President's Welcome

Colleagues,

Welcome to the Canadian Council of Biology Chairs! This organizations, which was established in 1971, is an amazing forum that connects chairs and heads of biology (and other biological disciplines) departments across Canada. I joined CCUBC at the beginning of my term as Head of Botany (UBC) three years ago, and I have found it to be an incredibly important venue to connect with my peers from across Canada. Having now attended three annual meetings, I feel compelled to say that on each occasion I have left the annual meeting with valuable information and sage advice that has helped me immensely as a chair of a biology program.  CCUBC and the interaction with peers that this forum affords has helped to inform and shaped the way I now navigate my department around policy, equity, curriculum, promotion and tenure, and performance evaluation, to name only a few.

CCUBC hosts an annual meeting in the fall of each year where we gather to discuss a variety of timely issues impacting our units and the delivery of our undergraduate and graduate programs.  The annual meeting is an excellent forum to network among peers, and is a highly supportive, open, and inclusive. Kirsten Müller, University of Waterloo, hosted the 2024 CCUBC Annual Meeting in Ottawa, which was a huge success! Moreover, it was extremely well attended. It was a pleasure to both meet new/incoming chairs of departments, as well as reconnect with those that have been in their role for multiple years.  And, it was reassuring to hear that we all continue to face the same challenges, regardless of geography or size of the institution.  At the recent annual meeting in Ottawa, we had a presentation from NSERC on the state of affairs for research and graduate funding, as well as a presentation on an innovative approach to indigenizing the biological classroom, to mention only a few.  Each year I leave the annual meeting feeling well-informed and fresh with ideas on how to approach new initiatives in my own department, and I look forward to the 2025 meeting already.  This fall (date to be determined), we will be meeting in beautiful Montreal, where I hope to see increased representation from across the country. The agenda for the meeting has not yet been set, and therefore I welcome thoughts and ideas on topics for discussion. Given the current geopolitical situations impacting Canadian academic institutions and the major impacts of the government-mandated reduction in international students, I am confident the annual meeting will offer a place to discuss strategies to overcome the new and ongoing challenges that we all face.  I can think of no better place to discuss these critical issues that are affecting our departments, and the students we teach.

If you are not yet a member and have questions, please feel to reach out to me for more information and I would be happy to have a conversation with you about the benefits that CCUBC provides.

Warmest Regards,

Shawn Mansfield
Professor & Head
Department of Biology
University of British Columbia