Vancouver Institute

Dr. Henry Yu’s research and teaching have been built around collaborations with local community organizations, civic institutions, and multiple levels of government guided by his passion for undoing the cultural and historical legacies of colonialism. He is one of the Founding Directors of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC; the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation; and the Chinese Canadian Museum of BC.

Dr. John Madden’s research interest is using materials to create novel devices including stretchable touch sensors, artificial muscle, solar batteries, and photosynthesis-based light harvesters. He and his team investigate new and unusual electronic materials for application in energy storage, printable electronics, and artificial muscle.

Dr. David Hodgins’ research and leadership in international initiatives have set directions in science and interventions for addictions, profoundly changing how scholars, practitioners, and policymakers understand this problem. He leads the Prairie Node of the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse, investigating various aspects of the psychology and physiology of addictive disorders, including substance use and gambling, as well as treatment approaches.

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).

Dr. Benoit-Antoine 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.

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.

Note: This lecture will be held at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on Thursday, September 26 at 6 pm. THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.
Dal Grauer Memorial Lecture
Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (2020 and 2022).

Mr. Anthony Kiendl is an award-winning curator, writer, arts administrator and educator. Prior to joining the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2020, Mr. Kiendl was the Executive Director and CEO of the Mackenzie Gallery in Regina; the Executive and Artistic Director of Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art in Winnipeg; and the Director of Visual Arts at the Walter Phillips Gallery and Banff International Curatorial Institute at the Banff Centre.

Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta is a champion of integrated maternal, newborn, and childhood health globally. His work with community health workers and outreach services has influenced outreach programs for marginalized populations around the world. Among his multiple distinguished posts, Dr. Bhutta was a member of the UN Secretary General’s Independent Expert Review Group for monitoring global progress in maternal and child health.

Note: To be held in the Old Auditorium at UBC — 6344 Memorial Road, Vancouver. Doors at 7:20 pm. Professor Nancy Hermiston is a distinguished opera singer, stage director and educator. Her operatic career has taken her throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. She has held numerous appointments as a voice teacher, and as stage director at the Meistersinger Konservatorium, Nürnberg, and the University of Toronto Opera and Performance Divisions.

Dr. Emily Cranston is a leading innovator and scholar at UBC. With her research group, she investigates nanocellulose and hybrid bio-based materials that can be used in a broad range of applications including packaging, electrical components, and cosmetics to replace non-renewable resources. Among her multiple honours, she is an NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Fellow, and a member of the College of New Scholars of the Royal Society of Canada.

Dr. Steven Narod leads an internationally renowned research program in cancer genetics, greatly enhancing our understanding of the factors that shape women’s risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. He and his team advocate for genetic testing for women who do not have access to current public programs, and they recently launched The Screen Project, a national initiative to make genetic screening available to all Canadians at an accessible price.

Seth Klein is a public policy researcher and writer based in Vancouver. He was the founding director of the BC office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), former co-chair of the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, and founder of the Metro Vancouver Living Wage for Families. He is the author of A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency (2020).

A conversation between Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Professor Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii), moderated by Dr. Tricia Logan. Mr. Sniderman is a writer, lawyer and Rhodes Scholar. Prof. Sanderson is Beaver Clan, from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, and is deeply engaged in Aboriginal issues from a policy perspective. Mr. Sniderman and Prof. Sanderson wrote the award winning book Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation (2022).

Mr. Max Wyman, OC is one of Canada’s foremost cultural commentators. For more than three decades he wrote arts criticism for The Vancouver Sun and CBC Radio. Mr. Wyman is the author of a number of books, among them Dance Canada: An Illustrated History (1989), The Defiant Imagination: Why Culture Matters (2009), and its sequel The Compassionate Imagination: How the Arts Are Central to a Functioning Democracy (2023).

Dr. Jan Zwicky, C.M. is one of Canada’s most respected artists and intellectuals, known equally for her original work in philosophy and her poetry, and translated into a number of European languages. Her writing has covered issues in music, poetry, philosophy, and the environment.