UBC announces membership of inaugural Accessibility Committee

UBC announces membership of inaugural Accessibility Committee

May 23, 2023

On February 22, 2023, students, faculty and staff were invited to apply to serve on UBC’s inaugural Accessibility Committee. The Committee will provide on-going guidance and advice to the university on the identification, removal and prevention of barriers to accessibility to help fulfill UBC’s legislative obligations and commitments to disability equity priorities. 

The response to the call was very strong resulting in 117 applications for nine seats. The applicant pool included a broad diversity of persons living with disabilities across an intersection of identities and representing lived experiences from a full range of historically, persistently, or systemically marginalized communities. 15 per cent of applicants were faculty members, 26 per cent were staff members, 17 per cent were graduate students, and 42 per cent were undergraduate students.  

We are now pleased to announce the membership of the committee and thank all who applied for their interest in this initiative. The Committee will be considering ways to further engage disabled students, faculty and staff in their work. At this time, UBC community members can share feedback on accessibility planning and disability equity issues at UBC with the Committee using the following email address: accessibility.committee@ubc.ca.  

The following UBC community members have been selected to sit on the Committee.

At-large members 

  • Halimat Alabi, faculty member, UBC Vancouver (UBCV)
  • Aliyah Ayorinde, staff member, UBCV
  • Mihai Covaser, undergraduate student, UBC Okanagan (UBCO)
  • Kathryn Douglas-Campbell, staff member, UBCO 
  • Jennifer Gagnon, faculty member, UBCV 
  • Rachelle Hole, faculty member, UBCO
  • Eva Pang, staff member, UBCV
  • Corin Parsons, graduate student, UBCV
  • Stefan Sunandan Honisch, faculty member, UBCV

Ex-officio members 

  • Nicole Gareau-Wilson, Equity & Inclusion Office, System-wide
  • Sarah Knitter, Centre for Accessibility, UBCV
  • Kelly McIntosh, Centre for Workplace Accessibility, System-wide  
  • Nick Potovsky, Facilities, Infrastructure Development, System-wide 
  • Earllene Roberts, Disability Resource Centre, UBCO
  • Rachel Fortin, Student Advocate, Student’s Union Okanagan, UBCO
  • Jeff Miller, Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology, UBCV
  • Samantha Graham, Graduate Student Society, UBCV
  • Kamil Kanji, Alma Mater Society, UBCV
  • Rachel Andreychuk, Interim Associate Director, Indigenous Programs & Services, UBCO

Selection process

The nine at-large members were selected according to the terms of reference and the following criteria: 

  • self-identity as a disabled person (a requirement for at-large membership);
  • experience/involvement (via study, scholarship, professional practice, or community engagement) in advancing disability equity;
  • a stated consciousness and reference to a critical disability justice/equity lens;
  • UBCO representation;
  • contribution to intersectional demographic diversity;
  • representation of a range of disability lived/living experience, and;
  • range of disciplines/departments.

Next steps

The Equity & Inclusion Office will support the convening of the first Committee meeting, and co-chairs will be selected shortly thereafter.  

In addition to establishing an accessibility committee and feedback mechanism, public sector organizations in British Columbia are required by the Accessible British Columbia Act to develop an accessibility plan. Work to develop and implement an accessibility plan will connect into UBC’s Strategic Equity and Anti-racism (StEAR) Framework and Roadmap for Change.  

More information about the work of the Committee will be shared in the coming months and will be available on the Accessibility Committee web page.

Executive Sponsors, 

Marcia Buchholz
Vice-President, Human Resources 

Ainsley Carry
Vice-President, Students 

Frank Laezza
Vice-President, Finance & Operations 

News and Stories |

New action plan focuses on opportunities to increase equity, diversity and inclusion in research at UBC

April 27, 2023

UBC’s Dimensions Action Plan for EDI in Research, published today, comprises 24 objectives and 43 actions to improve equity, diversity and inclusion in UBC’s research community. The plan was developed as part of UBC’s participation in the federal Dimensions: equity diversity and inclusion Canada pilot program from 2020-2023 and will be integrated into UBC’s Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework.

The action plan addresses several policies, programs and initiatives relating to the university’s:

  • Research services;
  • Internal funding and award opportunities;
  • Research culture;
  • Hiring, promotion and retention practices for research faculty and staff; and
  • Recruitment, admissions and funding for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and undergraduates involved in research.

