I’m sure that you’ll agree that it has been an incredibly busy
semester. I’d like to take the opportunity before people start leaving
for the holidays to update you on a number of new UNBC developments.
Budget 2009-10
Preparation of the next operating budget for UNBC is now in full swing. The budget guidelines have been discussed at Senate and will be presented to the Board this weekend. The key items are that we are projecting a balanced budget for the remainder of this fiscal year and budget holders are being asked to budget for 2009/10 at the level of their 2008-09 budgets – so no forecasted change either up or down. We will also seek to address cost pressures on a priority basis as well as the reduced flow of cash from the university endowment. Of course, we are also joining with our university colleagues in an effort to convince government to reverse its decision of a year ago to reduce our funding by almost $1 million. For more information on 2009-10 budget planning, see this website (http://www.unbc.ca/finance_dept/budgets/index.html).
UNBC's Interim President, Dr. Charles Jago.
Research Universities’ Council
UNBC has joined with UBC, SFU, and UVic to form the Research Universities Council of BC (RUCBC). The aim of the group is “to provide a coordinated approach to the development of relevant public policy related to current and future issues facing the four research-intensive universities in British Columbia” and it’s a significant thing for UNBC to be included. The RUCBC will be producing a regular series of newsletters and we’ll link to them from the UNBC Bulletin (www.unbc.ca/bulletin) as they are issued.
Visit the Research Universities' Council of BC's website at:
I’d like to extend my congratulations to Len McNamara for orchestrating a convincing presentation to the Canada West Athletic Association as it considers adding UNBC to its membership in men’s and women’s basketball. A site team from Canada West was here in early December and heard from many people both inside and outside of the University, before they witnessed a big crowd of about 1600 people at the home openers for both basketball teams. We won’t know for some time about our success in this endeavour; the members of Canada West will vote on our membership in May, 2009.
The official student counts for this semester have been compiled and we’ve set a new record for headcount in a single semester: 3989, up nearly 3% from last year. Perhaps most notably, we have stopped a trend of taking in fewer new students every year. In fact, the number of new undergraduate students this fall is up 16% over last year. This is a terrific result in a year where we are facing unprecedented competition in the marketplace. Congratulations to all.
National Rankings
We should all also be very proud of UNBC’s recent placement in a series of national rankings published by Maclean’s, the National Post, and the Globe and Mail. You’ve likely heard about these already, but a summary of our performance in each ranking (with links to each of the publications) is accessible on our website: http://www.unbc.ca/releases/2008/11_13rankings.html
This year's Canadian University Report and Maclean's Magazine.
Green Progress
The University’s Green University Committee – chaired by Mark Dale – has been making progress on a number of initiatives aimed at making UNBC more environmentally friendly. The next key date is January 21, when the Committee will be hosting an opportunity for all members of the UNBC community to provide feedback on their top priorities and suggest options for funding them. Mark your calendars now, but more information will be provided in early January.
The “New North”
Plans for a “New North” economic summit in Prince George have prompted UNBC to examine how it can play a stronger role in revitalizing northern BC. Momentum is building throughout the region for greater mobilization of research in response to the many opportunities and challenges confronting communities: economic diversification, renewable energy, environmental and community sustainability, the effects of climate change, housing, health care access, etc. The summit will be held in mid-January and was called for by the Premier as one of the Province’s responses to the global economic crisis.
Physiotherapy and PhD Health Sciences
Development is continuing on two new graduate programs in Health Sciences (doctoral) and Physical Therapy (master’s). The committee selecting a chair of physical therapy met for the first time earlier this week and ads will be placed soon. Both programs will need to be approved by Senate and the Board before they can be offered. It’s possible that the PhD could accept its first students this fall, while physiotherapy likely won’t begin until sometime in 2010.
