“The annual New Faculty and Staff Orientation is one of the many ways that UBC welcomes new staff and faculty to our academic community,” said CTLT’s Emily Renoe, one of the organizers of the campus-wide orientation.
This year’s orientation, hosted in late August by CTLT and UBC Human Resources, welcomed more than ninety new faculty and staff members from a range of units, departments, and faculties.
“The event provides participants with an opportunity to learn about the history, governance, and administration of the University; gain an understanding of some of UBC’s values; learn about the makeup of our student body, faculty, and staff; learn about resources at UBC that support [their] career development, and network with new colleagues from across the University,” Renoe explained.
A warm welcome
Provost and Vice President Academic pro-tem Angela Redish welcomes new faculty and staff.
Participants began the day with a guided tour of the Museum of Anthropology, which houses traditional and contemporary art, with a special emphasis on the First Nations peoples and other cultural communities in British Columbia. New faculty and staff then moved to the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre for opening remarks by Musqueam Elder Larry Grant, Provost and Vice President Academic pro-tem Angela Redish, and Vice-President, Students Louise Cowin.
Elder Grant welcomed faculty and staff to the traditional, ancestral, and unceded land of the Musqueam people. The land where UBC is situated “has never been sold, never been traded, never been given away, never lost in battle,” Elder Grant explained. “We have a responsibility to take care of this land.” Redish added, “Our relationship with the Musqueam people enables us to think more deeply about our role as citizens of Canada or guests of Canada.”
Exploring the campus
To introduce the new faculty and staff to locations around UBC, participants were seated at tables named after buildings on campus, including the First Nations Longhouse, Irving K Barber Learning Centre, Xwi7xwa Library, and həm’ləsəm’ and q’ələχən Houses.
Faculty and staff were welcomed just a few days before the start of the fall semester, which saw 7,100 new students arrive at UBC, as well as a new President and Vice Chancellor. The new faculty and staff join a community of more than 50,000 students.
With the shear size of UBC, Redish encouraged faculty and staff to explore the campus, engage with the university and with colleagues, and attend different events around the University. To learn more about events, resources, and services around campus, new faculty and staff had the opportunity to browse 32 booths, representing the range of services, departments, and initiatives at UBC.
Wellness at UBC
Participants were encouraged to learn about wellness on campus in a panel discussion featuring staff from various UBC departments. “Wellbeing is a complex and difficult project,” explained Jude Tate, Director of the Equity and Inclusion Office at UBC. “No matter where you are, whether you’re a faculty or staff, you have a responsibility to have an understanding of what action looks like, what wellbeing looks like amongst your colleagues, in the classrooms, in your interactions,” she said.
Tate added, “We can’t have wellbeing without equity, and what equity means at this university…is that, while we believe in equality and want to treat each other equally, there are barriers to that equality for some individuals. We need to address the barriers to, for example, employment and the experiences of a workplace environment. So equity is quite pivotal to the wellbeing project, and wellbeing can’t happen without it.”
A chance to network
New faculty then had the opportunity to hear from three UBC faculty members who shared advice and resources, as well as examples of their work from when they first began teaching. New staff members had the chance to hear from other UBC staff, who shared their perspectives on their time at UBC.
Before participants attended a wine and cheese networking reception, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Academic Affairs Eric Eich wrapped up the orientation with closing remarks.
“Faculty and staff have lots of interconnections, lot of shared interests. Interact with each other as much as you can, not just professionally but also socially,” Eich said. “On behalf of 23,000 staff and faculty members at this university, welcome to the family.”