READ THE ACTION PLAN

The Dimensions Action Plan builds upon, and complements, UBC’s ongoing initiatives to address and enhance equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism at the university, including the Inclusion Action Plan, the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Task Force Report and recommendations, UBC’s Employment Equity Plan, and UBC’s Canada Research Chairs EDI Action Plan.

“UBC’s Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism Framework will provide the avenue through which our Dimensions Action Plan for EDI in Research will be implemented and evaluated,” says Dr. Arig al Shaibah, Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion. “The Dimensions plan’s focus on our research ecosystem is an important component in building a coordinated roadmap to change throughout the institution.”

As part of the federal Dimensions pilot, the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation and the Equity & Inclusion Office coordinated a diverse, cross-campus team that led an assessment to identify systemic barriers and inequities experienced by historically, persistently or systemically marginalized people in the UBC research community.

The assessment sought to leverage lessons from UBC’s existing action plans and initiatives relating to EDI in the research ecosystem, and included feedback, testimonials, and lived experiences. It then examined university policies, programs, practices and initiatives for potential barriers and inequities, and invited members of the research community to engage with the assessment’s findings and share their feedback. An action plan was then developed to address identified institutional barriers and inequities in UBC’s research ecosystem.

In October 2022, UBC submitted its Dimensions action plan for peer review and evaluation for recognition by the federal Dimensions program.  The peer review panel awarded UBC a ‘Construction’ designation, the second of four levels in the federal program’s cycles of transformational change, recognising the strategic, coordinated and ongoing nature of UBC’s efforts to enhance EDI.

“The federal Dimensions program’s designation acknowledges UBC’s commitment and actions to enhance equity, diversity and inclusion to date, while acknowledging that there is still work to be done to make the research environment a more welcoming place.” says Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul, Senior Advisor to the Provost on Women and Gender-Diverse Faculty and Chair of UBC’s Dimensions advisory committee.

“I would like to recognize the work of all those involved in the self-assessment process and in developing this action plan,” says Professor Gail Murphy, Vice-President, Research and Innovation. “The resulting plan provides a lens on EDI that addresses broad issues that relate to the university as a whole, as well as research-specific programs and support. I am particularly grateful that it details deliverable actions and objectives that can drive us towards a more equitable and inclusive research ecosystem.”

Implementation of UBC’s Dimensions Action Plan for EDI in Research will be coordinated by the Equity & Inclusion Office.

News and Stories |

Leadership one-on-one with Arig al Shaibah

April 17, 2023

Messages from the AVP, News and Stories |

Celebrating joy and creativity at the 2023 IBPOC Connections Faculty & Staff lunch

April 5, 2023

Following two years of virtual meetings and gatherings at a distance, the IBPOC Connections Faculty and Staff Lunch provided a much-welcomed space to rekindle in-person connection and a sense of belonging at UBC.

UBC -6

Hosted in partnership with St. John’s College, the event sought to break through some of the usual and formalized expectations of meetings and gatherings and offer a casual environment for fun, community building and connection. Some 100 participants attended, including faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows.

“When planning this event our dream was that we all leave this place reminded that being racialized, Indigenous, Black, a Person of Colour means that we are part of a joyous, creative, and playful community,” says Madison Tardif, co-organizer of the event and programming lead for the IBPOC Connections Faculty & Staff program with the Equity & Inclusion Office.

Dr. Arig al Shaibah, Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion, and Dr. Henry Yu, Principal, St. John’s College delivered welcoming remarks, after which the guests were invited to participate in several activities curated to inspire joy and creativity. Those activities included arts and crafts, a slam poetry performance from Pablo Akira Beimler and a salsa dancing class from Natalie Armendariz and Aisha Sallad from the UBC Salsa Rueda Club. “Crowd-sourced” lists of books, films, podcasts and music ideas by IBPOC authors and artists were also generated:

Books

  • Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
  • Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown
  • Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  • Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
  • Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
  • A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
  • Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner
  • The Body is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Principles of Tsawalk – An Indigenous Approach to Global Crisis by Umeek/Eugene Richard Atleo
  • Militarized Currents: Toward a Decolonized Future in Asia and the Pacific by Setsu Shigematsu and Keith L. Camacho
  • Afro Asia: Revolutionary Political and Cultural Connections between African Americans and Asian Americans by Fred Ho
  • Back of the Turtle by Thomas King
  • This Place 150 Years Retold
  • Unaccustomed Earth by Jumpa Lahiri
  • A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
  • They Said This Would be Fun by Eternity Martis
  • A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
  • Things I Have Withheld by Kei Miller
  • The Years I Lived Inside by Nicolette Richardson
  • Augustown by Kei Miller
  • Brother, I am Dying by Edwidge Danticat
  • Ocean Vuong (poet)

