The UBC's Okanagan Campus (commonly referred to as UBC Okanagan and UBCO) is
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
's campus located in
Kelowna
Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''kiÊ ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada.
The campus is the research and innovation hub in the province's southern interior, in British Columbia's
Okanagan Valley
The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...
, and home to over 11,562 undergraduate and graduate students.
UBC Okanagan has 62 undergraduate programs and 19 graduate programs.
History
Okanagan University College
The current site of UBC Okanagan was initially used by
Okanagan University College
Okanagan University College (OUC) was a public, post-secondary educational institution (c. 1990 to 30 June 2005) based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. It evolved from Okanagan College (1965 to c. 1990), and the college's predecessor, the B ...
(OUC), which had been founded in 1989 (in principle) as a part of a plan by the government to improve access to post-secondary education in the Southern Interior British Columbia. Initially, degrees were awarded in partnership with other universities, but by 1995, the university college began granting degrees in its name. In the late 1990s, OUC started lobbying efforts to gain full university status.
University of British Columbia
In December 2002, the British Columbia Progress Board submitted a report to the provincial government, recognizing the need to expand post-secondary education in the Okanagan. The board, chaired by the University of British Columbia president
Martha Piper
Martha C. Piper is a Canadian academic and administrator who was the president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia (UBC) from 1997 until 2006. She was the 11th person and the first woman to serve as president of UBC. Having ...
, recommended that the province extend "the mandate of an existing provincial University to Kelowna...."
In March 2004, BC Premier
Gordon Campbell
Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011.
He was the leader of the British Co ...
and UBC President
Martha Piper
Martha C. Piper is a Canadian academic and administrator who was the president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia (UBC) from 1997 until 2006. She was the 11th person and the first woman to serve as president of UBC. Having ...
held a press conference, announcing that OUC would be dissolved. OUC's university operations would be consolidated at its North Kelowna Campus and would come under the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
. The other programs and campuses of OUC would form a new community college, which would later take on the name
Okanagan College
Okanagan College is a public, post-secondary institution with over 120 certificates, diplomas, degrees and programs including apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship trades programs. Its largest campus is located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canad ...
. The OUC Board was reportedly not invited to the press conference. It had not been told in advance of the imminent demise of the OUC Board and removal or the termination of the majority of the OUC board members.
According to the Ministry backgrounder released at the time, the affiliation between UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan would be "based on the highly successful
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
model" and that "UBC Okanagan and UBC Vancouver will each have an independent senate to set academic priorities for their respective institutions, based regional needs and priorities. At the same time, they will share a common board of governors, with strong representation from each region."
As of December 2019, UBC's Okanagan campus is represented on the UBC Board of Governors by John Klironomos and Nicole Udzenija.
Academics
UBC's Okanagan campus offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate (Ph.D. & Masters) programs. There are more than 50 undergraduate programs in Arts, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Human Kinetics, Management, Media, Medicine, Nursing, and Sciences. The university also offers graduate programs in the following areas: Biology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Computer Sciences, Education, Engineering, English, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, Fine Arts, Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies, Management, Mathematics, Medical Physics, Nursing, Psychology, and Social Work.
Research
Since established in 2005, the research capability and researcher profiles have increased rapidly. Annual tri-council funding increased from $1.1M to $5.9M between 2005 and 2015. The total research funding reached $14.7M/year, with 714 projects in 2015. Research at UBC Okanagan is highly collaborative, emphasizing direct student involvement to advance discoveries in fields of importance globally and locally. The Survive and Thrive Applied Research (STAR) initiative exemplifies this spirit of innovation with cutting-edge projects, including control software for unmanned aerial vehicles. STAR creates a bridge between UBC Okanagan and industry, specializing in technologies for human protection and performance in extreme, remote, or rural conditions. There are currently 15 research centers and 505 faculty members on the Okanagan campus.
Campus
![Library Education Development (UBC Okanagan)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Library_Education_Development_%28UBC_Okanagan%29.JPG)
The UBC's Okanagan Campus is situated on a hill between Glenmore and Ellison in Kelowna and resides on traditional
Syilx
The ''Syilx'' () people, also known as the Okanagan, Okanogan or Okinagan people, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–US boundary in Washington state and British Columbia in the Okanagan C ...
territory. Street names are signed in English and
Nsyilxcən language. The campus consists of Upper Campus, Lower Campus, Innovation Precinct, and Endowment Lands.
