UBC anti-racism task force issues 54 recommendations

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Addressing racism against within the UBC community is “critical for the future of the institution,” said UBC president Santa Ono.

VANCOUVER: August 25, 2015. - The Irving K. Barber Learning Center on UBC campus in Vancouver. VANCOUVER, August 25, 2015. (Jenelle Schneider/PNG staff photo) (for SUNstory by Tracy Sherlock). [PNG Merlin Archive] ORG XMIT: POS2015082615255857
VANCOUVER: August 25, 2015. – The Irving K. Barber Learning Center on UBC campus in Vancouver. VANCOUVER, August 25, 2015. (Jenelle Schneider/PNG staff photo) (for SUNstory by Tracy Sherlock). [PNG Merlin Archive] ORG XMIT: POS2015082615255857 Photo by Jenelle Schneider /vancouver sun

The University of British Columbia has released a new report on ways to address systemic and institutionalized racism at its Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, an important first step in building a more inclusive community, said president Santa Ono.

the 295-page report listed 54 recommendations to tackle what it describes as a “deep-seated problem of institutionalized, systemic and other forms of racism” at the university.

Addressing racism against Indigenous, Black, and people of color (IBPOC) within the UBC community is “critical for the future of the institution,” said Ono during remarks at the launch of the report on Friday.

This is “a very important first step so we can address the racism that is systemic here currently today and the role we have played in not addressing systemic racism,” he said.

The report was the product of a task force created in December 2020 and made up of 34 faculty, students and staff from the two UBC campuses.

It contained anecdotes from members of the UBC community who experienced racism including a graduate student who was denied entry to his department building by a security guard who did not believe he was a student.

Themes that emerged from the report included: A need for anti-racist education at the university; a need to recruit and retain IBPOC faculty members and staff; a need to develop a system for handling complaints involving IBPOC people; and the need to address workload inequities experienced by IBPOC faculty members and staff.

Among the recommendations are to provide sustained anti-racism training and education; create pathways for IBPOC success among faculty and staff; and create and curate diverse spaces on both campuses.

Some of the recommendations have already been implemented, said the university.

For a list of the 54 recommendations, read the full report here.


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