Welcome to the holidays! As we look forward to the new year, I’d like to pause and reflect on the past year and be grateful for the good people who surround us and the many positive accomplishments that we have achieved. While it has undoubtedly been a difficult year—from global conflict and climate change to our own set of social challenges here in Vancouver—at UBC, we’re fortunate to lead relatively peaceful and prosperous lives.
I’m proud of the work we have achieved together
In 2023, we made steady progress, both in Facilities and across the VPFO. While we experienced changes that are typical of large and dynamic organizations, I am proud of the work we achieved together as a Facilities team. We bid farewell to long-term colleagues embarking on new adventures, and we also welcomed many new team members, as well as our new Vice-President, Frank Laezza to the VPFO and our new President, Benoit-Antoine Bacon to UBC.
As we take a well-deserved break over the holiday season, I want to acknowledge our collaborative efforts across Facilities and the VPFO and how you have truly made an impact:
- Working towards making our workplace more equitable and inclusive through better understanding, awareness, listening and learning.
- Shifting to a more proactive preventative maintenance approach to improve the function and reliability of campus facilities.
- Enhancing and maintaining indoor air quality to ensure a healthy work and learning environment in our buildings.
- Planning and managing the design and construction of key projects of all sizes and types.
- Planning and implementing energy conservation and climate action plan projects to reduce our impact on the planet.
- Implementing the custodial quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program to ensure clean and healthy spaces.
- Responding effectively to severe weather events and extreme environmental conditions to keep the campus community safe.
- Working with our customers to respond to their needs and help them be successful in their work.
None of this would have been possible without your commitment to continuous improvement of our services and dedication to a safe, sustainable and accessible physical environment for the campus community. Thank you all for your great work for our students, faculty and staff at UBC.
I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season with family and friends,
John Metras
Associate Vice-President, Facilities