A PWIAS Update from UBC President, Santa Ono

February 10, 2022

This announcement is posted on behalf of UBC President & Vice-Chancellor Santa J. Ono

Dear Colleagues,

It has been a while since I was in touch with news from the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. There are a number of things happening at the Institute right now, and as an important stakeholder in the Institute’s success, I wanted to write to you directly to share some recent developments.

First of all, I want to extend my sincere thanks to Professor Moura Quayle, who finished her term as Chair of the Institute’s Board of Trustees last week.  Professor Quayle has been a steadfast champion for the academic mission of the Institute, and has represented the University well through an important period of transition. I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Professor Gage Averill as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees. Professor Averill will provide strong leadership and I know is looking forward to working closely with Professor Vanessa Andreotti, Interim Director of the Institute.

Over the past several months, the University, in responding to the findings from the 2019 external review of the PWIAS, has been working to ensure a strong governance and financial model for the Institute into the future. In this complex context, I am pleased to report that the Board of Trustees approved a budget brought forward by the Interim Director, Professor Andreotti. Professor Andreotti will provide more information to the community about programming shortly.  

Thank you all for your ongoing commitment to the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies! I will continue to keep you updated as the response to the external review develops.

Kind regards,

Santa J. Ono, PhD
President & Vice-Chancellor