by Ainsley Carry
Dear UBC Students,
To our returning students, welcome back. I hope you had a great summer.
To our new students, welcome to the Thunderbird family. I am delighted you chose the University of British Columbia to continue your education. Like you, I am new to UBC and excited to start my journey.
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and the role of the Vice-President, Students to all of you.
I’ve been working in post-secondary education for my entire career, with a dedicated focus in the areas of Student Affairs and Education. I most recently served as the Vice-President, Students at the University of Southern California and Auburn University. I’m joining UBC with my wife Jessica and daughter Aliyah.
As the Vice-President, Students here at UBC, my job is to work with and for students to create a meaningful, enjoyable, and successful university experience. I believe the most important thing I can do in my first year is listen to you, so I can invest my time and energy on what matters most to you and your classmates.
To ensure that you have scheduled opportunities for open dialogue with me on important issues, I will conduct a series of VPS listening sessions.
What I learn from speaking with you during these listening sessions will inform my office’s efforts to continue to elevate the student experience at UBC. Topics for these first sessions were developed in consultation with your elected members of the Alma Mater Society and Graduate Student Society. Topics will evolve every year based on your input and interest.
This fall I will host listening sessions at the UBC Vancouver and Okanagan campuses on the following topics:
- Student health supports
- Education affordability
I’ll send specific details on the timing and location of these first two sessions in the coming weeks, as well as a brief description of each topic to help inform the conversation. I do hope you will join your classmates for at least one of these sessions to share your ideas and concerns.
Your opinion and experience at UBC is important to me. If you cannot attend in person, please share your thoughts with me by sending an email to vicepresident.students@ubc.ca.
Thank you in advance for your contribution to the conversation. I wish you all the best in your studies, and look forward to getting to know many of you this year. If you see me around campus, please come and say hi—I’m always happy to hear from students.
Sincerely,
AINSLEY CARRY, ED.D., MBA, M.A.
Vice-President, Students
The University of British Columbia