UBC Celebrating 100 Years and 10 Years in the Okanagan

The centennial is coming up quickly for the University of British Columbia.

This year marks a century since UBC’s first classes in September 1915, as well as the 10th anniversary of the Okanagan campus, which opened in September 2005.

Photo Credit: UBC

“We’re actually celebrating two centuries—a century of achievement and contribution since 1915, and the exciting century ahead—which we know will be a time of exponential change,” says UBC President Arvind Gupta. “UBC has evolved over these past 100 years as a result of many connections and partnerships that have made us who we are. And it is through continuing partnership with our community that we look forward to another century of extraordinary accomplishment.”

The celebrations are starting in Kelowna in August, with Opera Kelowna and UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies hosting Opera Under the Stars. You can picnic and drink wine under the stars on August 2nd, listening to some of Canada’s best talent.

The Okanagan campus is also planning public discussion panels and centennial lectures throughout the year, as well as an on-campus Aboriginal art installation to commemorate the centennial.

UBC's Okanagan campus. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

“As we mark UBC’s first century and the first decade of UBC’s Okanagan campus, we also enter a new century of transformation,” says Deborah Buszard, UBC Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Okanagan campus. “UBC is a place of learning and engagement across BC and around the world, an international place, and a place where innovation and research address the challenges facing the societies we serve. We welcome all British Columbians to join us in celebrating our partnerships today and for the next century.”

You can learn more about the centennial at the UBC Centennial website.