Institutional Accountability Plan and Report 2019/20 The University of British Columbia July 15, 2020 2 Letter from Board Chair and President Dear Minister, We are pleased to submit The University of British Columbia’s Institutional Accountability Plan and Report for 2019/20 to the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training. As we close this reporting year, Canada and countries across the globe are faced with an unprecedented pandemic that has impacted all aspects of life in British Columbia, tested the strength of our health care system and public institutions, and caused significant socio-economic impacts in our society. It has also brought out remarkable ingenuity, inexhaustible dedication and moving acts of kindness throughout the province. While we are still addressing the immediate impacts of the pandemic, many of the long-term effects are slowly becoming clear. These are pivotal moments in what will surely be a defining challenge of our time. On behalf of UBC community, we want to express our profound gratitude for the provincial government’s leadership through this crisis, for the science- based approach to policy, for drawing on the incredible talent we have in BC and for your ongoing efforts to support students and BC’s post-secondary system now and through to recovery. Since the onset of the pandemic, the university has been engaged in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic – both in mitigating risk to the university community and in working collaboratively toward solutions. In this short-time, UBC transitioned to online classes at UBC Vancouver, UBC Okanagan and UBC Robson Square followed by shifting final examinations online, moving Spring Graduation ceremonies to a virtual celebration, curtailing on-campus research activities, and shifting summer sessions online. UBC faculty and students have taken on a myriad of vital research and outreach projects that address the COVID-19 pandemic with support from federal government and provincial government (for instance, through the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and Genome BC). We are deeply proud of the university community for responding to these challenges with resilience, determination and resourcefulness. Students and faculty are adapting to new ways of teaching and learning, while contributing their time and expertise to advance public health efforts, support front-line health workers, and address the critical need for personal protective equipment. Meanwhile, researchers at UBC are working to develop treatments, prevent transmission, and deepen our understanding of COVID-19 and its impacts on society. Throughout, we have also worked to ensure we support the mental health of our community and we thank the government for its investments in mental health services for students and for our broader community. These are difficult times that have demanded each of us do our part and work together, and we are particularly proud of the coordinated efforts between UBC and the provincial government in managing the response to this crisis. This work will certainly continue in the weeks and months ahead, and UBC remains committed to working collaboratively to safeguard our community and province, develop solutions and treatments, and play our part to position British Columbia for a strong and inclusive recovery. With a renewed groundswell of anti-racist social activism around the world and within our own community, recent months have also brought into sharper focus the need to recognize and address systemic racism. The university has reaffirmed its commitment to inclusion and to work to address anti-Black, anti-Indigenous and all other forms of racism in all aspects of the university community. 3 On June 1 and June 16, Santa Ono published letters to the UBC community to make clear that racism and bias have no place in our community and that it will not be tolerated, and to outline actions the university will take to the accelerate and intensify efforts to build a more inclusive campus community. While the COVID-19 crisis has profoundly re-shaped the university’s current operations and planning for the year ahead, this report serves in large part to reflect on the extraordinarily accomplishments of UBC’s faculty, staff and students through the end of 2019/20. As a public institution, UBC is committed to addressing society’s greatest challenges and building opportunities for people. For more than 100-years, UBC has been a leading centre of learning and discovery for British Columbians, Canadians and individuals from around the world. Change is in our DNA, and we continue to respond, grow and adapt to the needs of society by engaging students of all backgrounds in high-quality, transformative learning opportunities. At the same time, as BC’s largest research university, researchers and students at UBC are pushing the boundaries of knowledge, creating new technologies and treatments, informing public discourse and public policy, and working alongside local and global communities to tackle pressing issues. UBC’s strategic plan, Shaping UBC’s Next Century, builds on the university’s history of success and sets out a roadmap for the future. The plan reflects UBC’s commitment to our university community and recognizes our role as an agent for change that helps British Columbians, communities, and Canadians. This year’s Institutional Accountability Plan and Report provides an overview of the programs and initiatives being implemented under the strategic plan, in addition to how UBC is addressing the priorities outlined in the institutional mandate letter from the Ministry. If anything, the pandemic has underscored the importance of these initiatives, such as: • Addressing the climate crisis: UBC has long been recognized as a global leader in climate action by integrating learning, research and operations to deliver meaningful action on climate change. This past year, UBC joined the Government of Canada and communities around the world in declaring a climate emergency and recognizing the need for a rapid and just transition toward a sustainable economy. This step builds on important environmental action UBC is taking to reduce emissions, advance clean energy research, reduce waste, and promote local and global engagement to combat the climate crisis. We’re particularly proud of the fact that for two years running, UBC has been ranked first in the world by Times Higher Education for taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. • Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement: In 2019, UBC made tremendous progress on the goals of meaningful reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. UBC Vancouver is developing a renewed Indigenous Strategic Plan that will guide the university’s engagement with Indigenous peoples and its commitment to reconciliation. Throughout the fall and winter of 2019, students, faculty and staff were invited to engagement sessions to provide input into the renewed Indigenous Strategic Plan. In the year ahead, UBC will formally launch the renewed Indigenous Strategic Plan. The plan will have an implementation framework and internal accountabilities that will reported on in future years. We also look forward to continuing work with the Ministry and Indigenous partners to develop a comprehensive post-secondary 4 strategy that responds to the TRC Calls to Action and UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In September 2019, UBC Okanagan signed a declaration in response to the TRC Calls to Action, which specified action on five recommendations developed by its Aboriginal Advisory Committee. We provide additional details about this significant declaration later in this report. • Fostering equity, diversity and inclusion: UBC is committed to creating a university environment that fosters, promotes and upholds values of equity, diversity and inclusion. In 2019, UBC’s Board of Governors endorsed the Inclusion Action Plan, which identifies priority goals for inclusion at UBC and strategic-level actions needed to achieve the goals. • Adapting to student needs and expectations: Thanks to the BC government’s multi-year investments in technology and health education, UBC is expanding and creating new programs across UBC’s Vancouver and Kelowna campuses. This includes enrolment increases and hiring additional faculty in key areas such as biomedical engineering, manufacturing engineering, computer science and nursing. The university also continues to increase focus and support for experiential and work-integrated learning opportunities for students at UBC. The university’s accomplishments are thanks to the hard work and dedication of many – students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners – and to the ongoing support of the provincial government. This collective effort has further established UBC as a pre-eminent public institution of research and learning that plays a pivotal role in shaping the development of British Columbia's people, society and prosperity. UBC is also a globally renowned university, contributing world-leading research and conducting 93 per cent of all university industry-sponsored research in British Columbia. As we implement Shaping UBC’s Next Century, we appreciate and acknowledge the support of our university community in meeting our goals and helping us achieve our university’s purpose: pursuing excellence in research, learning and engagement to foster global citizenship and advance a sustainable and just society across BC, Canada and the world. We are truly grateful for the provincial government’s continued support