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UBC REPORTS2 UBC in the News 3 “Going Postal” 4 Brain Breakthrough 5 University Town 6 Happy Anniversar y 7 Food for Thought

The new head of one of Canada’slargest medical schools feels like he’sunder a national microscope.

Observing from the other side of thelens are Canada’s 15 other medical schools focused on the outcomeof UBC’s move to double the size of itsmedical school by 2010 with educationdistributed at three sites in the province.

“I like construction projects – makingthis ambitious expansion a reality is abig part of what attracted me here,”says Gavin Stuart, a specialist in gyne-cological cancers and the new dean ofthe Faculty ofMedicine. “Oneof my goals is tobe a part ofbuilding the dis-tributed educa-tion model tobecome a nat-ional and inter-national bench-mark for med-ical educationand research.”

T a c k l i n gcomplex proj-ects is nothingnew to the thirdgeneration phy-sician who has served as professor andhead of the department of oncology atthe University of Calgary, vice-presidentof the Alberta Cancer Board and director of Calgary’s Tom Baker CancerCentre.

His challenge is to lead UBC’s Facultyof Medicine as it expands in 2004, withstudents being educated and trained atthe University of Northern B.C. and theUniversity of Victoria in addition to theUBC campus. The number of medical students – who will all graduate with aUBC medical degree – will double to256 by 2010. Both Ontario and Quebechave similar plans for distributed med-ical education but UBC will be the firstto implement the model.

“UBC is in a leadership position rightnow and I feel proud to be part of a fac-ulty with so much talent and so manyinnovations already in place. On theresearch side, we’re very strong, and onthe teaching side students will soon belearning in an exceptional multidiscipli-nary environment,” says Stuart, referring to the construction of a $110-million Life Sciences Centre at UBC.

The 40,000-square-metre facility isone of only a handful of Canadian med-

New Medical Dean makes a Positive PrognosisUBC’s medical school will double in size by 2010

B Y H I L A R Y T H O M S O N

ical schools to provide integrated life sci-ences education in disciplines rangingfrom neuroscience to social work. It willalso serve as a catalyst for life scienceresearch in B.C.

But there may be some squirmingunder the microscope as Stuart grappleswith issues such as workloads, pace ofchange, maintaining research momen-tum in the face of increased teachingrequirements, and recruiting faculty in aglobally competitive market.

He is optimistic, however, that withhealth education a government priority

at both provin-cial and federallevels, the time isright to attractand retain topacademics. Hea c k n o w l e d -ges that balanc-ing the object-ives of the part-ners, UVIC andUNBC, in thed i s t r i b u t e dmodel will be asignificant chal-lenge.

“Creating atrue working

partnership among three very differentuniversities in three distinct communi-ties is the task that lies ahead,” says the49-year-old University of WesternOntario alumnus.

Despite the complexities of themodel, he feels the payoff to the healthof B.C. residents will be significant. Apremise of the new system is that doc-tors trained and educated in their owncommunities are more likely to practicethere, boosting the number of doctors inrural and underserved areas.

In addition to building the medicaleducation program, Stuart wants tosupport further development of researchactivities, both within the faculty andacross the spectrum of health sciencesinvestigation at the university.

“We have a lot of talent and researchstrength here. Success breeds success,which gives us some exciting opportuni-ties for growth.”

Although duties as dean will take upmost of his time, Stuart will do someteaching and clinical work. An amateurathlete with a marathon or two to hiscredit, he also hopes to explore some ofthe running routes in his new hometown. ■■

The Gargirls are back. This is one of three sculptures of nurses in WW I uniforms that grace the corners of the new Technology Enterprises Facility III Bldg. at the intersection of East Mall and Agronomy Rd. The statues, created by JosephF. Watson, originally adorned Vancouver's first Art Deco building, the Medical-Dental Building on Georgia St. When the building was demolished in 1989, the 3.3-metre-sculptures were stored until they could find a new home. Replicas of the statues can be seen on the office tower at Vancouver's Cathedral Place. ■■

The more things change in theAmerican inner city, the more they staythe same.

For decades, banks engaged in a practice called “red-lining,” refusing tomake loans for home purchases, reno-vations or business investment to low-income minorities. Today, everyoneand their proverbial dog are lining up tolend people money. But according toUBC geography assistant professorElvin Wyly, it’s just creating newinequalities in the ways homes arefinanced and what the cost and risk ofthe credit will be.

He cites the example of Beatrice, anAfrican-American woman in her 70swho has lived for almost 50 years in the

NotNecessarilyfor Sale: Racial and ethnic discrimination alive andwell in American mortgage lending

B Y E R I C A S M I S H E K

same house in Newark, New Jersey.After repeated targeted telephone solic-itation, she entered into a contract forexterior home repairs. The agent gother a $46,500 loan at an annual inter-est rate of 11.65 percent, adjustableafter six months. At the time, the average initial rate for one-yearadjustable loan was 5.73 percent. Theloan was a “balloon” type, requiringmonthly installments for 15 years andthen a final payment of $41,603.

