The Vagabond Club (1914-1928) was a Vancouver literary society for men intended for those interested in literature and possessing a sharp wit. A member was expected to verbally "attack" his fellow members in an amusing way. The Vagabond Club was formed at a time (1914) when this form of "verbal jousting" was commonplace. The Club was very much a Vancouver organization with a distinct focus on British Columbia and Canadian literature.

Leslie Upton was educated at Oxford University (B.A., 1954) and the University of Minnesota (Ph.D., 1957). From 1957 to 1964, he served as assistant professor of history at St. John's College, Winnipeg. Upton joined the Department of History at the University of British Columbia in 1971. His main areas of study included United Empire Loyalists and the relationship of Amerindians and whites in pre-Confederation Atlantic Canada.

(Edna) Muriel Upshall was born September 18, 1906 in High River, Alberta. She attended Queen Mary Public School and Prince of Wales High School in Vancouver. She graduated from the Vancouver General Hospital and University of British Columbia schools of nursing in 1929, one of only six nurses to graduate from UBC in the first congregation to receive a nursing degree.

For seven and a half years, she worked for the Provincial Board of Health in Nanaimo. From 1936-1937, she worked with tuberculosis patients as one of the first public health nurses in Richmond, B.C. She and Eileen Williams helped found the public health nursing program in Richmond. Upshall then joined the UBC Student Health Services on the campus and worked there until her retirement in 1971. She died on August 12, 1989.

She was active with the Canadian Alpine Club, and part owner of a cabin on Hollyburn. She made more than ten visits to Lake O’Hara in the Rocky Mountains, and also travelled extensively in the USA, Great Britain, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the West Indies. She was also a member of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health and the VGH Alumnae Association.

Before the School of Environmental and Forest Services was established at the University of Washington, general forestry was taught at the university in 1897 within the Department of Natural Sciences. Ten years later, in 1907, Environmental and Forest Services was officially established as the University of Washington’s School of Forestry.

The Women's Undergraduate Society (WUS) was formed at the birth of UBC to consider and advance the interests of the women students through the promotion of extra‐curricular activities and speakers. All women students were automatically members of the Undergraduate Society. The executive's significant role was to coordinate the activities of the women's undergraduate societies in the various faculties. The WUS annually organized social activities, especially for the female freshmen (ʺfreshettesʺ) during the first few weeks of classes. In 1958 the WUS regrouped under the new name of Associated Women Students.

The Women’s Resources Centre (WRC) opened in 1973 and serves nearly 25,000 people annually. As part of Extended Learning (formerly UBC Continuing Studies), the WRC offers career planning, vocational testing, community information, educational programs and free drop-in counselling services for men and women, certificate programs in cross-cultural and peer counselling, and working with an aging population.

When the new University of British Columbia opened in 1915, the Ladies' Lit and the Undergraduates' Lit organizations, which had moved over from the McGill University College of British Columbia, were remodelled as the Women's Literary Society. Originally from Victoria, B.C., Muriel Grant attended UBC from 1916 to 1919, graduating with a B.A. She was active in the Musical Society and the Women's Literary Society. During her time at the University, she compiled a scrapbook documenting her interests and prominent campus events.

The Women's Athletic Association was established at the founding of UBC to oversee all-female athletic activity. The Women's Athletic Executive was initially composed of an elected president, appointed team members, and faculty. In 1940, following the Men's Athletic Association model, the executive changed to a directorate system to more balanced representation and was more representative of the Alma Mater Society. The Women's Athletic Directorate continued to oversee the constitutions and budgets of the athletic clubs and ensure that both clubs and individuals taking part in sports on campus or representing the AMS abided by the rules of the Directorate. Through constitution revisions around 1946, the Women's Athletic Directorate continued to meet as an independent body. However, it became dependent upon the Men's Athletic Directorate for funds and policy.

