability Justice as a Core Component within Teacher Education Programs

SSHRC Connection Grants

Support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives, which can often serve as a first step toward more comprehensive and longer-term projects.

Applicant: Dr. Shannon Leddy
Project: Learning with the Land Symposium

Co-investigator: Dr. Penney Clark
Project: History Education in Troubled Times: Perspectives from Canada

SSHRC Partnership Development Grants

Support the development of partnered research and related activities in the social sciences and humanities.

Applicant: Dr. Shannon Leddy
Project: Visual Storytelling in the Indigenous North

SSHRC Partnership Engage Grants

Support short-term partnered research activities involving a postsecondary institution and a single organization from the public, private or not-for-profit sectors.

Applicant: Dr. Eli Puterman
Project: Stepping back to better move forward: Engaging with women living with HIV and the organizations that serve them to better understand factors that impact engagement in community-based physical activity programs

SSHRC Partnership Grants

Provide support for new and existing formal partnerships over four to seven years to advance research, research training and/or knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities.

Co-investigator: Dr. Handel Wright
Project: Transforming the Lives of Black Children and Youths in Canada

SSHRC Destination Horizon Grant

Support researchers to build capacity, foster existing partnerships, and further develop networks and/or consortia with European Union and other “associated countries” researchers, with the ultimate goal of applying to Horizon Europe—Pillar II calls for proposals.

Applicant: Dr. Nancy Perry
Co-investigator(s): Drs. Leyton Schnellert, Kimberley Sinclair
Project: Fostering Self-Regulated Learning through Professional Learning and the Lens of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

NSERC Discovery Grant

Supports ongoing programs of research with long-term goals rather than a single short-term project or collection of projects. Can facilitate access to funding from other programs but are not meant to support the full costs of a research program.

Applicant: Dr. Hyusub Kim
Project: Computational Principles of Motor Skill

NSERC Alliance-Mitacs Accelerate

Support projects of varying scale and complexity, from short-term smaller projects involving one researcher to long-term projects involving researchers across several universities and/or partner organizations across multiple sectors.

Applicant: Dr. Jean-Sébastien Blouin
Project: Tread with Caution: Tracking Real-World Locomotor Biomechanics to Understand Trips, Slips, and Falls

CIHR Project Grants

Supports research projects proposed and conducted by individual researchers or groups of researchers, at any career stage, in all areas of health.

Applicant: Dr. Eli Puterman
Co-investigator(s): Drs. Mark Beauchamp, Guy Faulkner, Ben Hives, Jasmin Ma, Bruno Zumbo
Project: Remote Exercise iNtErvention for Wellbeing (RENEW) Trial: A 2-arm Randomized at-home, App-Based Exercise Trial to Improve Adherence, Mental Health, and Wellbeing of British Columbian Healthcare Workers

Co-investigator: Dr. Mark Beauchamp
Project: Reframing retirement: An examination of identity change and self-regulation approaches to promote physical activity

Co-investigator: Dr. Hongxia Shan
Project: Transnational Healthcare Practices Among Immigrants in Canada: Nature, Scope, Drivers, and Implications

CIHR Project Grants: Cancer Research Priority Announcement

Supports cancer research and building capacity across the four pillars of health research to make important strides towards a cancer-free world.

Co-investigator: Dr. Mark Beauchamp
Project: A Two Arm Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating a Physical Activity Counselling Intervention for Young Adults Diagnosed with Cancer

CIHR Catalyst Grants

Fosters the creation and/or strengthening of partnerships that reinforce trust and mutual understanding between researchers, communities, community organizations, people with lived and/or living experience, knowledge holders, policy- and decision-makers and health providers.

Co-investigator: Dr. Liv Yoon
Project: Communities as ‘First Responders’ to Climate Change: Strengthening Social Connectedness Through Community Driven Research

Heritage Canada National Holocaust Remembrance Program

Supports initiatives that seek to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and help improve Canadians’ understanding and awareness of the Holocaust and contemporary antisemitism.

Co-investigator: Dr. Andrea Webb
Project: Developing Trauma-Informed Teaching Resources and Outreach Activities for Arts-Based Survivor Testimonies

The Learning Variability NeTwork Exchange (LEVANTE)/Jacobs Foundation

Supports researchers and practitioners as they expand scientific understanding to sustainably enhance education systems.

