St. John’s College decomissioning and demolition
With St. John’s residents now moved out—either to another residence or off-campus—the decommissioning of St. John’s College officially began on May 19.
This stage marks the transition from site preparation to the full construction phase of the project, with construction on the new LMP buildings expected to begin in fall 2026.
Learn more about the project, construction details and timeline.
Acadia Highrise sprinkler replacement: progress update
In early May, the Acadia Park Highrise sprinkler system replacement project began. Work on Floors 1–3 will conclude at the end of May, after which work will continue upward in stages, with the project expected to be completed in August.
Involving either permanent or temporary relocation of residents, this project has involved significant collaboration between Facilities and Building Services, Residence Assignments and Administration, and Marketing and Communications to make the transition for residents as smooth as possible.
Welcome Daria Dhillon, HR Manager
Daria previously worked as an HR Manager at Targeted Talent and Cerberus Consulting, supporting a wide range of clients across diverse industries, including Burnaby Health Alliance, Skip the Dishes and Parkin Architects. Daria holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics from Far-Eastern State University in Russia and is currently completing the HR Management Program at SFU. Welcome, Daria!
Child Care team update: Welcome TK Hannah
Welcome TK Hannah, who will be working alongside UBC Child Care educators at four child care settings and attending pedagogical narration meetings. TK will work with educators to think about how questions of sexual orientation and gender identity can be engaged in ways that are accessible, thoughtful and responsive to children’s lived experiences.
TK Hannah (they/he) is a UBC PhD student and early childhood educator with over ten years of experience working with young children in BC and Ontario. TK is also currently the ECE Program Coordinator at the Robert Quartermain Centre for SOGI-Inclusive Excellence in Education in UBC’s Faculty of Education.
UBCO Child Care program participates in Sports Day
Children from the UBC Okanagan Child Care spəqmix 3–5 program participated in their own Sports Day event on May 1, in partnership with the Athletics Department. Children and educators enjoyed a variety of activity stations and a UBC student juggler! The event provided an opportunity for UBC Okanagan Child Care to feel connected to the larger UBC community.
UBC Bookstore Cherry Blossom Campaign
UBC Bookstore’s Cherry Blossom Collection has turned into an annual spring highlight! Congratulations to the team on selling over 2,000 units of Cherry Blossom apparel, including the soft pink and classic UBC navy crews and hoodies, as well as 1,495 Cherry Blossom mugs!
Congratulations to Karen Vaughan
Congratulations to Karen Vaughan, Director, UBC Child Care, on becoming a grandparent—or, as she’s now known in her family, “grammy”! Karen’s son and daughter-in-law welcomed baby boy Oliver Vaughan on April 13.
Welcome Alaa El Bouzrati, RLM, Marine Drive
Please join us in welcoming Alaa El Bouzrati, Residence Life Manager, Marine Drive, who started in late-February. Before arriving at UBC Vancouver, Alaa was a Residence Life Coordinator at the University of Manitoba. Prior to that, she was a student at UBC Okanagan, where she was a Residence Advisor, a Senior Writing Consultant for the Student Learning Hub and a volunteer crisis line responder. Before her studies at UBCO, she lived in numerous different countries around the world and brings significant cross-cultural understanding from those experiences. Welcome, Alaa!
Finance team staff update
Congratulations to Alexandre Matsuda Taveira who was recently promoted from AP Processor to Financial Specialist, Accounting. Alex has been a great contributor to our Food Services Finance team since October 2024 and is currently working toward his CPA designation.
Red Dress Journey update: UBC Child Care
Sensitive content warning
Last June, we shared about the Red Dress Journey at UBC Child Care in Vancouver, through which staff and educators highlight and centre the endemic issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People and explore age-appropriate ways to engage children and families.
Since that time, the Child Care team has continued the journey, notably through the ongoing creation of a life-sized dress form at the Child Care Administration Hub, which is draped in red fabric and holds a sculpted-fabric heart at its centre. The dress form stands beneath the photos and names of each MMIWG2S+ person, which will soon be imprinted onto the fabric.
This process-based piece allows for ongoing engagement with this challenging and significant topic for staff, educators and visitors, including, in February, delegates from the BC Aboriginal Child Care Society’s (BCACCS) annual conference who toured our child care settings.
UBC Food Services speakers at St. John’s College Hot Lunch
Food Services’ Nutrition and Wellbeing releases annual highlights report
The Nutrition and Wellbeing team in UBC Food Services (Vancouver) recently released its annual highlights report, reflecting on the past year’s initiatives, impact and progress while offering a glimpse into the exciting work and priorities ahead.
