A Moment with the Dean

October 24, 2022

Aanii – Greetings!

I hope that the unfolding of the new academic year has now settled into a productive rhythm for you and your communities.

Here in the UBC Faculty of Education, our collective efforts have been turned towards finding solutions to the challenges that we face as individuals and as a society—addressing racism and other forms of oppression, encouraging physical activity and health, and finding new ways for learners to connect with each other and with the programs they need.

There are so many ways in which the UBC Faculty of Education contributes to creating and sustaining thriving societies. I am filled with gratitude for the work we are able to do, while recognizing that our approach must be grounded in compassion, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization, as well as supported by creativity and excellence. I invite you to learn more about the scholars, students and community members who are helping to advance education’s role in the well-being of people and communities by visiting our faculty website educ.ubc.ca.

I am delighted to share with you that three members of the School of Kinesiology were recently honoured. Dr. Erica Bennett received a 2022 President’s Award from the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. Kinesiology undergraduate Lynda Li will receive the Thomas Clarkson Gray Gold Medal at the 2022 Undergraduate Awards Global Summit, the world’s leading pan-discipline, undergraduate research awards program. And, Dr. Rosalin Miles, a Research Associate in the School of Kinesiology and a member of the Lytton First Nation, received Alumni UBC’s Volunteer Leadership Award for her work in promoting physical activity within Indigenous communities.

Earlier this year, I was privileged to receive a Spencer Foundation grant to support the creation of a symposium on Indigenous-led Teacher Education in Global and Local Contexts. This initiative was uplifted with support from Canada’s Rideau Hall Foundation. Our Faculty of Education hosted the symposium earlier this month, with scholars and educators from 14 Indigenous teacher education programs from Canada, Norway, Australia and the US. One of the outcomes of the symposium will be a research agenda that will establish research questions and key issues in Indigenous-led teacher education, based on priorities identified by scholars, teacher educators, students and community members taking part in the symposium.

I would like to take a moment now to tell you about an initiative launched just recently that I am especially proud of. As part of the faculty’s recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we announced a new Reconciliation Alumni Award, which will honor alumni who have demonstrated leadership, integrity and respect and commitment to furthering reconciliation or decolonizing efforts. If you know a UBC alumni who has done extraordinary work in this area, please consider nominating them. You can find more information about the award on our website.

Next time you visit the UBC campus, I invite you to drop by the Neville Scarfe building to view the new Orange Shirt installation consisting of hundreds of tiny, lovingly crafted orange shirts and sweaters. Each small garment represents a child who did not return home from residential school or former students and their families, who are forever changed by their experiences. The installation, led by Dr. Shannon Leddy, Kerry Renwick and Lorrie Miller, will keep Indigenous histories at the forefront of teacher-candidates’ thinking as they learn what it means to become a culturally responsive educator in British Columbia.

I will close by extending a warm invitation to you to find out more about the Faculty of Education and the many programs, initiatives and research that we offer to serve you, our communities.

Miigwech—thank you.

Jan Hare, PhD
Professor and Dean pro tem
UBC Faculty of Education