Tomorrow is shaped by what we hear today.

I love the sound of my cello.

I can lose myself for hours, practicing just one small refrain. But playing alone – the sound of just one cello – doesn’t compare to the experience of playing in a trio or quartet.

If we continue adding more players and more instruments, we soon have a full orchestra – hundreds of diverse instruments coming together in perfect harmony. This unity found in an orchestra is a great reminder of UBC’s potential to embrace our individual contributions and differences to create something truly extraordinary. We all have stories to tell and notes to play. Each one of you is unique, and together we make up one exceptional, diverse, community.

Our university is incredibly diverse. What’s more important than just having a diverse community, however, is being a community where people feel supported and welcomed – a community where each one of us can thrive, and where our differences are respected and embraced.

I am committed to building such a community, but in order to keep growing, we need to hear from you. Later this week, we are launching a Campus Climate Survey to help us better understand your experiences with diversity at UBC. By taking the survey, you’ll be providing me – along with staff, faculty, and partners – with critical input as to how our work can be focused to help improve student life.

As an added bonus for contributing to this survey, you will have an opportunity to enter a draw for one of four Visa gift cards, including a $500 grand prize gift card!

We all can play a role in creating inclusive and positive spaces and I hope you can find a few minutes to help us along the way. Help inspire a more welcoming UBC – because tomorrow is shaped by what we hear today.

Learn more here.

Professor Santa J. Ono

President and Vice-Chancellor