Dean, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science

University of British Columbia Okanagan

UBC’s vision is to inspire people, ideas and actions for a better world, fostering global citizenship and advancing a sustainable and just society. Since 1915, UBC has been opening doors of opportunity for people with the curiosity and drive to make a difference. Today, UBC is home to over 70,000 students, supported by a $3.8-billion annual budget and 19,000 faculty and staff.

UBC’s two main campuses are located in Vancouver and in Kelowna, on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam and Syilx (Okanagan) peoples, and the University has sites and activities that take place on Indigenous lands throughout BC and beyond. UBC has a deep commitment to leading the advancement of Indigenous people’s human rights and aspires to be a global leader in this regard.

The University opened its Okanagan campus in 2005 as a bold new UBC presence in the interior of British Columbia, designed to deliver on the promise of a research-intensive institution purpose-built for the 21st century.

Over the past nearly 20 years, UBC’s Okanagan campus has developed a distinctive learning community earning national and international recognition for excellence in research and teaching. The campus is home to approximately 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 680 faculty members, over 1,200 staff, and 9 world-class Faculties and Schools. Annual research funding has increased over 290% in the last decade. With over 1,100 active research projects last year, the Okanagan campus has established itself as an important and respected centre of learning and research and as a driver of economic and social development in the Interior of BC.

The Faculties on the Okanagan campus include Engineering, Education, Creative and Critical Studies, Arts, Sciences, Management, Health and Social Development, Graduate Studies, and the Southern Medical Program, along with research institutes related to community engaged research, inclusion and citizenship, healthy living, materials and manufacturing, and biodiversity.
Reporting to the Provost of the Okanagan Campus, the Dean of the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science provides strategic leadership to the Faculty and to the Campus as a whole. The Faculty of Science is home to over 3,380 students and 220 faculty and staff organized across four primary departments: Biology; Chemistry; Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics; and Earth, Environment and Geosciences. Known for its flexible and student-focused learning environment where research is fully integrated into the student experience, the Faculty has received over $55m in external research funding over the last 5 years.

The successful candidate will have an exemplary record as an educator and researcher and be eligible to be appointed as a Full Professor at UBC in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science. The new Dean will bring demonstrated leadership experience and the capacity and vision to build on the momentum that the Faculty has achieved in recent years. The new Dean will provide strategic leadership, ensure collaborative relationships with other Faculties and serve as an external ambassador for the Faculty.

UBC’s Okanagan campus sits on over 200 hectares in a region that has 5 of Canada’s largest ski resorts, 200 freshwater lakes, 30 beaches, and 2,000 hours of sunshine annually. This role represents an outstanding opportunity to bring vision and energy to a strategic leadership position at one of the world’s top universities—at a campus that is vibrant, intimate, and actively engaged with its local community and partners.

To explore this exceptional opportunity further, please contact our Search Consultants at Boyden at ubcodeanscience@boyden.com or at (604) 685-0261. To apply directly, please click Apply and submit your cover letter and resume.

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, and/or Indigenous person.

If you have any accommodation or accessibility needs during the job application process, please contact the Centre for Workplace Accessibility at workplace.accessibility@ubc.ca.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

All applicants will be asked to complete a confidential equity survey.

In accordance with BC’s Pay Transparency Act, the position has an expected salary range of $280k-$310k.

We thank all applicants for their interest in this position. Please note that we will only be in contact with those individuals moving forward with our client.