Months later, after “unconscionablypoor” workmanship, Beatrice wasshocked to learn the precise loan termsand requirements when she re-read thenumerous and confusing loan docu-ments. She stopped making paymentsand the lending firm filed for foreclosure. Beatrice filed a counter-claim, claiming violations of the LawAgainst Discrimination and the CivilRights Act, among others. The caseeventually went to appeal and isbelieved to be the first appellate courtdecision recognizing that predatorylending practices can violate U.S. federal and state civil rights laws.

“There is a perception that we’vegotten past racial discrimination and it’sjust simply not true,” says Wyly, a spe-

cialist in urban housing and labourmarkets. “There are new ways thathome ownership is being transformedthat create new axes of inequality.”

Inequalities are especially pro-nounced in gentrifying neighbour-hoods. Between 1993 and 2000, Wylyfound that capital investment for homepurchases grew twice as fast in gentri-fied neighbourhoods as in the suburbs.Over the same period, African-American loan rejection odds in theseneighbourhoods stood at 2.1 timesthose for non-Hispanic whites – evenafter accounting for differences inincome and estimated credit risk.

He is currently studying changes inthe U.S. banking industry and the impli-cations for home ownership amonglow-income households and racial/eth-nic minorities in inner-city U.S. neigh-bourhoods. Supported by a three-yeargrant from the Social Sciences andHumanities Research Council, andassisted by Mona Atia, a doctoral stu-dent in geography, Wyly is analyzinghow the institutional structure of mort-gage lending has changed race andincome inequalities among borrowers.

Preliminary results point to wideningcontinued on page 7

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New Dean of Medicine, Gavin Stuart.

k u d o sPolitical science professor Ken Carty has been appointed director of Research and Education for the B.C. Citizens Assembly, which was created earlier this yearby the B.C. government to evaluate electoral reform in the province. Carty bringsto the position an extensive knowledge of Canadian and comparative western politics and experience as a member of the federal boundary commission.

The self-governing assembly, randomly chosen from across the province, willhold public hearings across B.C. to look at all possible models for electing MLAs.It has a mandate to recommend no more than one electoral system.

At UBC, Carty balances teaching with a research focus on the structure, organization and behaviour of political parties. He has published widely on thepolitical recruitment, leadership and electoral activities of parties in Canada,Europe and Australia. ■■

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Highlights of UBC Media Coverage in September 2003. C O M P I L E D B Y B R I A N L I N

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IN THE NEWS

UBC REPORTS

Canada’s first national travelling exhibition on thescience of genomics – including a special module hon-ouring the legacy of the late Michael Smith, UBC pro-fessor of biotechnology who was awarded the NobelPrize in Chemistry in 1993 – opened Oct. 2 atVancouver’s Science World and runs to Jan. 5, 2004.

Called The Geee! in Genome, the exhibit coincideswith the 50th anniversary of the landmark scientificpublication by James Watson and Francis Crick thatdescribed the double helix structure of DNA. The exhibition explores topics ranging from the ABCs ofDNA, genes and genomics to the impact of this emerging field of science on agriculture, the environmentand human health.

“I think it’s wonderful that this Canada-wide exhibithas travelled to Vancouver first because B.C. scientistshave been so instrumental in developing the knowledgebase that we call genomics,” says Prof. Sid Katz, UBC’sexecutive director, Community Affairs, who helpeddevelop the exhibit. “We hope the exhibit sparks a lot ofpublic dialogue, not only about health, but also aboutfisheries, forestry, agriculture – everything connectedwith genome science.”

The Geee! in Genome visitors will be introduced to

The Geee! In GenomeCelebrating 50 years of DNA research

B Y H I L A R Y T H O M S O N

the intricate functions of genes and cells and they willlearn and have an opportunity to debate controversialethical issues such as genetic testing, gene therapy,human cloning, genetically modified organisms,labelling and safety, DNA databanks and privacy issues.

Katz worked on the exhibit with David Ng, whodirects the Advanced Molecular Biology Lab at UBC’sBiotechnology Lab, and Asst. Prof. David Anderson ofthe Faculty of Education. The team also helped createthe workshop experience for visitors to the exhibit, thecurriculum-based school programs as well as localspeakers’ forums to be held at Science World.

Michael Smith was director of B.C. Cancer Agency’sGenome Sequence Centre in Vancouver and foundingdirector of the UBC Biotechnology Lab. The Nobel Prizerecognized his groundbreaking work in reprogrammingsegments of DNA, the building blocks of life. His workis credited by peers as launching a new era in geneticsresearch. His legacy continues with the recent achieve-ment of the agency being the first in the world tosequence the SARS virus.

The exhibit was produced by the Canadian Museumof Nature and is presented nationally by GenomeCanada, in partnership with the Canadian Institutes ofHealth Research. The exhibit is hosted by Science Worldand presented locally by Genome British Columbia.

The exhibition will visit about nine cities acrossCanada over a three-year period. For more informationon the exhibit and the public forum schedule, visitwww.genomebc.ca. ■■

Second thought on Statins After an investigation of theresearch behind cholesterol-lower-ing pills, Dr. James McCormackand his colleagues with the UBCTherapeutics Initiative have con-cluded that the benefit of takingstatins appears to be offset byequally tangible risks.

“What needs to be done is alarge, long-term trial that comparesstatins and diet,” Wright told theNational Post.

Wright advises people to talk totheir physicians about why they arebeing prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs.

