Ice prevention and snow removal: Building Operations’ snow removal and deicing vehicles work in priority order to ensure the highest risk areas of campus are open first. A reminder to stick to these priority routes when driving to campus. View the priority routes on the Building Operations website.
Major Capital Projects Development Process: The detailed overview development process for Major Capital Projects between $2.5-5 million dollars and projects over $5 million dollars have been updated to include UBC Okanagan. Visit the Infrastructure Development website to view the processes.
Museum of Anthropology (MoA) construction to begin in January 2022: The MoA Great Hall Renewal seismic upgrades are anticipated to begin in January 2022. Learn more about this project
Preliminary approval received from the Board of Governors for the UBC Downtown Kelowna project: Since Feb 2021, design work has been in progress and is on track for construction commencing Oct 2022. This will be a major step in the evolution of UBC’s presence in the Okanagan and in its ability to serve the needs of the BC Interior region. Learn more

^ Back to Top

Finance

Comptroller, Finance & Operational Excellence and Treasury

Second Quarter 2021/22 Financial Report: The second quarter 2021/22 financial report is now available on the UBC Finance website (CWL required). Learn more
UBC Launches Indigenous Finance Guidelines and Spend Category for Status Indian Individuals on Reserve: The Guidelines review current payment practices at UBC and highlight some of the disparities in standard processes for the disbursement of funds to Indigenous partners. Learn more
November Financial Operations service delivery levels: The November dashboards are now available to view on the UBC Finance website. Learn more
Payroll calendar for 2022: The complete payroll calendar for 2022 is now available on the UBC Finance website. Learn more
Delay in ordering UBC Visa cards: The Credit Card team will hold off on ordering new UBC Visa cards starting from Wednesday, December 15, 2021, until Tuesday, January 4, 2022, due to office closure during the holiday season. Learn more

^ Back to Top

Operations & Advising

Communications & Engagement, Human Resources, and Safety & Risk Services

Updating the Emergency Response Plan (ERP): Safety & Risk Services is reviewing and updating the ERP in preparation for extreme weather on campus. The revised plan will be shared with the community in early 2022.
Monitoring the regional flooding in BC: Safety & Risk Services has been monitoring the flooding situation in BC for any potential downstream impacts to UBC, as well as opportunities for the university to support the recovery of our regional partners.
Facilities communications survey reminder: The Communications & Engagement team launched an internal communications survey to get to know more about your current experiences related to communications in the Facilities group. A reminder that the survey is open to everyone in Facilities until Dec 24. Take the survey
Preparing for holiday and calendar year-end deadlines: As we near the end of the calendar year, please review the helpful reminders for managers and administrators shared in last week's issue. Learn more

^ Back to Top

People in motion

Please join us in welcoming those who are joining us, celebrating promotions, and saying goodbye to team members who are moving on to their next steps.

Cheryl Berge begins her new role as the Director, Financial Reporting.
Pulu Rana joined the Operational Excellence team as a Business Data Analyst on Monday, December 6.
Ching Yeung Yu, Susan Gnanaprakasam and Arezu Hoss joined ISC as Service Centre Representatives on December 6.
Curtis Spencer has been promoted to Subhead Electrical Maintenance in Building Operations, Facilities.
Tassadite Delepine will join as Senior Procurement Officer on December 20.
Ingeborg Brown will now report directly to Elana Mignosa, AVP Finance & Operational Excellence, in her new title as Manager, Office Operations & Assets. Going forward, Ingeborg will continue to oversee office operations, facilities planning, and asset management for the AVPFO portfolio, in addition to managing reception and administration functions.

^ Back to Top

VPFO job openings

All positions at UBC are available on the UBC HR Careers website, or through the career application in your Workday account. The following VPFO positions are currently open:

Service Centre Coordinator (JR5589) – closing Dec 18
Leave of Absence Representative (JR5600) – closing Dec 21
Financial Analyst (JR5498) – closing Jan 3
Continuous Improvement Program Manager (JR5501) – closing Jan 3
Sr. Manager, Thermal Utilities (JR5384) – closing Jan 4

Please remember to apply as an internal candidate. This ISC Knowledge Base article shows how: How do I apply for an internal job posting?.

^ Back to Top

Every action counts! This holiday season help save energy as part of UBC’s Seasonal Shutdown, which lowers the temperature in buildings during the winter break to reduce energy use and emissions on campus.

Simple actions like turning off and unplugging electronic equipment and turning off lights save thousands of dollars each year and help reduce UBC's energy footprint. Before you leave for the holidays:

Switch off electronics
Unplug small appliances
Turn off the lights
Close windows and blinds
Report any air or water leaks
Shut fume hood sashes
Shut down non-essential lab equipment

Learn more

Winter 2021 Staff Pension Plan Workshops are now available

Understanding Your Staff Pension Plan (UYSPP) is an informative workshop for Plan members of all ages to learn about their UBC pension plan, pensions in general, and things to think about for future retirement.

Online UYSPP workshops are now available for registration through the UBC Workplace Learning (WPL) course catalogue.

For more information, please visit staff.pensions.ubc.ca/workshops, or contact Megha Gupta at megha.gupta@ubc.ca.

Read thank you messages from colleagues across the university

Read the messages of gratitude from faculty and staff from all parts of the university. Take a look to see if there is a message for you.

Restarting Your Computer Regularly

When computers aren't restarted regularly, many patches that are pushed to the computers do not take effect. Updates are regularly provided to client computers in order to ensure security compliance and to minimize risks to the University.

As part of a routine practice, please reboot your machine weekly to reduce security vulnerabilities and avoid future upgrade issues.

Learn more

^ Back to Top

Helpful news

Some interesting news articles our team members have found informative, helpful, or fun! These are provided for information and entertainment only. Unless noted, UBC doesn’t specifically endorse or supply this content.

Creating an inclusive workplace is a priority at UBC and the VPFO. Here are 3 small, research-supported ways to be a more inclusive colleague — available on Harvard Business Review. Read more
How much extra waste is created during the winter holiday season, and how can I help reduce waste? Learn more in this FAQ: Holiday Waste Prevention by Stanford University. Read more
If you can't view the northern lights in person, watch this stunning 4K video of the aurora borealis over Russia. Watch now

Have an article for the VPFO team? Email communications@vpfo.ubc.ca.

^ Back to Top

Managing your mental health

HR has collected mental health resources to help you manage your ups and downs. Our VPFO HR staff is always available for a confidential conversation.

Tuesday, Jan. 11: Thinking Traps with LifeWorks
Thursday, Jan. 13 & 20: Understanding Mental Health
Self-guided: Wellbeing in the Workplace
Self-guided: Preventing Burnout: Managing stress, emotions and our tendency to give
Self-guided: Feeling safe and engaged returning to the workplace

In this edition

Updates from UBC

Operations updates

Facilities

Finance

Operations & Advising

People in motion

VPFO job openings

Other notable updates

Seasonal shutdown: Before you leave for the holidays...

Winter 2021 Staff Pension Plan Workshops are now available

Read thank you messages from colleagues across the university

Restarting Your Computer Regularly

Helpful news

Managing your mental health

Questions, news or feedback?