Vancouver Institute

WICKED SOLUTIONS: UBC’S ROLE IN TACKLING THE WORLD’S MOST PRESSING ISSUES

When: Where: P.A. Woodward Instructional Resources Centre, UBC’s Point Grey Campus, 2194 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver.

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Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon

17th President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of British Columbia

Dr. Bacon has led the academic mission and operations of UBC since November 2023. He has a remarkable track record as a senior administrative leader at major research universities in Canada, including as President and Vice-Chancellor of Carleton University, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) at Queen’s University, and Provost and Vice-President (Academic Affairs) at Concordia University, where he was recognized with an award as Sustainability Champion. Sharing his own lived experience, he advocates nationally for open conversations about mental health and substance use. These efforts have been recognized with a Transformational Leader Inspiration Award from the Royal Ottawa Hospital, and the Honorary Presidency of the Canadian Psychological Association.

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THE AMERICAN ELECTION: IS DEMOCRACY ON THE BALLOT?

Dr. Paul J. Quirk is a distinguished scholar in American politics, writing on topics such as Congress, the presidency, presidential elections, and public opinion. Dr. Quirk’s latest book, The United States and Canada: How Two Democracies Differ, and Why It Matters (2019), offers a comparative analysis of democratic practices.

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THINKING ABOUT VANCOUVER AS THE EAST COAST (OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN)

Dr. Alice Te Punga Somerville (Te Āti Awa)’s research and archival work bring to the fore the multilingual rich legacy of Indigenous writing from New Zealand, Australia, Hawai’i and Fiji beyond the stories told about them in colonial texts. Her publications include Always Italicise: How to Write While Colonised (2022), winner of the 2023 Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry in New Zealand, and Two Hundred and Fifty Ways to Start an Essay about Captain Cook (2020).