Campus Mail staff update
After 25 years with Campus Mail, Chris McCauley recently transitioned to a role with UBC Facilities. Most recently holding the Mail Coordinator role, Chris was a valued and key member of the team. Thank you, Chris, for your many years of service!
SHCS staff compete at Faculty and Staff Sports Day
Congratulations to Claudia Popa, Debra Eng, Aakansha Ghosh, Sam Medeiros and Kate Allan who placed fourth out of 51 teams in their timeslot at the 16th annual Faculty and Staff Sports Day on May 1. Their team, the SHCS Team 1st Placeholders, completed 15 activities and gained spirit points throughout the event.
Check out photos and event results from the day.
Ronyne Van der Gracht featured in Staff in focus series
Ronyne Van der Gracht, Bookstore Assistant at the UBC Bookstore Vancouver, was recently featured in the Staff in focus series. Learn more about Ronyne’s role, three words to describe her, when she started at UBC and more.
Congratulations to our 2025 VPS Employee Award recipient
Please join us in congratulating Rowena Diaz, Senior Food Services Supervisor at Hero Harvest Market in Brock Commons South. Rowena received the Exceptional Colleague award at the Vice-President, Students Portfolio Employee Awards in April.
The Exceptional Colleague award celebrates an individual whose dedication, kindness, compassion and respect for others makes the workplace significantly better for their colleagues. Congratulations, Rowena!
UBCO Residence Life partnership receives additional CLL funding
A UBC Okanagan Residence Life partnership project received $20,000 to expand its study of loneliness interventions through the Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) program. Led by the Department of Psychology, with Campus Wellbeing and Residence Life as collaborators, Connected in the Classroom: The Effects of Speed-Friending on Classroom Community, Engagement and Well-being will study how interventions can create community in the classroom based on previous CLL research in residence.
Food Services collaboration receives $100,000 for growing pods at Orchard Commons and UBC Farm
A UBC Food Services collaboration has been awarded $100,000 through the Campus as a Living Lab Fund to install custom-built growing pods at Orchard Commons and the UBC Farm. In partnership with researchers, Food Services will integrate pod-grown produce into dining programs, demonstrating hyperlocal, low-carbon food production.
Congratulations to staff lead David Speight, Executive Chef and Culinary Director, and everyone who contributed to the project.
Learn more about the project and the Campus as a Living Lab competition recipients.
UBC Bookstore launches refreshed online shopping experience
Since launch, the Bookstore has completed more than $140,000 in net sales and fulfilled over 1,000 orders to 143 cities! Congratulations to the UBC Bookstore team!
SHCS projects featured in UBC Partner for Purpose gallery
Congratulations to UBC Food Services and Conferences and Accommodation, whose initiatives were featured in UBC’s Partner for Purpose gallery, highlighting partnerships in 2025 that created meaningful change at UBC and beyond.
Read more about the Cooking in Two Worlds gathering, Local Supplier Spotlight with Flavours of Hope and the World Deaf Ice Hockey Championships, along with many other novel UBC projects. Visit the Partner for Purpose gallery.
New UBC Ambassadors website launched
Conferences and Accommodation and SHCS Marcom are thrilled to announce the launch of the refreshed UBC Ambassadors website. The new design brings a fresh, contemporary look, feel and structure to the site, which now also features profiles of more than 40 distinguished ambassadors from across UBC’s faculties—celebrating these academic leaders who bring world-class conferences and events to our campus. Visit the site today to check out the new design and learn more about the unique UBC Ambassadors program.
Celebrating Lunar New Year at UBC Bookstore
This year, UBC Bookstore is celebrating the Year of the Horse with a unique red envelope campaign. Customers shopping in-store from February 4 to 14 will receive a red envelope at checkout, containing a discount card with savings of 10%, 20% or even 40% off—to be used on a future purchase between February 9 and 28.
This year also marks a first for the UBC Bookstore, with the launch of its first Lunar New Year merchandise item: the Year of the Horse Hoodie, a limited-edition design in a vibrant red, featuring beautiful gold and navy embroidery. Available for $68.88, the hoodie was available for sale in-store only, and it sold out within three hours on February 6, the day it was released.
Congratulations to our 2026 PACURH RBC award recipients!
In February 2026, we sent several delegates to the Pacific Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (PACURH) 2026 Regional Business Conference (RBC), hosted by Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington.
As a testament to the quality of leadership and depth of engagement of our student and staff leaders, we took home a tremendous nine awards at this conference that represents the entire PACURH region (BC, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii).
