I believe that no matter where you are from, or where your studies take you, the University of British Columbia is a place that will inspire you, feed your passions, and broaden your horizons about how you can contribute to our world, in your own way.

It’s only natural. On our Vancouver campus, overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean gateway between East and West, I meet professors and students from around the world drawn to our diverse learning environment that is so open to fresh thinking. Similarly, around our Okanagan campus, the sparkling lakes and spectacular foothills seem to feed a unique spirit of innovation.

Indeed it is the spectacular natural beauty of our campuses that has helped foster an unusually strong commitment to sustaining our planet.

It was this commitment to global citizenship, and an openness to new ways of thinking, that first drew me to UBC.

It is a mindset shared by Dr. William Rees of UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning, and Mathis Wackernagel, an alumnus of the school, who pioneered the “ecological footprint” analysis right here at UBC. Ecological footprint is now a concept that’s routinely used when thinking and talking about sustainability.

It is an attitude that has made our University one of the world’s best in both pure research and in moving discoveries to the marketplace. And it is a spirit that has made UBC a leader in community service learning – with more than 1,000 students volunteering in community organizations each year.

These are the qualities that are drawing the world’s best and brightest students – individuals like you. At UBC you will not only earn a degree that is recognized around the world, you will discover a way of thinking and acting that you’ll take with you no matter where you go to transform your world.

Professor Stephen J. Toope

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