Applicant: Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen
Project: Pregnancy During the Pandemic

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) – Strategic Engagement and Research Program (SERP)

Supports research and events related to employment and social development issues and policy development by providing evidence-based information and fostering collaboration with domestic and international organizations.

Co-investigator: Dr. Liv Yoon
Project: A Study of Subsidized Housing Experiences as they Relate to the Climate Crisis

SDGs@UofT Catalyst and Synthesis Grant

Support multidisciplinary teams of researchers with projects that have high potential to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and inform future goals.

Co-investigator: Dr. Liv Yoon
Project: Co-designing Extreme Heat Resilience: A Socio-Technical Retrofit Strategy for Low-Income Housing

To learn more about these and other research funding opportunities, visit the Faculty of Education’s Office of Research in Education.

Reclaiming identity and building futures: inside UBC’s Learn-and-Earn pathways program for Indigenous youth

By Avril Hwang

August 8, 2025

Royal’s three-week Learn-and-Earn journey strengthened her ties to her cultural roots while equipping her with study skills, career planning tools, and the confidence to navigate high school and pursue higher education.

Royal, a Grade 11 student in Vancouver, was hoping to deepen her connection to her Indigenous culture and community. “I wanted to learn more,” she says. “To be around people who share similar experiences and to be part of something that helps you grow.”

That curiosity led her to Learn-and-Earn, a program from UBC’s Faculty of Education. This summer’s inaugural three-week experience brought Indigenous high school students from across the Vancouver School Board to UBC’s Vancouver campus — located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) — for immersive, land-based learning.

But Learn-and-Earn is far more than a summer program. It’s a year-long initiative that supports Indigenous youth in completing high school, accessing university, and preparing for meaningful careers. At its core is a curriculum rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems, including land-based learning, intergenerational teachings, and Two-Eyed Seeing (Bartlett, Marshall & Marshall, 2012), which integrates Indigenous and Western worldviews. Students earn dual credit through UBC courses in Education, Forestry, and Arts, fulfilling high school graduation requirements while building a pathway to post-secondary opportunities. Throughout the school year, they receive holistic support through academic tutoring, financial literacy training, health and wellness guidance, and mentorship with Indigenous faculty.

“We should all be excited about a program like Learn-and-Earn. It builds a foundation for future opportunities for Indigenous youth by supporting their high school completion and providing access to university education through Indigenous teacher education. The demand was beyond our capacity this year, showing a high desire for these kinds of culturally grounded, academically rich learning experiences.”
— Dr. Jan Hare, Dean, UBC Faculty of Education

Upon completing a set of required courses, students in Learn-and-Earn are eligible to work as Indigenous Education Workers (IEWs), an important entry point into education careers at a time when British Columbia is facing a significant teacher shortage and a growing need for Indigenous educators. These early employment opportunities not only offer financial support but also position students to pursue long-term goals, such as becoming certified teachers through NITEP, UBC’s Indigenous Teacher Education Program.

Students learn how to set up a tarp shelter.

“It’s been an honour to witness (the students’) growth and engagement,” says Dana LaFayette Hunter, a UBC sessional instructor and Learn-and-Earn educator. “They’re already showing up with lots of intelligence, passion, and immense capacity, so my role is to invite them to challenge themselves and to share skills that will help them succeed in university, or whatever path they choose.”

Dana adds, “Wherever they choose to go, they belong — as they are. It’s on us as a community to make spaces accessible and welcoming, and to remind them that they can live their visions and succeed. Not in spite of who they are, but because of it.”

This connection to and pride in Indigeneity is a key objective of Learn-and-Earn. Dr. Hare emphasizes how “…the Faculty of Education seeks to celebrate the identities of Indigenous learners and empower them with choices that will strengthen their families, communities, and Nations.”

That sense of belonging echoed through other students’ experiences. Sadie, also in Grade 11, joined the program to connect with peers and deepen her understanding of Indigenous culture. “I don’t have a strong relationship to my heritage,” she says, “but I found a better connection through this.” The experience, she adds, “felt more freeing than regular school. I learned how to budget, how to get around…things I can use later if I go to UBC or another university.”

Jericho, another student participant, found meaning in the program’s hands-on approach. He specifically enjoyed opportunities he wouldn’t have found in a typical classroom. “We made a shelter out of string and tarp using knots we’d learned,” he recalls. “That’s not something I would’ve done in regular school.” He also gained a deeper sense of identity during the program, adding: “It helped me take more pride in being Native.”

Kalina Conway-King, a NITEP student and member of the Learn-and-Earn team, saw firsthand how students from different backgrounds and schools built genuine connections and friendships over the course of the program. “They didn’t know each other coming in,” she says. “Now they’ve got group chats, they hang out, they support each other. It’s been amazing to watch that growth and confidence build.”

Malcolm Key, a member of the team from the Vancouver School Board, was similarly moved by the community the students created. “They came together in such a short time,” he says. “Even if someone didn’t feel confident at first, they were encouraged by the group. That kind of camaraderie was inspiring to watch.”

A student and teacher look at a hand out about local species together.

Hands-on practice identifying local species.

Over the three weeks, the Learn-and-Earn team helped guide students through shared experiences — from preparing meals together to learning wilderness survival skills and exploring Indigenous ways of knowing. “They made chili, pasta, cookies… and we’d all sit down and eat together,” Kalina adds. “It felt like family.”

For Royal, the Learn-and-Earn program helped her see those connections more clearly — offering something she hadn’t found in a typical school setting: a chance to connect with her roots and build community with other Indigenous students. “It gives us a connection with other people,” she says. “Even if it’s not the same Nation or the same area, we still share the same experiences. Everyone comes from somewhere.”

To learn more about the Learn-and-Earn program — or to support it through a direct donation — visit educ.ubc.ca/learn-and-earn.

Faculty of Education alum Dr. Ruth Grunau appointed to the Order of British Columbia

By virginia tung

Dr. Ruth Grunau, MA’69, EdD’75, PhD’85.

Fifteen people who exemplify excellence will be invested into the Order of British Columbia, the province’s highest honour. Established in 1989, the Order of B.C. recognizes individuals from all walks of life and fields of endeavour who have made extraordinary contributions to the province and beyond.

Dr. Ruth Grunau has been appointed to the Order of British Columbia for her pioneering research that has transformed global understanding and care of infant pain, advancing neonatal health of infants born very pre-term and shaping clinical practices worldwide.

Dr. Ruth Grunau has transformed neonatal care through her groundbreaking research on infant pain. She developed the Neonatal Facial Coding System, the first validated tool to assess infant pain, adapted worldwide.

At BC Children’s Hospital, she was a foundational member of B.C.’s first Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic. Dr. Grunau discovered that repeated NICU pain and stress can significantly impact brain development, stress regulation and behavior into adolescence. Her research identified genetic, hormonal and sex-specific factors in pain vulnerability and revealed that common treatments like morphine and sucrose may have unintended neurodevelopmental effects.

A leader in the Family Integrated Care trial, she showed that involving parents in NICU care improves outcomes. Dr. Grunau has more than 240 refereed journal publications, 35 book chapters, $88 million in research funding and global recognition with international awards. She ranks among the top 1.5 percent of cited researchers.

A dedicated mentor and advocate, her work has shaped clinical practices, public policy and improved outcomes for vulnerable infants and families worldwide. Dr. Grunau loves to spend time with her eight grandchildren.

Find Your Pod: Celebrating 16 Years of Queer Joy at UBC Faculty of Education’s CampOUT! 2025

By Avril Hwang

During the five-day-long retreat at Camp Fircom on Gambier Island, participants engaged in activities aimed at building leadership skills, finding their community and deepening their understanding of Queerness. Illustration by: Adriel Yusgiantoro / The Ubyssey

Each summer, the UBC Faculty of Education’s CampOUT! brings together 2SLGBTQIA+ youth from across British Columbia and the Yukon to the shores of Chá7elkwnech (Gambier Island), creating a joyful, affirming space that mirrors the intergenerational orca pods in nearby Átl’ka7tsem (Howe Sound). What started as a day camp in 2009 has grown into a five-day retreat packed with workshops, art, drag, sports, and lessons on anti-racism and Indigenous resurgence — all designed to help campers “find their pod.” Amid rising anti-Trans sentiment and disappearing safe spaces, CampOUT!’s 2025 theme, “Find Your Pod: 16 Years of Queer Joy,” celebrates solidarity, resistance, and chosen family.

“We’ve been able to build a community of more than 1,000 Queer youth. Many of them become part of camp in an intergenerational way. A lot of our campers become cabin leaders, who then become community mentors … One of our campers last year became one of our co-directors of camp.”
— Daniel Gallardo – CampOUT! Director

Read the full story from the Ubyssey here.