Executive 2023-2024

Paul Harrison, Principal (2023-2024), Vice-Principal (2022-2023), Member at Large (2021-2022), Member of Membership Committee (2021- ) and Finance Committee (2022-2023)

Paul Harrison is an alumnus of UBC (B.Sc. Hon Botany). He (re)joined the Department of Botany in 1975 and retired in 2019. A marine ecologist, his research focussed on the effects of habitat disruption on marine communities, specifically on seagrass beds which are important rearing and feeding habitats for commercially important crustacean and fish species. Research took him to Atlantic Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and the Philippines as well as the Salish Sea. He taught marine ecology and introductory biology, the latter leading to a term  as Director of the First-year Biology Lab Program. His interest in student academic and personal development led him into roles as an undergraduate advisor for the Biology Program and the Faculty of Science and then Associate Dean, Students in Science from 1999 to 2017. He oversaw the growth of the Science Advising and Student Development units from a staff of two to a team of a dozen, making strong connections to other student-support units on campus and, for that work, was given the Margaret Fulton Award for Student Development. 

Paul served on the Vancouver Senate for many years prior to retirement. Since retiring, he has served on the Academic Policy, Agenda, Nominating and Student Appeals on Academic Discipline committees as well as on the Elections committee of the (cross-campus) Council of Senates. Gardening and staying in touch with distant children and grandchildren occupy much of his spare time.

Bill McCutcheon, Vice-Principal (2023-2024), 

William McCutcheon has spent many years as a faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UBC, at which he is Professor Emeritus. He began his training in astrophysics at Queen’s University, and then continued his studies at the radio observatory, Jodrell Bank, run by the University of Manchester. He spent years of research as an observational astronomer, using radio telescopes in England, Australia, and Hawaii. The University of B.C. was one of the few universities in Canada with an astronomy program when he joined the department. There are many now. He has always enjoyed interacting with students, and has taught classes from first year to graduate students for 53 years. In the last few years before retirement, he was acting director of the Engineering Physics program. 

He joined the Professors Emeriti Council in 2014 and saw the transition of that group from the Association of Professors Emeriti to the Emeritus College. Toward the end of his time on Council (4 years) he joined the Program Committee, with Carolyn Gilbert as Head, to plan the monthly meetings with speakers or musical performers. Recently, the structure of the College was reorganized, and the various programs were put under the Programs Cluster under the leadership of Carolyn Gilbert, with Sandra Bressler, Carolyn and him working on the monthly speakers.

Anne Junker, Past Principal (2022-2023) and Vice-Principal (2021-2022)

Anne Junker is an Associate Professor Emeritus in Pediatrics.  She earned her medical degree at the University of Calgary, undertook her training in pediatrics at UBC/BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) and completed her pediatric immunology subspecialty training at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 1983, she began her career at UBC/BCCH as an Assistant Professor and over the next 35+ years, held a variety of roles in addition to her clinical practice: Department of Pediatrics Resident Training Program Director (1984-89); Senior Director for Medical Specialties at BCCH (1995-2010); Director for Clinical Research, BCCH Research Institute (2001-12); and Associate Head for Faculty Development in the Department of Pediatrics (2012-19).

During her term at the BCCH Research Institute she established the Clinical Research Support Unit and the Children & Women’s site Research Ethics Board and held a major role as Chair of the Quality Committee (2010-2016) in the development of the BC Clinical Research Infrastructure Network, now Clinical Trials BC, which now forms a part of Michael Smith Health Research BC.

In this last decade, she served as the Scientific Director of the national Maternal Infant Child & Youth Research Network which links the 3 largest maternal and all 17 pediatric academic health centers in Canada. She held a significant role in representing the child & maternal health research community at CIHR and Health Canada; in representing Canada internationally; and bringing experience to invited international working groups of the Global Alliance for Genomics & Health on research ethics and data management.