Recruitment and pathways development for Indigenous and other equity-seeking students, faculty and staff working to ensure that these individuals feel both inspired to join and supported to stay and grow in the Faculty

Students

• Office of Experiential Education to evaluate a Regional Practicum Model (2025S).
• Support and prioritize fundraising efforts for graduate scholarship for traditionally underserved communities and Indigenous students (2026).

Faculty and Staff

• Increase support for staff hiring committees to enhance EDI efforts (2023).

Highschool and Undergraduate Students

• Created Associate Dean Students position and portfolio to support the Faculty in supporting pre-entry and admitted students (Aug 2023).
• SPIIF fund approved project to support rural cohort model for experiential training in the Entry-to-Practice PharmD program (May 2023). Office of Experiential Education piloted Regional Practicum Model whereby students will complete a series of their pharmacy practicum experiences within a selected rural/remote community/region (i.e., PHRM 371, 471, 472 and 473) beginning in S2024.
• SSHRC Insight Development Grant ($55,889 over 2 years) awarded to Swidrovich J (UofT), Kellar J (UofT), Jarvis-Selinger S (UBC) for: “Exploring the Experience of Senior Indigenous and Black Pharmacy Students' Professional Identity Formation: A Dual Canadian University Site Approach.” The team includes Lim T (UBC/UofT).
• Participated in the Verna Kirkness Foundation program for Indigenous High School students to participate in pharmaceutical science experiences (2 students in May 2023; 4 students in July 2024).
• In collaboration with the Indigenous Strategic Initiatives Manager, the Associate Dean Students portfolio focused on recruitment/connections with students from under-represented and under-served groups/communities, starting with relationship-building with guidance counsellors and applicants from schools in specific regions (2024); Faculty's Indigenous Strategic Initiatives Manager participated in multiple Indigenous student recruitment events. Initiated the process to develop an Indigenous student recruitment plan, in tandem where appropriate with recruitment activities in rural and remote communities for the PharmD and BPSc programs (2024).
• Office of Student Services connected with the College of New Caledonia and North Island College to discuss their health professions transfer programs (spring 2024).
• Office of Student Services conducted visits to North Island College to meet with students in their transfer program, current applicants living in the area, and high school students for recruitment purposes (spring 2024).
• Office of Student Services visited Vancouver Island University to meet with academic advisors (spring 2024).
• SPIIF fund approved "Discover Pharmacy Tour" by the Office of Student Services—awarded $17,200. The project supports a campaign aimed at recruiting strong students of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to our undergraduate programs. In particular, a goal of the DPT is to support recruitment of students from Indigenous and rural communities (April 2024); funding activities will continue for the 2026W intake (2025).
• Collaborated with North Island College to engage with high school counsellors illustrating clearer pathway for students from the Courtenay area on pathways to the PharmD program (fall 2024).
• SPIIF fund approved "Indigenous Student Support" by Larry Leung, Jason Min and Nadine Gerhardt as part of the UPROOT Team—awarded $25,000. This project aims to seed, grow, and formalize co-curricular and support structures for cultural safety for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in the Entry-to-Practice PharmD Program through proposed pillars: 1) Indigenous student space, 2) Indigenous student mentorship program (April 2024). Faculty approved the creation of a dedicated Indigenous space within the building, intended to be a safe and welcoming environment for Indigenous students — a place for programming, connection, and the celebration of Indigenous cultures and traditions. The work will be undertaken by our Faculty’s Indigenous Strategic Initiatives portfolio, the UPROOT Team, and Operations and Facilities Management (fall 2024–winter 2025). ISI Manager initiated the process for a Musqueam artist to create a mural in the building (fall 2024).
• Initiated relationship with five Faculties to develop direct entry Indigenous student pathways to STEM subjects (spring 2024).
• Raised $6,360 through Giving Day to support the Diane Hales Award in Pharmaceutical Sciences for Indigenous Students (April 2024).
• Created Indigenous Students Enhancement Fund” for UBC Giving Day (April 2025).
• Organized a Discover Pharmacy Day event for high school students in the Lower Mainland to introduce both the PharmD and BPsc program; about 60 high school students attended (spring 2025).
• Launched on campus information session for high school counsellors with 15 attendees from Metro Vancouver area to provide information on our programs and the distinctions between the BPSc and E2P PharmD program (spring 2025).
• Collaborated with BCPhA in engaging with pharmacists across the province in recruitment events, including an online panel dedicated to practices outside of Greater Vancouver (spring 2025).
• Launched an admissions process for mature pharmacy students to more easily access admission to the pharmacy program (2024); recruited first student through this program (2025).
• Participated in the D’HoPE (Diversifying Health Professions Education) summer program, showcasing pharmacy as one of the health profession programs available at UBC through clinician panels, student panels, and a 2-hour on-site visit to the Faculty (summer 2023, 2024, 2025).
• Launched a new online elective course, called Exploring Rural Pharmacy Practice. Rural pharmacists contribute to this course as guest lecturers.  The aim is to expose students to rural pharmacy practice early in the program and encourage these second-year students to consider future practicum and practice opportunities within these rural areas (2024).
• Implemented a pilot of the Regional Practicum Model (RPM) which enables students to complete their final year practicum experiences in a dedicated rural/remote region outside of the lower mainland; in the first cohort 7 students were placed in Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, Kamloops and surrounding villages (2024); second cohort of the RPM included 10 students with the previous towns, plus Prince George and Victoria (2025).
• Approximately 80% of students enrolled in the PharmD program completed at least one practicum in a rural or remote community (2025).

Graduate Students

• SPIIF fund approved project to support recruitment pathways for Black and Indigenous students in the Graduate program (May 2023). Initiated visits to graduate career fairs at  schools nationwide with targeted approach to black and Indigenous student groups in addition to the general student population (summer 2023). Implemented a further 4 career fair visits to institutions with targeted approaches for recruitment for Indigenous and black students (fall 2024).
• Launched revamped graduate program website with the goal of effectively showcasing grad program features and better engaging prospective students. Incorporates fresh and engaging content that highlights various program features and covers a wide range of topics (including featuring the profiles of current Black and Indigenous students, and listing support and funding resources for Indigenous and BPOC students) to help attract diverse prospective students. (Nov 2023); further enhanced content to better support students applying to the program with respect to admissions, awards, scholarships, professional development opportunities and support services, in particular information for equity-seeking students (2024).

All Students

• EDIAC prioritized addressing student inquiries related to optimizing review processes for CFA students (fall 2025).
• Progressed efforts in applying an equity and anti-racism lens to student access and enrolment planning. UBC AVP Faculty Planning Office led a strategic review of admissions processes through the Strategic Taskforce on Admissions and Recruitment (2025).

Faculty and Staff

• As per approval of BC Human Rights’ Commissioner, launched recruitment to exclusively hire self-identified people with disabilities, Indigenous people, racialized people, women, and people with minoritized sexual orientations or gender identities for 2x tenure-track positions in Nanomedicine and Chemical Biology (July 2023).
• Provided support to faculty hiring committees in partnership with Equity Inclusion Office (EIO) (ongoing).
• Worked with EIO to obtain aggregate data about diversity of faculty recruitment applicant pools (ongoing).
• Mandated requirement to take Hiring Equity course for all hiring managers (2023).
• Mandated requirement to complete EDI+I statement for all prospective faculty candidates (2023).
• EIO launched Employment Equity Advisor (EEA) pilot training of faculty members (Oct 2023); two members completed the training and participate in the Faculty's various recruitment activities (2024). EIO began delivering equitable hiring training tailored to the needs of specific faculties and departments. Ninety-one per cent of units participating in the inventory reported having efforts underway or completed in the area of equitable hiring practices (2025).
• Mandated process to provide statements of UBC's accomodation policies to all faculty recruitment candidates (2023).
• Updated our Faculty Workload Policy and Faculty Annual Report Form with an EDII lens (i.e., to highlight EDI and decolonization contributions) (spring 2024).
• UBC EDI-F hosted Inclusive Meetings workshop (fall 2024).
• Faculty continues to be represented on the UBC’s EDI Action Network and UBC EDI Faculty Leads (fall 2024 and ongoing).
• Provided a clear process for reporting mistreatment and handling complaints involving IBPOC students, faculty and staff (e.g., who to contact, review of existing policies and/or development of new policies) (2024).