Films

  • Everything Everywhere All at Once
  • Awkwafina is Nora From Queens

Podcasts

  • Asian Boss Girl by Melody Cheng, Helen Wu and Janet Wang
  • Leading Equity Podcast by Sheldon L. Eakins
  • Fraudsters by Seena Chaznavi and Justin Williams
  • All My Relations by Matika Wilbur, Adrienne Keene, and Desi Small-Rodriquez
  • The Michelle Obama Podcast
  • Tuning into the Forest by the UBC Forestry JEDI Team
  • The Grownup Millennial
  • The Read by Kid Fury and Crissle
  • Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday
  • Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell
  • I Weigh by Jameela Jamil

Music artists

  • Nav
  • Prateek Kuhad
  • Sampa the Great (Song: Final Form)
  • Tems
  • Burna Boy
  • Koffee
  • Lila Ike
  • Jesse Royal
  • Protoje
  • Mortimer
  • Sean Paul
  • Valiant
  • Keshi
  • Niki

Affinity spaces have an important and much needed role in helping to intentionally build communities of support and well-being for IBPOC community members of shared identities and lived experience. These spaces also provide opportunities for mentorship and celebration of those identities and help mobilize advocacy for equity and inclusion.

Find Connection

If you are a UBC IBPOC faculty or staff member or postdoctoral fellow, explore the following spaces for connection or visit our Connections + Support page for more opportunities.

IBPOC Connections Faculty and Staff program
The program delivers engagement and connection opportunities for IBPOC faculty and staff. Learn more about the program overall and sign-up for the IBPOC Connections listserv to hear of upcoming events and opportunities.
Learn more

IBPOC STEM Network
The network is an affinity space for IBPOC women, transgender and non-binary faculty, staff and graduate students to find mentorship and support. Learn more about the program and join the IBPOC STEM Network Slack channel for upcoming events and opportunities.
Learn more

News and Stories |

Recognizing leadership of trans, Two-Spirit and non-binary students, faculty and staff

March 30, 2023

Portrait of Arig al Shaibah, Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion
Arig al Shaibah, Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion

March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility, an intentional opportunity to celebrate and recognize the valuable contributions of trans community members, but also to reflect on how we can all contribute to inclusion.

This year, I would like to recognize the following UBC community members for their dedication and leadership:

  • Dr. Harper Keenan, for his leadership through the Quartermain Professorship in Gender & Sexuality in Education, the SOGI UBC initiative, and scholarship and advocacy supporting self-determination surrounding gender and sexuality in schools.
  • Dr. Jehannine Austin, for their leadership in creating a space/affinity group for trans and gender-diverse faculty to connect and support one another.
  • The student-led Trans Coalition for its advocacy to improve access to gender-affirming care for UBC students.
  • Students who help coordinate the Trans Mentorship Program and the Gender Empowerment Store, two initiatives that work to enhance wellbeing and psychological safety for trans, Two-Spirit and non-binary (T2SNB) students at UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan.
  • Dr. Hannah Kia and Jesse Grimaldi, alongside Dr. Janice Stewart, for their thoughtful and tireless leadership of the Trans, Two-Spirit and Gender Diversity Task Force.

Amidst these individual recognitions, I’d like to also express my thanks to all of the students, faculty and staff who sat on the Trans, Two-Spirit and Gender Diversity Task Force for their work to create a more trans-inclusive UBC.

Launched in March of 2020, the Task Force worked diligently to deliver a set of recommendations that will guide university’s efforts in the area of gender diversity.

As a university, we are committed to advancing equity and inclusion. Yet, when only 58 per cent of T2SNB student, faculty and staff respondents to the 2021 Gender Diversity Audit report a sense of belonging at UBC – compared to 79 per cent of their cisgender counterparts – it signals that more must be done to support their full inclusion. To make that happen, however, we also understand that we need to provide more educational opportunities, supportive processes and structures that can help cisgender staff and faculty in particular show up more effectively for trans students and colleagues.

With the release of the Task Force final report and the results of the Gender Diversity Audit on March 30, 2023, I have hope that with this renewed and clear direction of where to focus our efforts, we can make significant improvements to T2SNB students, faculty and staff’s experiences at UBC so that they can thrive.