Student recipients
- NRHH President of the Year: Alina Wang
- RA of the Year: Maya Taylor
- Student of the Year: Maya Casey-Yang
- First Year Experience: Sarah Masse
Staff recipients
- Kenrick Ali Advisor of the Year: Gillian Wallis, Manager, Residence Transition and Community Engagement
- NRHH Advisor of the Year: Sajia Ebrahimi, Manager, Residence Education
- Alumni and Friends Service award: Rohit Elias
Plus, thanks to our collective leadership, UBC was awarded NRHH Block Chapter of the Year and the Commitment to Empowerment award.
Additionally, we were selected to host the next PACURH RBC in early 2027!
It’s Footwear February!
Announcing the first Footwear February in SHCS, a friendly reminder to check your shoes and make sure they’re appropriate for your work environment. Proper footwear helps prevent slips, trips and falls, which are some of the top causes of employee injuries.
How to participate
- Check the soles of your work shoes to see if they’re still in good condition.
- If the tread is wearing out, make a plan to get some new shoes.
- Review your collective agreement to see if you’re eligible for a footwear allowance.
- Check out our Shoes for Crews program for great discounts on shoes from the leading North American supplier of slip-resistant footwear.
- Enter to win one of three free pairs of Shoes for Crews!
Don’t forget to check the tread on any shoes you wear outside of work and for commuting. Slips, trips and falls can happen anytime, anywhere!
Update: Lower Mall Precinct Project
As many of you know, work has now begun around the Lower Mall Precinct project site, with the construction of South Street, between Marine Drive Building 2 and St. John’s College, and underground infrastructure work on Lower Mall.
This milestone is an exciting one for this significant project, and everyone’s patience and understanding about the work required to advance the project is greatly appreciated—especially when it comes to traffic disruptions on Lower Mall and University Boulevard.
Learn more about the project, construction details and timeline and road closures in the Lower Mall Precinct between now and November 2026.
Child Care Vancouver hosts delegates from BCACCS annual conference
On February 14, 2026, UBC Child Care Vancouver is hosting 50 delegates from the BC Aboriginal Child Care Society’s (BCACCS) annual conference. In addition to leading delegates on a tour of our child care settings, UBC Child Care staff are presenting on their work and pedagogical commitments.
New mural at Feast dining hall celebrates local food partnerships
This fall, SHCS Marketing and Communications partnered with the Food Services leadership team to create a unique, food-focused mural in the entry stairwell at Feast, the dining hall at Totem Park. The mural celebrates the great partnerships Food Services has fostered with local farmers, ranchers, fishers and suppliers—all resulting in nutritious food for our campus that also support sustainable food systems—and features information about several local businesses that feed our All Access Dining students. Swing by Feast for lunch to check out the mural and learn more.
UBCO Child Care: story time at UBCO Library
January began on a delightful note with the launch of story time sessions at the UBC Okanagan Library for children in UBC Okanagan Child Care. These sessions will take place monthly until June—and will hopefully continue after that!
“Our children brought smiles and a touch of joy to the library, brightening the day for students and staff alike,” says Kamini Kishore, Program Manager, UBCO Child Care Services. “We look forward to continuing this wonderful partnership and making many more story-filled visits, sparking the children’s curiosity and inspiring their love for books, in the months ahead.”
Successful model for diverting food scraps waste in Year Round residence
After a year and a half of researching and implementing different strategies to improve waste sorting at Marine Drive, the project team, led by UBC PhD student and SHCS staff member Lucy Binfield, have determined the most effective and achievable model to increase the amount of food waste diverted from the landfill and reduce contamination of other waste streams.
Last winter, the team trialed a food scraps pickup program where staff picked up food scraps inside units. While this system was highly effective, it was less feasible for long-term implementation. So this fall, the team launched a new phase of the program, this time asking residents to place compost pails outside their units on a rotating schedule.
While in-unit pickups ultimately produced the strongest diversion rate, this updated approach addressed student discomfort with staff entering units regularly (even with advance notice), significantly reduced labour costs and still resulted in a significant diversion rate over students disposing of food scraps in central waste sorting areas.
Based on this success, the new system will continue at Marine Drive and, over the summer, will be expanded to another Year Round residence area.
Additionally, the team has started introduced two new donation bins into residence waste sorting areas, a donation bin, for clothing and other goods and pizza box bins, which they have found to fully eliminate contamination in the paper stream (down from 18%). They are also working with a local non-profit who collects refundable beverage containers from residence in support of unhoused Downtown Eastside residents.