“They should be honest withthem about the benefits, and say:‘Here is the real evidence’.”

Top of the world wirelessUBC has a new wireless local areanetwork that covers its huge 600-acre Vancouver campus, making itthe largest and most advancedWLAN set up by any university orcollege in the world.

“It’s already changing life oncampus,” AVP InformationTechnology Ted Dodds told TheGlobe and Mail.

“Students spend less time stand-ing in line and more time learning,”he explains, “while faculty spendless time administering researchand are actively engaged in doingresearch.”

The WLAN is just one part ofUBC’s three-year, $30-million project to develop a comprehensive “e-Strategy” and upgrade its com-

puter network that wraps up thismonth.

Catch allergy before it hitsA new study has found that atopiceczema, an allergic skin condition,is best treated before it flares up.

“The traditional approach isreacting when the disease flares upand then dousing the fire. Now, weare talking about before the diseaseflares, at the very first sign of initi-ation. We are going to intervene atthat stage to prevent it from gettingout of hand,” UBC dermatologyprofessor Vincent Ho told Reuters.

Airline crisisCommenting on Sept. 11’s impacton the U.S. airline industry, UBCorganizational behaviour professorMarc-David Seidel told UnitedPress International that the structures of the airline industrywere creaking long before the terrorist attacks.

“The large major carriers thatexisted prior to deregulation (of theU.S. domestic market) in 1978 werefounded and built for a regulatedenvironment. They never fullyrestructured to the new deregulatedenvironment,” Seidel says.

Math student Arsia Assadipour checks e-mail through the world’s largestcampus wireless network.

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gerous objects at another employeeor property damage).

Robinson says the most interest-ing finding from the study, pub-lished in June in the Academy ofManagement Journal, is that thelevel of violence in the communitysurrounding an organization pre-dicted workplace aggression, indi-cating a “spillover” effect. The

procedural justice climate –employees’ shared perceptions ofhow they are treated in the work-place – did not have an impact.

“We don’t know yet why com-munity violence has an impact,”she says. “Is it because the employ-ees are often hired from these sur-rounding communities? By living inthese communities have employeeslearned aggressive behaviour? Is itcopycat behaviour? Is there someform of desensitization going on?

“The study raises more questionsthan it answers. It was very eye-opening.”

She says the notion that work-place aggression is a partial out-growth of community-level vio-lence has practical implications fororganizations, from where andhow they hire employees throughrigorous company policies and

The risk of an employee “goingpostal” may have more to do withan organization’s postal code thanwith how people are treated insidethe workplace.

In one of the first studies toempirically examine observedsevere workplace aggression, ateam of researchers includingSandra Robinson of the Sauder

School of Business at UBC discov-ered that violent crime rates in acommunity have a significant influ-ence on workplace aggression.

“If an organization exists in ahigh-crime neighbourhood, it’smore likely that there will be vio-lence or aggression in the work-place than if it’s in a low-crimeneighbourhood,” says Robinson, aprofessor of organizational behav-iour and human resources.

“It doesn’t mean that manage-ment’s treatment of employeesdoesn’t matter. This is not to getbad management off the hook –but to point out that the externalenvironment has an impact too.”

Robinson and Sauder colleagueMartin Schulz joined researchersfrom the University of WesternOntario, Tulane University in NewOrleans and the RensselaerPolytechnic Institute in New Jerseyto study workplace aggression in alarge American public serviceorganization. (The study does notreveal the organization and neitherwill Robinson).

The sample consisted of 250independent plants spread acrossthe United States. Plants had anaverage of 680 employees each,including plant workers, clericaland secretarial employees, equip-ment maintenance employees andsupervisors.

The research team examined FBIstatistics of official violent crimerates – number of murders, non-negligent manslaughters, forciblerapes, robberies and aggravatedassaults – for the communities inwhich each plant was located. Theyalso analyzed an employee attitudesurvey and reviewed the organiza-tion’s official reports of workplaceaggression incidents (physicalassaults, credible threats and othersevere incidents of workplaceaggression such as throwing dan-

Violent Neighbourhoods canLead to Violent WorkplacesResearch proves the connection. B Y E R I C A S M I S H E K

unit-wide training to deal with violence to supporting communityefforts to curb social problems. All could translate into significant savings in personal and organiza-tional costs.

Robinson, who has spent a num-ber of years researching the darker,dysfunctional side of the employ-ee/employer relationship, contractviolations and workplace deviance,says more research is needed toexplore the multiple factors deter-mining employee aggression.

“We know that management’streatment of employees does mat-ter,” she says. “It can make formore productive employees and itcan make for better workplaces.

“But other things influenceemployee behaviour in the work-place. We need to be aware of theenvironment that employees arecoming from and consider whatpeople bring from the outside totheir work. People don’t leave theirpersonal stuff at the door.” ■■

With a successful kick-off eventbehind them, and an amount ofover $20,000 raised to date, the2003 UBC United Way Campaign iswell underway.

“Pledge packages were deliveredin late September, and donors havealready been generous through theirdonations and event participation,”said Deborah Austin, one of thisyear’s co-chairs. “One of our goalsthis year is to raise donor participa-tion and with the improvementswe’re seeing already, I believe wewill achieve that.”