I look forward to continuing efforts to support the implementation of all the Task Force’s recommendations under the guidance of the emerging Strategic Equity and Anti-racism Framework and Roadmap to Change. 

We can all support trans leadership and work to enhance a sense of belonging for trans students, faculty and staff. I encourage you to explore the new Positive Space Foundations course, familiarize yourself with the use of chosen names and pronouns, and well as resources for T2SNB employees and their managers.

If, as a member of the T2SNB community, you have concerns related to your experience at UBC, please contact our office at trans.inclusion@equity.ubc.ca for support.

I encourage you to read the final report and explore some of the relevant resources of interest below.

Arig al Shaibah
Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion

Resources of interest

Relevant events:

Days of Significance, Messages from the AVP, News and Stories |

Trans, Two-Spirit and Gender Diversity Task Force recommendations

March 30, 2023

News and Stories |

March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racism

March 21, 2023

Today we recognize the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

While we can and should reflect on our progress advancing racial equity, diversity, and inclusion to date, this day serves as a call to action for individuals and institutions to continue to work to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination, systemic racism and hate, including those that manifest as anti-Indigenous, anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Muslim and antisemitic.

Our individual and collective engagement is essential to ensuring that all members of our campus community are treated with respect and dignity. so that we can all learn and work in safety, and have equal access and opportunity to succeed in academic and professional pursuits.

As a university, we continue our engagement and investment into advancing our commitments to anti-racism.

Released in 2022, the President’s Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Final Report is a comprehensive account of issues of race, racialization and racism from campus community members with lived/living experience.  

In 2021, the university received support from the Canadian Race Relations Foundations to host the National Forum on Anti-Asian Racism. The discussions from this event led to the publication of a final report developed to inform and inspire people across all sectors to mobilize and take the necessary action to continue the fight against anti-Asian and other forms of racism in Canada.  

In 2020, UBC signed the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education. The Charter offers principles, actions and commitments that reflect a collective recognition of the realities of anti-Black racism, encapsulates shared aspirations to address them, and provides a concrete framework for delivering on promises. 

As part of the university’s response to these recommendations, the Equity & Inclusion Office (EIO) is mobilizing a Strategic Equity & Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework and Roadmap for Change. These initiatives will guide the implementation of the university’s anti-racism and inclusive excellence priorities, among other priorities identified in several equity-related institutional plans and task force recommendations. Explore our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about our approach and next steps related to implementation.

To learn more about what you can do to combat racism generally, visit the Government of Canada website and the United Nations website dedicated to anti-racism and this day.

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” 

Desmond Tutu

If you require confidential advising on experiences of racial discrimination, please contact our Human Rights Advising Team or submit a confidential online advising request. 

If you require strategic consultation on how to develop and enact anti-racism leadership and organizational change for your academic or administrative unit, please contact the Strategic Partnerships & Capacity Building Team in the EIO by submitting a request for a consultation.  
 

Arig al Shaibah
Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion

Messages from the AVP, News and Stories |

Silvia D’Addario, PhD

March 15, 2023

Director, Community & Capacity Building

Campus: UBC Vancouver

Pronouns: she/her; they/them

Bio

Dr. Silvia D’Addario is the Director of Community and Capacity Building in the Equity & Inclusion Office. In this role, she leads the area responsible for EDI education, inclusive leadership development, conflict engagement and transformation, community engagement, and organizational capacity building. Her work focuses on fostering systems-level change across the university through initiatives such as accessible EDI learning initiatives, equitable hiring practices, trauma-informed leadership programming, and strategic partnerships with academic and administrative units.

Previously, Silvia served as Director of Global Citizenship and Equity Education at Centennial College in Toronto, Ontario. She brings over a decade of progressive leadership in the post-secondary sector, advancing institutional commitments to equity, global citizenship, and community inclusion. With over fifteen years of cross-sectoral experience, Silvia has led professional learning in diverse organizations on topics including inclusive leadership, equitable organizational practices, human rights in the workplace, coaching and mentoring, anti-racism and anti-oppression, and accessibility.

Her community engagement work includes leading a municipal-wide initiative to make mental health and community services more accessible to historically, persistently and systemically marginalized groups. Through deep collaboration with diverse communities, Silvia has helped reimagine service delivery grounded in anti-oppression, disability justice, anti-racism and Indigenous inclusion. She secured significant funding to evaluate and expand equitable service access and worked closely with senior leadership, peer facilitators, and grassroots networks to implement inclusive models of care.