Lower and Upper Campuses situated around the Courtyard and University Walk host the Okanagan campus's core academic and administrative functions. Most institutional and administrative buildings are located on the Lower Campus, including the
UBC Okanagan Library, Learning Commons and the
Transit Exchange. The adjacent Upper Campus contains most on-campus student housing and some institutional, childcare, and recreational buildings.
The
Charles E. Fipke
Charles Edgar "Chuck" Fipke (born 1946) is a Canadian geologist and prospector who discovered the existence of diamonds around Lac de Gras in Canada's Northwest Territories. He is now a multimillionaire involved in geological explorations arou ...
Centre for Innovative Research (FIP) is a multi-purpose academic and research facility, including research labs, classrooms and teaching labs, offices, student commons, lecture theatre, and an animal care facility. The Arts and Sciences Centre (ASC), and Engineering, Management and Education Building (EME) were completed in 2011. The Arts and Science Centre include a live animal testing facility.
The expansion of
UBC Faculty of Medicine The UBC Faculty of Medicine is the medical school of the University of British Columbia. It is one of 17 medical schools in Canada and the only one in the province of British Columbia. It has Canada's largest undergraduate medical education program ...
created a new distributed medical site, the Southern Medical Program at UBC Okanagan. The Reichwald Health Sciences Centre, a medical school building, was completed by the end of 2011 and named for benefactors Klaus and Lydia Reichwald. Part of the program is also located in the Clinical Academic Campus building adjacent to the
Kelowna General Hospital.
Learning Commons Building, referred to simply as The Commons, opened in late 2018 as part of the UBC Okanagan Library expansion and contains study spaces, media labs, special collections and archives.
The Innovation Precinct is land located at the bottom of the hill along Innovation Drive. Most of the land is currently used as a parking lot, and two industrial buildings at the north end are used for collaborative researches between the university and external organizations. A future expansion will convert the land to the regional hub for research and innovations.
UBC Endowment Lands (West Campus Lands) is agricultural land, which occupies the western half of the Okanagan campus along John Hindle Drive and contains UBC Plant Growth Facility. UBC Endowment Lands are part of
ALR and are reserved for future research and recreational uses. It is not to be confused with
University Endowment Lands
The University Endowment Lands (UEL) is an unincorporated area that lies to the west of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and adjacent to the University of British Columbia and the lands associated with that campus. Pacific Sp ...
, an unincorporated area adjacent to Vancouver where the UBC's Point Grey campus is located.
Transportation
Although the campus itself is located in a semi-rural area, it has a direct interchange with
Highway 97
Route 97, or Highway 97, may refer to:
Australia
- Olympic Dam Highway, South Australia
Canada
* British Columbia Highway 97
** British Columbia Highway 97A
** British Columbia Highway 97B
** British Columbia Highway 97C
** British Columb ...
and Downtown Kelowna can be reached with 15 minutes of driving. It is also close to
Kelowna International Airport
Kelowna International Airport is a Canadian airport located approximately 10 minutes or northeast of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Highway 97.
The single runway airport operates scheduled air service to Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, E ...
.
UBC Okanagan Exchange is the northern terminus of express bus route
97X Kelowna RapidBus, which provides Downtown Kelowna access in approximately 20 minutes. The exchange is a major transfer point for bus services to the Airport and beyond north to
Lake Country
Lake Country is a district municipality with a population of approximately 15,000 in the Okanagan Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the Central Okanagan Regional District, and of the Kelowna metropolitan area. The city ...
and
Vernon. The campus is also connected to the regional bikeway, Okanagan Rail Trail and John Hindle Drive Multi-use Pathway.
Downtown Kelowna Campus
UBC's Okanagan Campus also has a presence in Downtown Kelowna with UBC Innovation Library and Innovation UBC Hub locations. UBC announced in June 2020 that it's planning to expand its presence in Downtown Kelowna by constructing a new mixed-use office tower on Doyle Ave.
There is also a Southern Medical Clinical Academic Campus located at
Kelowna General Hospital.
