Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
President's Office fonds
General material designation
- Multiple media
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Fonds
Repository
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1890-2020 (Creation)
- Creator
- University of British Columbia. President's Office
Physical description area
Physical description
151.67 m of textual records and other material.
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Office of President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia is a position that provides oversight and direction for the University's operation following the strategic framework and recommendations of the Board of Governors and the Senates (Vancouver and Okanagan). The President's duties, powers, responsibilities, and offices are specified under the British Columbia University Act. The commission of the President (63) includes the President as a member of the Board of Governors and chair of the Senates. They are also members of all standing (permanent) committees of the Senate except the standing committee on appeals. They are a member of each faculty, and in the absence of the chancellor, they must confer degrees in their place. Under the Act (59), the President has the power to recommend appointments and promotions. They may also remove teaching and administrative staff, summon faculty meetings, authorize lectures and instruction in any faculty, and establish any committees the President may consider necessary. The President's duties (62) include preparing and publishing annual reports on the University's progress, highlighting any essential recommendations to the Board of Governors and the Senate and reporting on any matter referred to the President by the Board of Governors or the Senate. In addition, the President must submit an annual budget and present the submissions to the Minister of Education.
Frank F. Wesbrook was recruited as the University's first President in 1913. He continued in this position until he died in 1919. He was succeeded, in turn, by Leonard S. Klinck (1919-1944), Norman A.M. MacKenzie (1944-1962), John B. MacDonald (1962-1967), Walter Gage (1967-1968), Kenneth Hare (1968-1969), Walter Gage (1969-1975), Douglas Kenny (1975-1983), George Pederson (1983-1985), Robert Smith (1985) and David Strangway (1985-1997), Martha Piper (1997-2006 ), Stephen J. Toope (2006-2014), Arvind Gupta (2014-2015), Martha Piper (once more) (2015-2016) and the current sitting President Santa J. Ono (2016-present). The duties and functions of the President's Office have expanded with the growth of the University. Until 1968, the UBC Presidents carried out their responsibilities through the assistance of various faculty members. In 1968, President Hare appointed William Armstrong, Walter Gage, and William White as acting Deputy Presidents. He delegated the President's Office multiple responsibilities. When Gage became President following Hare's resignation in 1969, White and Armstrong became Deputy Presidents. The Deputy President's positions continued until 1975 when they were replaced with four vice presidents under President Kenny. In 1987, the vice-presidents' duties were divided into Administration and Finance, Academic, Student and Academic Services, and Research.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The fonds consists of records that reflect the myriad of activities included under the President's Office. Records relating to the university's founding in its earliest days include records of the early days of Medicine at UBC. Records relating to First Nations Peoples are present, including the teacher training program and "Native Indian Students at UBC." Documents relate to faculties and departments, including Applied Sciences, Arts, Commerce, Forestry, Graduate Studies, VP Finance, Administrative Services, VP Faculty and Student Affairs, Dean of Women, Agricultural Sciences, Dentistry, Education, Law, Medicine, and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Also present are records related to Women at UBC, - including reports on the Status of Academic and Non-Academic Women - Senate Committees and the Board of Governors. Personnel records related to employees, salaries, agreements with Provincial and Territorial Governments and affiliated organizations with UBC, finances, the many UBC committees, advisory groups and records related to the founding of UBC institutes, foundations, centres and the Faculty Club. Records also relate to teacher evaluations, student discipline, budgets, appointments, new programs, legal opinion, the awarding of grants and scholarships. Subject files present include the Downtown Eastside and the President's Task Force to renew sports services. There are also records related to the University Endowment Lands and the planning and development of land and buildings at UBC. Records include agreements, agendas, applications, minutes, manuals, correspondence, memorandums, evaluations, reports, summaries, subject files, statistics, speeches, policies, procedures, pamphlets and academic plans.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
These are institutional records and subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Researcher access to these records is subject to review. To organize access please contact us at UBC Archives.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Please see finding aid for the file list.
Uploaded finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
Further accruals are expected.
General note
WARNING: Please be aware that researchers will encounter terms that are no longer acceptable. In instances where these terms are used in the original titles, they have not been changed.
General note
Please check with archival staff regarding access to digital-born records. The Microfilmed Records series consists of copies from the President's Office (1913-1970). In addition, digitized copies of the index cards to the microfilm content are available. Access to these can be requested from archives staff.
Physical description
Other materials include 496 microfilm reels, ca. 55 photographs and 0.78 GB of digital-born records (16 Word documents).
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Klinck, L. S. (Subject)
- Wesbrook, F.F. (Subject)
- Gage, Walter Henry (Subject)
- Kenny, Douglas T. (Subject)
- Universities Canada (Subject)
- Strangway, David (Subject)
- MacKenzie, Norman A.M. (Subject)
- Pedersen, K. George (Subject)
- Macdonald, John B. (Subject)
- Piper, Martha C. (Subject)
Genre access points
Control area
Description record identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Updated in January 2021, JM.