The Vice President of Student and Academic Services had responsibility for athletics and sports services, awards and financial aid, International House, office for women students, student and student housing and conferences, computing services, high school and college liaison, information services and telecommunications, library, registrar's office, UBC Press, Alma Mater Society, Canada employment centre, child care, chaplain service, the graduate student centre. They are also instrumental in University outreach and promoting international cooperation and exchange. Krishan Srivastava was appointed vice-president of Student and Academic Services in 1987; he replaced Daniel Birch (Dean of Education and later VP Academic), who held the position temporarily. Other VPs of Student and Academic services included Maria Klawe (1995-1997), Mary Risebrough (1997-1998), and Brian Sullivan 1999-2011.

The Vice President of Faculty and Student Affairs was responsible for ensuring the academic excellence of faculty appointments, the granting of promotion and tenure, and the management and improvement of those campus services which affected students. The responsibility for Student Affairs was shifted to Michael Shaw, Vice President Academic and Provost, in 1982. Shaw left that position in 1983.

The Vice President of Administration and Finance was responsible for developing, implementing and controlling financial and accounting policies and procedures for budgetary planning, expenditure control, safeguarding of assets, accounting for revenue and expenditures, investment portfolio and related computer-supported systems. They were accountable to University officials and departments on all budgetary and financial matters. Bruce Gellatly was appointed VP of Administration and Finance in 1983.

Arising from an idea conceived by Alfred Rive (B.A. 1927), the Varsity Outdoor Club was established in 1920. Initially, the Club's purpose was "to arrange outdoor excursions for its members during both the summer and the winter." Over the years, the focus of the Club has broadened, as the Club has invested in ski cabins at Whistler and Mount Seymour and provided a wide range of activities, including mountaineering and hiking.

The Vancouver Harbour - Burrard Inlet Project had the primary objective of determining the effects on currents, tides, and navigation of proposed dredging in the First Narrows.

In 1995, Community Relations became part of Public Affairs and this also saw the formation of University Relations. University Relations eventually became the Ceremonies and Events Office in c.2000s.

Based on the first committee minutes found in the records, the University Lectures Committee was operating for some time before 1949 and went through several names changes, including the Committee on University Lectures and the Presidents Permanent Committee on Lectures before they were finally renamed the Presidents Advisory Committee on Lectures in 1985. The committee's goal was to bring outstanding academics or individuals representing a cross-section of the arts, humanities, business and government to talk to the university community. Over the years, the committee administered several lecture series, including the General Lectures (renamed the President's Lectures), Leon and Thea Koerner Lectures, Hewitt-Bostock Lectures, J. V. Clyne, Canadian Club Lectures, Sedgewick Lectures, Kapoor Singh Lectures and H.R. MacMillan Lectures. On some occasions, the committee co-sponsored the Koerner Lectures series with the Centre for Continuing Education and the Vancouver Institute. Although they shared administrative services with Green College, the committee did not administer or oversee the Cecil H. and Ida Green Lectures series.

In 1954 a President's Climatological Station Committee was established to explore the possibilities of installing and operating a climatological station. In the same year, a request was made to the Meteorological Division in the Federal Department of Transport to supply the essential equipment. An agreement was reached in 1955 for the establishment and maintenance of a station, providing the UBC provided a suitable site and qualified observers, maintained records according to Meteorological Division standards, and provided monthly reports to the Division. The Station was set up in 1957 west of the Agronomy Barn on Agronomy Road; campus development forced its relocation further south in 1964. The Committee administered the Station, maintained liaison with the Meteorological Division, and until 1963 held informal seminars on weather and climate studies during its regular meetings. The Committee was re-constituted to report to the Dean of Graduate Studies; that year, an Atmospheric Sciences Colloquium was established to organize lectures and seminars.

In 1990, Ann Carroll conducted interviews with nine members of the Alumni Associations Professor Emeriti Division. Those interviewed included: J. Lewis Robinson, Benjamin Nelson Moyls, Joseph A. Gardner, Beryl Elizabeth March, George Michael Volkoff, Sadie Boyles, Robert M. Clark, M.W. Steinberg, and Margaret Street. Many of the interviewees talked about student days at UBC and their professional activities and changes they witnessed in their departments during their careers at the University.

Guided Independent Study was first established in 1973 as Credit and Independent Study, offering university courses by correspondence. The name was changed to Guided Independent Study in 1977; after 1986, it became known as UBC Access.

UBC established the Technical Committee on the Endowment Lands in 1981. Its primary purpose was to act as a liaison between the University and the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) regarding the management of the University Endowment Lands. In particular, it advised and assisted the GVRD on research projects; provided technical information and advice to the GVRD on forest management; provided guidelines and reviewed UBC uses of the UEL forest for teaching and research; and made recommendations for how UBC development and activities could best fit with the UEL. After establishing Pacific Spirit Regional Park in 1990, the committee was re-named the UBC Technical Committee on Pacific Spirit Regional Park. The committee has not met formally since 1997, although its former chair has been consulted by the GVRD on various matters regarding the park.

The Sustainable Development Research Initiative (SDRI) was established in April 1991 to foster policy-relevant research on sustainable development. In addition, the Initiative encourages interdisciplinary collaboration among the faculty, departments, and centres at UBC and other institutes and programs undertaking sustainable development research in Canada and worldwide. In pursuit of this, the Institute has hosted workshops and conferences, including the 1994 "Women and Sustainable Development: Canadian Perspectives" conference. It also coordinated research on sustainability and the relationships that connect and influence the environment, the economy, and society. After an extensive review, SDRI merged with the Institute for Resources and Environment (IRE) to form the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) in September 2002.

The history of summer instruction at the university dates back to 1920 when the institution sponsored Summer School for Teachers. In 1922 the program expanded to become University Summer Session and offered a broad range of courses. The Summer Session Students' Association at UBC was established in 1925 to promote academic and social interaction amongst participants in a summer session. The term "Students'" was dropped from the organization's title in 1953 to broaden its focus. A weekly Bulletin kept members informed of all campus events (most sponsored by SSA) and other helpful information. The Association also provided funding for scholarships and interest-free loans. In 1994, the Summer Session Association was dissolved, and the Alma Mater Society took over its activities.

The UBC Speakers Bureau was established in 1975 by the UBC Alumni Association. Its purpose was to arrange speaking engagements by University faculty to non-profit organizations on a wide variety of topics. Organizations could contact the Speakers Bureau and inform them of their preferred date, time, and topic. In turn, the Bureau would contact faculty members who had indicated their willingness to participate in the program and whose area of expertise included the topic in question. The Bureau ceased operations in 1987; however, a new Speakers Bureau was established by Community Relations by 1989.

Established at the University of British Columbia in the late 1950s, the Institute of Social and Economic Research was intended to foster research and graduate study in the social sciences. The Institute, composed of members with diverse backgrounds from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, provided research funds for individual projects and participated in formulating long-term research strategies. In 1962, the name of the body was changed to the Social Science Research Institute and the responsibilities for supporting individual research projects were transferred to the Dean of Graduate Studies' Research Committee.

The University of British Columbia Senate was created under the terms of the British Columbia University Act of 1908. The first meeting of the Senate was held in 1915. The Senate is responsible for managing the curriculum, instruction, and education offered by the University. In addition, Senate addresses questions relating to the qualifications required of applicants for admission to the University or any faculty. Other Senate responsibilities include the provision and granting of degrees, including honorary degrees; making recommendations to the Board of Governors regarding the establishment or discontinuance of any faculty, department, or course of instruction; the awarding of fellowships, scholarships, bursaries and prizes; the making of rules and regulations for the management and conduct of the library; and the publication of the University Calendar. The Senate is composed of appointed and elected persons. The President of the University acts as Chair of Senate and the Registrar as Secretary. Other ex-officio members include the Chancellor, the University Librarian, the Academic Vice-President and the deans of the faculties. The actual work of the Senate is accomplished through appointed committees which present reports which are considered by Senate as a whole and accepted, amended or rejected.