The university has been approved to build a 46 storey
tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
that will serve as a downtown campus and student residences.
Expansion
According to the UBC Okanagan Campus Plan from September 2015, the next 20 years will see drastic expansion in research, teaching, student residence, and commercial spaces. A proposed increase in academic space would more than double the current capacity. The student residence is proposed to increase by approximately 2,200 beds to a total of approximately 3,900 beds. Commercial space would increase from to . The additional space will remain within the main Okanagan campus, rather than expanding into the West Endowment Lands. Sustainability upgrades to 11 of the existing buildings are also underway.
Future projects include the newly constructed Nechako Commons Block building adjacent to the UNC (University Centre), additional residences, an engineering design building, a retrofit of a nearby industrial building billed as Innovation Precinct, and various other, more minor projects.
Student life
![Sunshine Cafeteria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Sunshine_Cafeteria.jpg)
The University Centre (UNC) contains many student services, including Students' Union Okanagan of UBC office, meeting rooms, student club space, cafeteria and pub, cinema, multi-faith space, UBC Health & Wellness Clinic, learning centers, and Collegia. The university also maintains a Student Experience Office that organizes orientation programs, commuter Collegia spaces, volunteer opportunities, and mentorship options.
Food establishments on campus are exclusively operated by either UBC Food Services or the students' union. By September 2021, Nechako Commons Block (NCH) adjacent to UNC will house a 500-seat Pritchard Dining Hall, which provides unlimited access to food for students on a meal plan. A campus convenience store, student housing and business operations offices will also be relocated to Nechako Commons Block.
Collegia
Common rooms known as Collegia were created for commuter students, containing kitchen facilities, study space, lounges and social areas. Each Collegium has theme and targeted for a particular student population, however, they are open to all students. The campus' Collegia program has gained national attention as a ''home-away-from-home'' for its large commuter population.
Greek life
The Okanagan campus currently has two sororities and two fraternities. The sororities are
Kappa Beta Gamma
Kappa Beta Gamma () is a sorority founded at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1917.
History
On , twelve women of Marquette University founded the campus' first sorority, Kappa Beta Gamma. The founders, and first officers of this gr ...
and
Alpha Omega Epsilon
Alpha Omega Epsilon () is a social and professional sorority for women in engineering and technical sciences. The sorority was founded by twenty-seven female engineering students at Marquette University on November 13, 1983, and four months late ...
. The fraternities are
Sigma Phi Delta
Sigma Phi Delta () is an international professional-social fraternity of engineers. As "The Premier International Fraternity of Engineers", the organization is the only fraternity of its kind that draws its membership exclusively from male enginee ...
and
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
. Alpha Omega Epsilon and Sigma Phi Delta are both International Organizations and have membership restrictions based upon faculty (Engineering students for Sigma Phi Delta, Engineering and Technical Science students for Alpha Omega Epsilon). Theta Phi is a local sorority open to all faculties. Phi Delta Theta is an international fraternity open to students in all faculties. The Okanagan campus does not allow Greek housing, so none of these organizations have an official house or room on campus.
Campus media
The Phoenix
''The Phoenix'' is the bi-weekly student newspaper at the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus. It was established in 1989 at former Okanagan College.
UBCO.TV
UBCO.TV was a web-based TV station that existed until 2016 and created videos about research, teaching, current events and campus life at the Okanagan campus. UBCO.TV was also streamed on TVs across the campus in common areas.
UBC Studios Okanagan and UBC Communications Services took over the UBCO.TV functions and co-manages a YouTube channel.
Faculties and Schools
The Okanagan campus has the following faculties and schools:
*College of Graduate Studies
*Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
*Faculty of Applied Sciences
**School of Engineering
*Faculty of Health and Social Development
**School of Nursing
**School of Health and Exercise Sciences
**School of Social Work
*Faculty of Medicine Southern Medical Program
*Faculty of Management
*Okanagan School of Education
*Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
*Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science
References
Further reading
* Freake, R. (2005). OUC Memoirs. Okanagan University College, Kelowna.
*
External links
*
UBC Food Services OkanaganStudents' Union Okanagan of UBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:British Columbia Okanagan, University Of
Okanagan
The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...
Education in Kelowna
Universities and colleges in the Okanagan