Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2006 / June / 09 / UBC Okanagan holds historic first graduation
Graduation

UBC Okanagan holds historic first graduation

June 9, 2006

History was made in Kelowna on Friday as 470 members of UBC Okanagan’s very first graduating class crossed the stage to receive their degrees in two ceremonies.

“This is a wonderful time for this university and this province,” said UBC President Dr. Martha Piper, presiding over her final graduation ceremony. “This is an historic moment in the life of UBC Okanagan. By participating in the ceremonies today, you are broadcasting to the world that UBC Okanagan has arrived.”

Piper encouraged the first class of graduates at UBC Okanagan to work toward a better world by creating a vision and then enacting that vision.

“Be assured that you are well prepared to apply your knowledge and intellect for the advancement and improvement of the world,” said Piper. “Let your imagination show you how things might be better, and use your UBC Okanagan education to let that imagination become reality.”

Piper, who will leave office at the end of June after nine years as UBC president, delivered her parting address in two Spring Congregation ceremonies attended by graduates from UBC Okanagan’s Barber School of Arts and Sciences, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Health and Social Development.

Students in this year’s graduating class made the transition from the former Okanagan University College to UBC Okanagan for their final year of study. “This is a very special day,” said Brad Bennett, Chair of the UBC Board of Governors. “As members of the first-ever graduating class of UBC Okanagan, students deserve a very sincere vote of thanks — for your patience, perseverance and your good will.”

During the morning ceremony, an honorary degree was conferred upon Dr. William Bowering, a former Okanagan University College president, who expanded post-secondary education in the Okanagan.

At the afternoon ceremony, an honorary degree was conferred upon Jeannette C. Armstrong, considered North America’s first Aboriginal woman novelist. She is the director of the Okanagan Nation’s En’owkin Centre in Penticton.

In her address, Piper offered two translations of the UBC motto tuum est: “It is yours” and “It is up to you.”

“The world you now enter is yours,” Piper told the graduates. “The world is yours, but what you make of it – that is up to you.”

Graduation Numbers by Faculty

Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences:
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
Total
129
74
203
Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies:
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
Total
39
34
73
Faculty of Education:
Bachelor of Education Elementary (BEd Elementary)
Bachelor of Education Secondary (BEd Secondary)
Total
66
9
75
Faculty of Health and Social Development:
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
Total
77
42
119
Grand Total 470

Media Contact

Bud Mortenson
Director
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250-807-9255
E-mail: bud.mortenson@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
More content from: Uncategorized

Trending Stories

  • Work Study opens new doors for undergraduates
  • Finding new life for plastic waste
  • Strengthening Indigenous community through research
  • Safeguarding water quality
  • Pushing the boundaries of spinal cord research
All Stories
Contact Media Relations

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

TikTok icon Linkedin icon

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility