UBC Reports | Vol. 49 | No. 8 | Aug. 7, 2003

Deans New and Renewed

Law isn’t the only faculty to get a new dean this year. The Faculties of Medicine and Science have also appointed new heads.

Dr. Gavin Stuart, an oncologist and noted cancer researcher, will take over as Dean of Medicine in September while Prof. John Hepburn, the current head of UBC’s Chemistry Dept., will take up his duties as Dean of Science effective November 1.

Stuart currently heads the Dept. of Oncology at the University of Calgary, is vice-president of the Alberta Cancer Board and directs the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary. In addition to a broad understanding of academic administration, he is noted for his clinical skills and is highly visible on the national research scene for his work in cervical and ovarian cancers.

As dean, Stuart will lead initiatives such as the building of the Life Sciences Centre at Point Grey that joins medical and life sciences laboratories and the new distributed medical education program that will double the number of B.C.’s medical school graduates by 2010.

Hepburn is internationally renowned for his research in laser spectroscopy and laser chemistry. He came to UBC in 2001 from the University of Waterloo. As head of the Chemistry Dept., Hepburn has been a tireless promoter of excellence in research and teaching. He earned his BSc from the University of Waterloo in 1976. He continued his education at the University of Toronto where he obtained his PhD in 1980. He began his academic career at the University of Waterloo in 1982 as an assistant professor of Chemistry and Physics, becoming chair of the Chemistry Dept. in 1998.

Prof. Moura Quayle of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Prof. Michael Isaacson of the Faculty of Applied Science have both been re-appointed for second terms. The two were first appointed in 1997.

During her first term, Quayle oversaw the transformation of the undergraduate curriculum into four new degrees -- Bachelors of Science in Agroecology, Food, Nutrition and Health, and Global Resource Systems, and Bachelor of Environmental Design (in collaboration with the Faculty of Applied Science School of Architecture), and the establishment of several new centres -- the Wine Research Centre, the Centre for Aquaculture and Environment, the Centre for Plant Research, the Centre for Landscape Research, the Food and Resource Economics Research Group, and the UBC Farm.

Major accomplishments during Isaacson’s first term include the development of several new programs including the Commerce Minor, the IT Minor, the combined BA/BASc degree, the Integrated Engineering Program, and the joint UBC/UNBC degree in Environmental Engineering, and the opening of the Clean Energy Research Centre.