Fall Newsletter | August 2021

National Day of Truth & Reconciliation, Sept. 30

In June of this year, the federal government passed legislation to mark September 30, 2021 as a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Earlier this month, the Province of BC followed suit recognizing this as a day of commemoration in the public sector. UBC will be observing this day as a holiday on both campuses and our distributed learning sites. Classes will be cancelled and university employees who are normally entitled to provincial and federal holidays will receive this day off.

We encourage all members of the UBC community to honour this day, whether through personal reflection, education and awareness activities, or by participating in Orange Shirt Day or other events within your communities.

Read the full statement

Stories

Dr. Ragoonaden honoured with blanket wrapping ceremony

Dr. Karen Ragoonaden was honoured with a blanket wrapping ceremony, facilitated by Jordan Coble, Westbank First Nations (WFN) Councilor, in recognition of her efforts to support Indigenous teacher education and the Indigenization of post-secondary education as well as strengthen ties between WFN and the Okanagan School of Education.

“This ceremony was held in recognition of Karen and her commitment to bettering our community ties through education, specifically her commitment to interconnecting indigenous education in meaningful and transformative ways,” says Jordan Coble, WFN Councilor.

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Physical contact with a dog makes a significant difference to wellbeing

New UBCO research led by Dr. John-Tyler Binfet, a professor in the school of education and director of the Building Academic Retention Through K-9s program, looked at what type of interactions with a dog provides the greatest benefits and found that direct touch is proven to increase your wellbeing the most.

More than 250 undergraduate students volunteered to participate and were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions — touch or no touch canine interaction, or to spend time with a dog handler but with no therapy dog present.

Participants across all conditions experienced increased wellbeing on several of the measures, with more benefit when a dog was present, and with the most benefit coming from physical contact with the dog.

Co-authors include BARK coordinator Freya Green and Zakary Draper, a doctoral student in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences psychology department.

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Upcoming Courses
Winter Term 2, January - April

Connect with your alma mater and fellow alumni, students, families, and friends — wherever you are in the world. Celebrate all things Okanagan, and show your UBC pride through the many events and activities offered throughout UBCO Homecoming weekend.

Scheduled events include UBC Waffle Day, Twining Plateau Bags (virtual), Welcome to the New You with Douglas Coupland (virtual) and Okanagan Wine + Art: Virtual Wine Tasting. 

Plus there will be pop-up events on campus like an Alumni Art Exhibition by Alistair Rance. 

Learn More

Watch for the exclusive Homecoming giveaway for alumni and students on Instagram in September.