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Transcript of First #AskArvind Twitter Town Hall
Posted By Neal Yonson On January 29, 2015 @ 9:21 pm In News | Comments Disabled
UBC President Arvind Gupta held a Twitter Town Hall over one hour this afternoon. He answered 22 questions total, mostly softballs. He ignored at least 10 times that amount, and signed off promptly at 4pm with a promise that he’d do it again sometime. Here’s a transcript, just to get it on record in a coherent way (Storify, yuck). You should absolutely go check out the #askarvind tag [1] on twitter to get a sense of the questions that were not answered.
NOTE: This transcript has been edited. However, the substance of the questions and answers should be unchanged. The editing consisted of unifying multi-part answers, removing almost all pointless hashtags and tagging of other twitter users, incorporating links that were tweeted out into the actual text, and cleaning up grammar, punctuation, abbreviations, etc. Without further ado…
Thanks to everyone for joining my first ever Twitter Town Hall. The theme is “What’s in store for UBC’s second century?” For a brief introduction to the topic, watch: video [2]. There was a student protest on proposed housing fee increases today. While not directly related to the theme, I want to assure all I will leave time to address questions on housing fees. Let’s get started!
Judy Chan (@judycchan): Dr Arvind, How can I, a sessional lecturer, foster flexibility, passion and guts in future leaders in our everyday teaching?
Sanyam (web form): Since you’re Indian born, I’d like to know what UBC has for Indians & what you’ve done for stronger ties between the nations?
Abhishek (web form): How do you propose to drive UBC’s University Ranking from ’30-40′ slot to ’1-10′? Does increase in student fees help?
Steve Kennedy (@stevemkennedy): What is UBC’s position on the upcoming transit vote?
Mazdak Gharibnavaz (@Mazdakg): What do you think is impact on student diversity from 10% increase in international tuition and 20% in housing?
Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco): Dr Arvind what are you going to do to increase tenure lines at UBC? Also, will UBC ever develop North American Studies?
Viv Jaehn-Kribaum (@vjaehnkreibaum): UBC known for great researchers, but what about excellence in teaching going forward? The issue needs to be addressed.
Jean-François Caron (@jf_bikes): Why are University degrees turning into job training? This is public money being used for something employers used to do.
Silken Handford (@SilkenHandford): Where was the consultation of the students about increasing fees and tuition?
Urooba Jamal: (@uroobajamal): How do you plan on supporting Indigenous students on campus?
Kayla (web form): How will UBC continue to reduce it carbon and water footprints in its second century?
Katherine Bermiller (@kathmaryb): What are you doing to reduce sexual assault and sexism on campus? Especially considering the events at Dalhousie…
Mike Hager (@MikePHager): Do you support the UBC Divest [11] campaign?
Pryde (@XphrP): What is the purpose of UBC going after rankings? Are we in competition? If so, does that serve our community best?
UBC Professional Development & Community Engagement (@UBC_PDCE): We are named the University of British Columbia. How do we fulfill our role as BC’s university in our 2nd century?
Jake Mullan (@JakeMullan): Do you plan on pursuing the creation of affordable student housing at UBC? Especially due to the expensive market of the Lower Mainland?
Tim Krupa (@Tim_Krupa): How can #UBC preserve the role of universities as knowledge producers & resist denigration as training hubs for specific skills?
Tanner Bokor (@TBIRN176): What are your thoughts on how to create more opportunities to treat students as partners, rather than customers?
Miranda (web form): How will you support mental & physical wellbeing for UBC students, faculty, and staff?
Melissa (web form): What will UBC’s Okanagan Campus do to encourage a more sustainable mode of transportation/bus for Faculty and Staff?
Lainey (@Lainey50): Love my role at UBC, the demands are great for all. How do we make the pursuit of the Healthy Workplace Initiative a reality?
Rick Hart (@RickinVancouver): 6 months into your role as president, what have been the biggest surprises?
We’re coming to the end of this Town Hall. I want to thank everyone who sent questions. I’m sorry I couldn’t get to all of you. Please submit a topic for the next Town Hall [14]. Thank you!
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URL to article: http://ubcinsiders.ca/2015/01/transcript-of-first-askarvind-twitter-town-hall/
URLs in this post:
[1] #askarvind tag: https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%23askarvind&src=typd
[2] video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNYEXQQejRU
[3] email me: mailto:presidents.office@ubc.ca
[4] here: http://president.ubc.ca/events/2014/10/22/ubc-president-raises-the-universitys-profile-in-india-during-trade-mission/
[5] here: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/Vancouver/index.cfm?tree=6,231,732,0
[6] Access Studies: http://www.ubc.ca/okanagan/students/aboriginal/access.html
[7] here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/training-the-next-generation-of-indigenous-health-care-staff/article22184665/
[8] moving in the right direction: http://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/sustain.ubc.ca/files/uploads/CampusSustainability/CS_PDFs/PlansReports/Reports/2013-2014-Annual-Sustainability-Report.pdf
[9] here: http://sustain.ubc.ca/our-commitment/strategic-plans-policies-reports/sustainability-plans/ubc-develops-strategy-next
[10] here: http://www.ubc.ca/staysafe/
[11] UBC Divest: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/ubc-professors-to-vote-on-fossil-fuel-divestment/article22547779
[12] here: http://students.ubc.ca/livewell
[13] here: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/health/
[14] next Town Hall: http://president.ubc.ca/askarvind/
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