“Volunteers have really beenworking hard on campaignsthroughout departments on cam-pus,” noted Eilis Courtney, Austin’sco-chair. “If you’re looking for acoffee and donut morning, an international food fair or a 50/50draw, you can find one in an areanear you.”

Upcoming events this monthinclude the annual Health SciencesPancake Breakfast, the Land andBuilding Services International FoodFestival and the UBC-RitsumeikanOpen House. Visit our website atwww.unitedway.ubc.ca for all ofour campaign and event details.

For more information on thisyear’s campaign, upcoming events, or how to donate, pleasecontact Liz King, CampaignCoordinator, at 604.822.8929 orunited.way@ubc.ca. ■■

UBC United Way

We need to be aware of the environment that employees are coming from and consider whatpeople bring from the outside to their work.

Sandra Robinson, professor of organizational behaviour and humanresources at the Sauder School of Business.

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Protecting Yourselffrom Fraud

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9:00 am – 4:30 pm

Don’t become a victim. Attend this full-day conference and learn how you, as a consumer or a business owner, can recognize and reduce the risk of fraud.

For program detailsand speaker biographies: 604.412.7539www.economiccrimes.ca

For Richard Prince, the secret to hislengthy academic career is taking itone day at a time.

“It’s impossible to predict, whenyou begin a job, how long you willstay,” says Prince, an art history,visual art and theory professor whocelebrates his induction into theQuarter Century Club this yearwith 25 other faculty members andlibrarians.

Established in 1996, the QuarterCentury Club was established to recognize faculty members andlibrarians who have served at UBCfull-time for 25 years. Each newmember receives a certificate ofmembership, a gold pin or pendant,and a club membership card goodfor free admission to the BotanicalGardens and discounted admissionto the UBC Aquatic Centre.

Having conducted research andtaught at UBC for a quarter of a century, Prince says he hardly evernotices the passage of time, excepton one occasion a couple of yearsago when he walked past the groveof oaks adjacent to the SUB.

“There is now a beautiful canopyforest,” Prince muses. “When Ibegan working here, they were justlittle saplings.”

Prince was hired as an assistantprofessor in 1978, but his relation-ship with UBC began long before.

“I was raised not far from cam-pus and did both my undergraduateand graduate work here before Istarted teaching, so I feel like I’vebeen here all my life.”

Prince, best known for his series

UBC honours theQuarter Century Club.

B Y B R I A N L I N

of sculptures based on the northernlights, which has spanned more thantwo decades, says interacting withstudents is by far the most rewardingaspect of university life.

“There hasn’t been a single yearwhere I haven’t met students whowere exceptionally brilliant anddoing outstanding work,” saysPrince. “It’s a privilege to be able tohelp them form the ideas and attitudes which, in the long run, willmake a better world.”

In addition to Quarter CenturyClub inductees, this year’s annualdinner, held on Oct. 2 also honours50 faculty members and librarianswho have worked at UBC for 35years, a group known collectively asTempus Fugit (time flies).

For a complete list of this year’sinductees to the Quarter CenturyClub and the members of TempusFugit, visit www.external-affairs.ubc.ca/ceremonies/qcc ■■

A UBC researcher has made a break-through that promises new treatment forschizophrenia in the treatment of schizophrenia patients.

Psychiatry Prof. Bill Honer has discov-ered that schizophrenia patients show asignificant loss of myelin – the materialthat surrounds and insulates brain cellsand helps transmit messages within thebrain – compared to people without thedisease. Using magnetic resonance imag-ing (MRI), he found there was particularloss of myelin in the frontal lobes of thebrain that are the site of decision-makingand memory functions. He believes themyelin abnormality could be a contribut-ing factor in patients’ slow recovery fromthe illness.

“These findings represent anotherwindow into the mechanism of schizo-phrenia and open up a whole new areafor developing treatments,” says Honer,who holds the Jack Bell Chair inSchizophrenia and is a member of theVancouver Coastal Health ResearchInstitute. “Our current treatments canregulate the disease to some extent, buteven with medication many patients arestill impaired.”

This is the first study ever to focusspecifically on myelin loss in livingpatients. Previous research has examinedthe general condition of white matter, thematerial in the central core of the brainthat includes myelin and other compo-nents. Honer’s work confirms in livingpatients what other researchers haverecently discovered in gene studies usingpost-mortem samples.

The findings of the 1997-2001 studywere reported recently in MolecularPsychiatry, a journal of the NaturePublishing Group.

Using MRI technology developed byUBC multiple sclerosis (MS) researchers,Honer and his research team looked at

MRI scans of 30 patients with schizo-phrenia and compared them to a controlgroup. The patients, who agreed to par-ticipate in the study, were being treated byresearch team member Dr. Sean Flynn atRiverview Hospital, a site of theProvincial Health Services Authority.

The scans showed a 12 per cent loss ofmyelin, a biological effect that may becompared to the appearance of frayedinsulation around electrical wiring.Researchers don’t know the cause of theabnormalities, however, they do knowthat they can impair synchronization ofsignals between brain cells, which couldgive rise to schizophrenia symptoms suchas hallucinations, delusions and distortedthinking.