In addition to her administrative leadership, Silvia has held academic teaching positions at York University and the University of Toronto, where she designed and delivered courses on a range of EDI-related topics, employed accessible and inclusive pedagogical strategies, and facilitated respectful and critical classroom dialogue. She has also coordinated and consulted on numerous community-engaged projects in partnership with diverse communities.

Silvia holds a Doctoral degree in Urban Geography, with a specialization in equity, diversity and inclusion, transnational migration and Canadian immigration, and the geographies of home and work. She is professionally trained in Executive Coaching and holds certifications in health and wellness-related coaching practices.

Email
silvia.daddario@ubc.ca

Address:
Brock Commons South Building
6180 Walter Gage Road
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1

Community and Capacity Building Team, Leadership Team, Our Team, UBC Vancouver Team |

Celebrate International Women’s Day

March 8, 2023

Days of Significance |

Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul is supporting faculty, gender-diverse faculty to be “seen and valued”

March 7, 2023

This International Women’s Day, Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul, Senior Advisor on Women and Gender-diverse Faculty, and Academic Co-Director of the Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP) shares perspectives on a more equitable and inclusive future at UBC.

Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, in the Faculty of Medicine and a Senior Advisor to the Provost on Women and Gender-Diverse Faculty and Academic Co-Director, Academic Leadership Development Program.

What are some of the key initiatives that you are currently working on?

There are two initiatives that I would like to highlight – Maximizing Impact and Envisioning Equality.

The Maximizing Impact program was developed and created as a direct response to help mitigate the pandemic-induced challenges that impacted the ability of early career researchers (ECRs) to do research, teach and contribute to service. Importantly, we know that these negative effects were significantly compounded by the intersection of gender, disability status, ethnicity, and childcare responsibilities. 

The program provides networking opportunities, lunchtime talks by senior faculty members from across campus and one-on-one coaching. Over the past three years, over 50 diverse, early career researchers from across the university have joined this program. Senior faculty and emeriti faculty across campus stepped up to support and mentor the junior faculty. In addition, a dedicated team of coaches volunteered their time and expertise to work with the junior faculty. These coaches help faculty to focus their vision, set clear objectives and goals and act as thought partners as ECRs started to navigate their leadership journey at UBC.

“Through this program, faculty have reported an increased sense of community and self-confidence in their leadership and felt that they ‘were seen and valued’.”

– Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul

The second initiative is called Envisioning Equality Awards. When I was first appointed as Senior Advisor to the Provost in 2020 at UBC I went on a listening tour to hear about the experiences of women faculty (both cis and transgender) across campus. As I was going into many different buildings and I saw many portraits and paintings – mostly of white men I thought where are the women? Where are the racialized faculty?  I saw that the contributions and impact made by women, racialized faculty and staff have often not been highlighted – or worse that they have been dismissed or overlooked.   

With support from the Provost’s Office, the Equity & Inclusion Office, as well as UBC faculty and alumni, I was able to raise funds to create a new award to celebrate ten women and gender-diverse faculty and staff. These awards will take the form of printed banners featuring images of the women being honoured.

“The banners will be displayed later this spring and I hope will catalyze conversations about the accomplishments and impact that women and gender-diverse faculty and staff have made and continue to make at UBC – and to question traditional cultural and gender stereotypes.”

The banners will be displayed later this spring and I hope will catalyze conversations about the accomplishments and impact that women and gender-diverse faculty and staff have made and continue to make at UBC – and to question traditional cultural and gender stereotypes. I also hope that will inspire UBC to invest in creating more public art to reflect the diversity of the UBC community

What is the one thing/norm/idea you want to challenge this IWD?

Historic structural inequalities are deeply embedded within academia and have led to profound gender and racial/ethnic disparities. I have hope that all the justice, equity, decolonization, Indigenization, and inclusion (JEDII) based initiatives that are taking place across UBC will start to shift mindsets and spark culture change to value and engage with the rich diversity of all students, staff and faculty in a way that shows that UBC truly values inclusive excellence.

What’s one self-care/destress tip that has worked for you?

I make sure to exercise regularly by walking, bicycling and playing pickleball. I also love to sculpt in clay. I created this sculpture below recently at a portrait workshop that I attended at the Florence Academy of Art. It was a fantastic experience to be sculpting in a city where I was surrounded by beautiful, inspiring sculptures!

News and Stories |