Past Events
The End of Old Age
“Why Age? To grow in wisdom. Why Survive? To realize our purpose. Why Thrive? To express our creativity.”
Dr. Agronin shares a hopeful and practical model for aging and a guide to understanding how we can all make the journey better. Dr. Marc Agronin is one of America's leading geriatric psychiatrists and the author of The End of Old Age: Living a Longer, more Purposeful Life.
This is a free event but registration is required. RSVP by June 23.
For information: elders@spec.bc.ca
To register: Eventbrite
Poster can be downloaded in PDF by clicking on the picture on the left.
Travel Group June 24, 2021
Senegal
Presented by Nancy Langton, Professor Sauder School of Business
Senegal sits at the westernmost tip of Africa. The country is a mix of Arabic and French culture and the colonial influence is strong. Professor Nancy Langton will show us her journey through this colourful country, highlighting clothing, nature, buildings and food. The presentation will feature travel from Dakar (the current capital of Senegal) to Saint-Louis (once the capital of Senegal) to the fishing village of Mbour along the Petite Côte.
If you are currently not on the email list of the EC travel interest group and wish to receive our mailings, please contact Paul Steinbok at psteinbok@cw.bc.ca.
A zoom link will be sent out 2 days before each meeting.
Thursday, 24 June 2021 - 3:00pm
Easy Riders June 24, 2021
This is the second ride of the Special Interest Group: Easy Riders.
The group will meet at Memorial Park West (Dunbar Community Centre) - route via bike trails through Pacific Spirit Park to Wesbrook Mall. Through South Campus Housing and main Campus to Chancellor Boulevard. Chancellor Boulevard to Blanca then 8th (Off-Broadway) cycle route to Arbutus Greenway. South on Greenway to 37th and return to Memorial Park West. For those who have not been on campus for a while this will offer opportunity to see a much changed landscape. We might call brief stops at particularly interesting sites. This will be about 22-24 km depending on the tipsy-doodling propensities of the group on campus. Mostly modest gradients. We should return to West Memorial about noon.
If you are interested in participating in this ride, please email Graeme Wynn at: graeme.wynn@ubc.ca so you can be informed if plans have to change.
As always, partners are welcome to join in and feel free to recruit other emeriti.
Herewith the necessary stipulations: If you are joining this Easy Riders outing, please recognize that you do so voluntarily for recreational purposes. It is your responsibility to ensure that your bike is in good running order and thoroughly roadworthy. You must wear an approved cycling helmet, ride in a safe manner and obey all road traffic signs and rules. We are the Easy Riders - we will try to maximize use of protected bike lanes, local street bikeways, and painted bike lanes on our routes but some use of Shared Use lanes may be necessary. Generally, we will try to follow the city’s AAA (All Ages and Abilities) routes. Inclines are unavoidable if riding any distance in Vancouver. Individuals should be careful not to over-exert themselves or ride beyond their comfort zones. We will have a designated route and accommodate those who need to dismount and walk or proceed slowly.
Our aim here is moderate, comfortable exercise, conviviality and enjoyment.
Joint Council Meeting - June 16
The Joint Council will meet online.
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 - 10:30am to 12:30pm
Emeriti Serving the Community - Near and Far
Many emeriti serve the community, as locally as driving for Meals on Wheels or as large in scope as working on issues that confront society in general. This presentation provides an opportunity to hear about the work of Graham Kelsey, Professor Emeritus of Educational Studies and winner of the 2021 President’s Award for Distinguished Service, and Jim Zidek, Professor Emeritus of Statistics and first winner of the College’s new Award for Excellence in Innovative and Creative Endeavours.
Join our two panelists in their discussion on how they have extended their work and knowledge to important societal and practical issues.
Graham Kelsey, Professor Emeritus of Educational Studies
Much of my work for the past twenty years has been with not-for-profit organizations chiefly in small cities and rural communities (primarily but not exclusively in arts and culture). A great many groups (clubs, societies, organizations), while passionate about what they do, say they need help in doing it.
In working with some forty different organizations, I have found that while they may give a variety of reasons for seeking help (a problem, personnel difficulties, a requirement for planning, revenue shortages or simply a feeling that they need some rethinking of their mission. I will talk about what proves to be most helpful, for both large organizations and small ones: engagement in a process that clarifies some basic organizational elements.
Jim Zidek, Professor Emeritus of Statistics
My contributions are applications of statistics in different domains: air pollution, environmental health, engineering, movement of sea mammals, and the forecasting crop of yields on Canadian farms during this time of climate change. These are extensions of my career into new areas that are of concern to society. Specific examples; serving on a US EPA Committee that in 2015 led to changes in the US air quality standards for ozone; a Canadian program for monitoring the strength properties of lumber; service on task forces to estimate the burden of disease due to particulate air pollution (for the World Health Organization) the health effects of high air temperatures over the UK (for the UK Met Office). These contributions to the community in turn led to several novel research discoveries and training opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students under his supervision or co-supervision. My talk will briefly describe these contributions and the innovations to which they led.
Spring 2021 Graduation
As we did in 2020, we look forward to celebrating our graduates at a virtual ceremony, on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. We will hold one ceremony for students graduating from UBC Vancouver that morning, and one ceremony for students graduating from UBC Okanagan that afternoon.
For details about the graduation ceremony, including how to join, please visit: https://graduation.ubc.ca
Wednesday, 2 June 2021 - 12:00pm