In a second part of the study, Honerlooked at 13 post-mortem samples ofbrain tissue collected from hospitalsaround the world. He analyzed two pro-teins found in the cells that make myelin.One of these proteins was 33 per centlower in brain samples from patientswho had schizophrenia. The informationcomplements the MRI findings and willfurther help scientists understand howbrain cell communication is impairedamong schizophrenia patients.

Honer cautions that abnormal myelindoes not necessarily mean a patient willdevelop schizophrenia. Scientists haven’t

ResearchBreakthroughgives New Hope toSchizophrenicsBrain cell insulation maybe the keyB Y H I L A R Y T H O M S O N

yet found a way to reverse myelin degra-dation, but drugs in development to treatMS patients – who also suffer myelin loss– may improve the condition in patientswith schizophrenia.

Affecting an estimated one person in100, schizophrenia most often developsin individuals aged 16-30 years. Themechanism of illness remains unclear.The disease affects women and men withequal frequency and often appears earli-er in men. A biological disorder of thebrain, schizophrenia is treated with anumber of medications that help to bal-ance complicated interrelated chemicalsystems of the brain. The medicationscan have serious side effects, however,ranging from drowsiness to loss of whiteblood cells. About 10 per cent of individ-uals with schizophrenia commit suicide.

“Schizophrenia is a tragic illness forboth patients and their families and treat-ment hasn’t changed much in 50 years,”says Honer. “These new avenues ofresearch reinforce that this is a biologicaldisorder and gives further hope for bettertreatments.”

Next steps in Honer’s research pro-gram include studying how nerve cellscommunicate with cells that makemyelin, looking at genetic variations inmyelin and determining exactly howmyelin loss affects function. ■■

The highlighted area on the MRI image (r) shows reduced brain cell insulation in patients with schizophrenia. The dark areas in the image onthe left show normal levels of insulation.

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Visual arts professor RichardPrince celebrates his induction tothe Quarter Century Club.

25YEAR CLUB

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T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A | V A N C O U V E R

Annual General MeetingTuesday, October 28 12:15 – 1 p.m.

The 2003 AGM will be held at UBC at Robson Square, celebrating UBC’s accomplishments of the past year.

Alexandre (Sacha) Trudeau, documentary filmmaker and member of the board of directors for the

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, will be the guest speaker.

The entire proceedings will be Webcast – all students, faculty and staff are invited to view and participate in the event.

There will be an opportunity to submit questions to the speakers and university administration via the Webcast.

Link to the Webcast from 12 noon onward onOctober 28 at www.ubc.ca

UBC computer science professorRaymond Ng likes to joke that if he has aclass at 8:30 a.m., he doesn’t have to getup until eight. As a resident of the townhomes in Hawthorn Lane, a neighbour-hood located in the middle of the UBCcampus and named for anthropologyprofessor emeritus Harry Hawthorn, he’snot far from the truth.

Ng is one of 9,000 faculty members,staff and students who choose to live oncampus. That number is expected to

reach 18,000 by 2021, when the collec-tion of university neighbourhoods knownas University Town reaches completion or“build-out.”

“The UBC campus is a very uniquesub-community in a geographical sense,”says Ng, a faculty member since 1992who lived for many years in HamptonPlace before moving to Hawthorn Lane.“Compared to anywhere else in the city, ithas low density, the air is fresh, the wholesetting is beautiful and rather unique.

University Town Continues to GrowThe dream becomes reality. B Y E R I C A S M I S H E K

It’s been 30 years in the making, but thefirst two-hour class of the new FirstNations Bachelor of Social Work pro-gram is already changing the way DelhiaNahanee works as a resource socialworker in the Squamish Nation.

Nahanee, who has worked as anemployment counsellor in theDowntown Eastside and now recruitsand trains foster parents for theSquamish Nation, says her psychologydegree from UBC has been useful, but thenew program has broadened her viewand provides a unified vision of variousaspects of social work.

A joint venture of the UBC School ofSocial Work and the Squamish Nationheld at the Lucas Centre in NorthVancouver, the five-year pilot programoffers formal training to those aboriginalcaseworkers who wish to obtain a certifi-cate or diploma in social work.

“Social work is an intimate business,”says social work Assoc. Prof. RichardVedan. “People tell you intimate detailsof their lives and place great trust in you.

“Most of these students already havea world of experience and tacit knowledge in the practical aspects ofsocial work,” says Vedan, who is alsodirector of the First Nations House ofLearning. “Now the formal training will open doors for them that were previously shut.”

Twenty-five of the 35 new students inthe program come from the SquamishNation and more than half of the stu-dents have worked more than 20 years inthe field.

“There are people who work with eld-ers, on income assistance, in drug andalcohol programs, and staff from the cri-sis centre,” says Nahanee. “We’re allworking together to assist the SquamishNation and the opportunity to learntogether will give us some consistency inour formal training and a more solidfoundation.”

A Degree ofDifferencefor FirstNationsSocialWorkersA huge impact for theSquamish CommunityB Y B R I A N L I N

“The regular, interdepartmental com-munication will be an amazing spin-offbenefit for the Squamish Nation’s socialdevelopment.”

The program is the brainchild ofSquamish Social DevelopmentCommittee director Gloria Wilson andUBC social work alumnus and long timeSquamish social program facilitatorStephen Kozey.

Kozey, who attended the UBC Schoolof Social Work with Vedan in the early1970s, was the first UBC student to carryout a field placement in the SquamishNation. Since then, he has been workingto create an environment where aborigi-nal social workers can receive formaltraining and the Registered Social Workerdesignation.

A satellite was set up briefly with thehelp of the B.C. Association of SocialWorkers in 1973 and six aboriginal case-workers received a non-degree RSW des-ignation, including Wilson.

“A few years later, the association can-celled the program and all social workerswere required to have a bachelor’sdegree,” Kozey explains.

Undeterred, Kozey facilitated the for-mation of an organizing committee,which includes Wilson, her assistantLinda George, Squamish Elder BarbaraCharlie, and UBC Social Work andFamily Studies director Graham Riches,to ensure the program is both culturallysensitive and practical.

“We were with them every step of theway through the information campaign,registration process and will continue togive one-on-one support throughout thecourse,” says Kozey, who has beenretained by the Social DevelopmentCommittee of the Squamish Nation totutor students in the program.

“It took a while, but it’s now a tremen-dous opportunity for the participants toincrease their skill levels and apply theseskills and new knowledge to work withtheir clients immediately,” says Kozey.

Historically there has been a large dis-crepancy between the number of aborigi-nal people accessing social workers andthe number of aboriginal social workers.

The addition of social workers fromtheir own community with a four-yeardegree or two-year diploma will signifi-cantly elevate the service delivery levels inthe social and health programs of theSquamish Nation, says Kozey.

Squamish Hereditary Chief Leanne Joesays these students will have a hugeimpact on their community.

“Healthier communities and familieswill be the outcome.” ■■

“UBC has good potential to develop auniversity town that is vibrant, that offersacademic training, culture and socialinteraction. That’s what students willremember when they leave UBC andthat’s why they will donate money backto UBC. They will remember the goodtimes and the sense of community.”

University architects first envisioned“a university city in an idyllic setting” forUBC in 1914. Ninety years, much con-sultation and various strategic and com-

munity plans later, development contin-ues on Mid-Campus and TheologicalNeighbourhoods, two of eight localareas that will mix housing with shops,parks and other amenities to support theacademic and cultural fabric of campuslife. Consultation is currently being con-ducted on an updated plan for UniversityBoulevard and the East Campus DraftNeighbourhood Plan.

“Our foremothers and forefatherscited this place as a wonderful universitycity,” says Dennis Pavlich, VP Externaland Legal Affairs. “We’re trying to playcatch-up with that original vision.”

Pavlich explains that the idea of a uni-versity town is not new. The urban vital-ity found in such American campuscommunities as Ann Arbor and Berkleyor in more historic universities such asOxford and Cambridge verifies the suc-cess of this concept.

“To create a university town that isexciting and enriching to the student, tothe faculty and staff – it acquaints every-one to the ideas of civic responsibility, ofcivic enjoyment, of cultural enjoyment,”he says. “We’re trying to make it a pleas-ant, interesting and instructive place inthe very formative years of a student’slife. A lot of adults get a vicarious chargefrom it.”

UBC has essentially been a commutercampus with up to 50,000 students, faculty and staff flooding in to PointGrey in the morning and out at the endof the day.

“This is an attempt to make the cam-pus alive,” says Pavlich. “We want togive people a reason to stay here.”

As outlined in Trek 2000, UBC’svision for the future, University Townwill help attract and retain faculty, stu-dents and staff through a mix of newhousing and services that will reduce thenumber of vehicles coming and goingfrom campus.

The University Town vision calls for50 per cent of new market and non-mar-ket housing to be targeted to householdswhere one or more members attend uni-versity or work at the UBC campus. Atleast 25 per cent of the full-time studentenrollment will be housed within the

institutional lands. Non-university com-munity members will also form part ofthe future residential mix.

Market housing will be sold on a leasebasis, with UBC retaining title to theland. Money generated by these leaseswill significantly increase the size ofUBC’s endowment, which is used forteaching and research purposes as well asstudent financial assistance.

While many share Pavlich’s enthusi-asm, the development has also had its

share of detractors. Some question thesustainability of both the plan and someof the actual buildings; others say notenough of the housing is affordable forpeople who work or study on campus.

Ng, who has been involved with acampus community planning committeethrough the University NeighbourhoodsAssociation and whose partner alsoworks on campus, supports UniversityTown but has concerns nonetheless.

“If all the houses are going to costmore than half a million dollars, few fac-ulty members can afford them,” says Ng.“We need more balance. We need a cer-tain percentage dedicated to affordablefaculty housing, staff housing and stu-dent housing. We want the majority tobenefit from what is happening.”

Given the expensive housing marketaround UBC, Ng says affordable hous-ing is vital for faculty retention andrecruitment.

He sees some irony in the fact that ahousing plan originally motivated tokeep people who work or study on cam-pus here and reduce traffic is now attract-ing people who will commute to workdowntown and elsewhere.

Pavlich asks, “What’s wrong withincluding people from other parts of thecommunity? Why shouldn’t studentsmix with people who live on campus butwork elsewhere? We’re not creating amonastery here.

“People are coming here to learnabout life, about science, about the cultural and social aspects that make uplife. They need a variety of people andexperiences.”

Ng, meanwhile, likens a more vibrantcampus to an architectural concept from Italy, one of his favourite travel destinations.

“I think one of the reasons people findItaly so attractive is the piazza, the townsquare. It’s a unique meeting place forpeople, somewhere where they can sharetime and ideas and enjoy life.

“To develop University Town so thereis a real community here for people to getinvolved with each other is a great idea.”

More information about UniversityTown is available online at www.univer-sitytown.ubc.ca. ■■

UBC has good potential to develop a university town that is vibrant, that offersacademic training, culture and social interaction.

When you live and play close to where you work, life can take on a slower pace as it does for Prof. Raymond Ngand his son Kevin.

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What’s in a name?

You probably wouldn’t call it a balcony. Similarly, if you’d like

the space of a second bedroom, but don’t need the bedroom,

it’d be up to you to call it what you like. Study. Entertainment

Room. Guest Room. It’s your home. Use it, and name it, how-

ever you choose. So, what’s labeled as a study could become a

wine cellar, or a tech room. But whatever you call it, there are

two names that you won’t want to change – Chancellor House

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And with over 65% of the homes sold, you’ll want to

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When it first opened its doors inJanuary 1973, the UBC Women’sResources Centre (WRC) consisted of ahalf-time coordinator in half an office. Itanswered 1,000 telephone inquiries in itsfirst year. Thirty years later, the WRChas six professional counsellors andclose to 50 volunteers donating approx-imately 7,000 hours a year, and providesservices to more than 25,000 womenand men a year.

The centre grew out of the DaytimeProgram of the UBC Centre forContinuing Education. Designed to pro-vide non-credit courses for people inter-ested in learning but not with a degree inview (the vast majority of whom werewomen), the Daytime Program lookedto the only North American model, theUniversity of California at Los Angeles.

The WRC has continued to evolvefrom a specialized resources centre forwomen re-entering the workforce, to alife planning and adult learning centrefor women and men, offering free drop-in peer counselling, and personal devel-opment and life planning programsranging from assertiveness training tofinancial planning and parent/child con-flict resolution.

“There are, within universities,research units and women’s studies pro-grams that operate on an academic orstudent service basis,” explains actingdirector Beth Hawkes, “ but to have auniversity centre that operates in an inte-grated way, that is both a communityservice and a teaching and learning environment – that’s rare.”

Despite having expanded its servicesto include men, the WRC is holding

onto its name, in deference to its roots,but also because, in Hawkes’ words,“it continues to be informed by skillsand attitudes that remain stronglybased in women’s psychology andways of being in community and insociety: a lot of collaboration, a lot ofde-emphasis on ego and hierarchicalissues, a lot of mutual empowermentand support.”

“Our curriculum is constantly beingdeveloped,” says Hawkes. “In additionto our successful certificate programs,we are always bringing in guests andresources for our volunteer associatesto help them deal with specific issuesthat clients bring up. Personal goalsand work-life balance are big rightnow, because so much change is takingplace in the workplace. We’re also get-ting more highly skilled professionalsthrough the door.

“With the baby boom generation,

You’ve ComeA Long Way,BabyUBC Women’s ResourcesCentre celebrates 30 years

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there are emerging themes related topositive or creative aging; people arethinking about the meaning of theirlives in new ways. The rise in uncer-tainty at all levels is also an issue,whether we talk about SARS, electricalinfrastructure, or global terrorism – wesee problems associated with fear andinsecurity, which can lead to depres-sion, substance abuse, family andworkplace conflict, and so on.”

With the WRC’s 2000 move toUBC’s Robson Square campus havecome new responsibilities and perspec-tives. “Here we are a window betweenthe downtown campus and the com-munity,” says Hawkes. “That calls onus to take our traditional strengths,which have been very focused on theneeds of individuals, and to expandour scope to include programmingthat addresses the health and well-being of the larger community.” ■■

In 1975 the biggest room on campus was the Armory. At the time, thisformer armed services drill hall was being used as an indoor tennis courtbut from Dec. 8 to 19, 40 tarpaulins capable of covering more than20,000 square feet were laid down to protect a special asphalt-type finish and 726 tables and chairs were brought in to create UBC's biggestexam room. It took 12 physical plant workmen two days to make theconversion. ■■

T I M E P I E C E 1 9 7 5

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ubc reports | october 2, 2003 | 7

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Find yourself teetering on the seesaw ofwork-life balance? UBC’s first healthsymposium may help.

The free event will take place Oct. 20from 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. at the ChanCentre for the Performing Arts, in celebration of Canada’s HealthyWorkplace Week.

Hosted by UBC’s department ofhealth, safety and environment, the sym-posium is open to all UBC faculty andstaff. The event features two keynotespeakers, Dr. Martin Collis, an educator,humorist, scientist and singer, and Dr.Deborah Kern, an expert on mind-bodyhealth and author of Everyday Wellness.In addition, there are six breakout ses-sions with speakers presenting informa-tion on work-life balance, down-to-earthtips on preventing illness, recognizingdepression and deciphering the world ofalternative therapies.

“We recognize that many faculty andstaff struggle to maintain a balancedlifestyle and that personal well-being often gets left by the wayside,” saysGerry Latham, manager of UBC’s HealthPromotion Program and organizer of the symposium. “We hope this event will launch an exploration of wellnessand help to equip people with the information and tools they need forhealthy living.”

Complementing the presentations is ahealth fair in the Chan Centre’s lobby.Accessible throughout the day, the fairwill showcase interactive health relatedexhibits. Staff and faculty will have anopportunity to participate in a screeningclinic where they can discover their bloodpressure, blood glucose, blood choles-terol and bone density status.

Individuals must register to attend thesymposium. For further information and to register online, visitwww.hse.ubc.health-symposium or call604.822.1451. ■■

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inequalities in the ways homes arefinanced and used as vehicles of debt,creating new inequalities in the long-term material benefits of homeownership.

“Home ownership is presented as asolution to all the world’s problems,”says Wyly. “This research demonstratesthat there are a lot of caveats to that.”

Wyly has found that many minorityand moderate-income householdsgained access to home ownership for thefirst time in the 1990s, but new waves ofinvestment are making many parts of thecity unaffordable and worsening theshortage of inexpensive rental housing.In addition, old inequalities of exclusionand discrimination remain.

The result is a complex urban systemof old and new forms of inequality, withwide variations in racial exclusion.

“No matter how you slice and dice it,you still find persistent racial disparities,”he says. “They vary across differentcities. In one city, racism has an African-American face, in another Latino.”

He has also uncovered discriminationalong gender lines.

“Lenders, brokers, realtors and homerenovation agents often specialize in nar-rowly-defined markets. The transforma-tion of the financial system has allowedsome of these actors to extract profits innew ways. Elderly African-Americanwidows have become an important tar-get market for abusive home lending,particularly if they’ve built up somehome equity over the years, but also havemedical expenses or home repair needs,”Wyly explains.

“Some of the new practices used ininner-city housing markets violate all ourtraditional assumptions about mort-gages and lending. Foreclosure anddefault are supposed to be bad for every-one involved. But there are people whoare learning to make a profit from it.”

“The good and bad thing about the1990s is that companies found ways ofmaking a profit out of almost anything,”Wyly says.

The 1990s saw widespread innova-tions in underwriting, risk modeling andways of measuring and pricing the vari-ous components of risk and profit inmaking a loan – and selling these as secu-rities on Wall Street. The decade also sawthe rapid erosion of the traditional insti-tutional structure of home mortgagelending – neighbourhood-based banksand thrifts were overshadowed by largefinancial services conglomerates cateringto the wealthiest customers, specializeddivisions of large banks making high-cost loans to borrowers with blemished“sub-prime” credit, and a new breedthat have come to be called “predatorylenders” who specialize in the homeequity and refinance loan markets anduse deceptive tactics and hidden, exces-sive fees to strip out homeowners’ equity.

“We need to talk about those connections in a very open way to understand what’s good about thoseconnections and what needs to bechanged,” he says. ■■

continued from page 1

Students returning to Place Vanier resi-dence this fall were greeted by a pleasantsurprise sure to whet their appetites.UBC Food Services unveiled a newlyrenovated cafeteria last month, revealinga cozy and elegant space filled with aro-mas of both hearty and exotic cuisine.

“It’s campus cafeteria meetsMilestones,” says Food Services directorAndrew Parr, who supervised the firstrenovation to the cafeteria in more than25 years. “There’s a strong movement inNorth America towards gourmet-styleresidence dining and we are aiming toposition ourselves ahead of the curve.

“The response from both parents and students has been overwhelminglypositive.”

The new cafeteria, complete withwall-to-wall scenic windows and twinfireplaces, offers students, faculty andstaff a variety of choices from cook-to-order pastas and ethnic gourmet tograb-and-go sandwiches.

“Integrating packaged food with individual gourmet stations speeds upthe serving process,” says residence chefSteve Golob. “The other day 250 people came through at lunch time, andwe were able to serve everyone within18 minutes.”

“Everything is prepared fresh daily,”says Piyush Sahay, who brings morethan 15 years of experience in restaurantmanagement to his new role as executivechef. “But students can decide whetherthey want to have a sit-down meal orpick up something quickly on their way to class.”

Sahay, who joined UBC this summer,has worked in resorts and hotels inFrance, Bombay, South Africa andMombasa. He spent seven years atVancouver International Airport super-vising the catering of more than 5,000meals a day for Cathay Pacific,Lufthansa, Korean Air, SingaporeAirlines and Japan Airlines.

Food Services also launched its newbrand, ThinkFood, with brightly colour-coded packaging and gourmet fast food, available at all Food Services outlets on campus. Favourites like potato salad and chicken wraps now sitside-by-side with exotic palate-teaserslike Cuban grilled chicken ciabatta andThai beef wrap.

“We’re also improving the qualityand consistency of our packaged foodsby introducing a commissary chef to thegraveyard shift for the first time,” saysParr. “And the selections will continue togrow according to feedback from students, faculty and staff.”

Both Place Vanier and Totem

New Food for ThoughtCuisine goes “haute” at Place Vanier. B Y B R I A N L I N

UBC’s new executive chef Piyush Sahay shows off the new ThinkFood exotic sandwich.

Residence dining rooms are open sevendays a week (including holidays) forbreakfast, lunch and dinner.The diningrooms are open to all students, facultyand staff. For menus, visit www.food-serv.ubc.ca. ■■

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