University of British Columbia Okanagan

University of British Columbia Okanagan

University of British Columbia coat of arms
Motto	Latin: Tuum Est
Motto in English	It is Yours It is up to you
Type	Campus of University of British Columbia (Public University)
Established	2005
President	Santa J. Ono
Provost	Cynthia Mathieson
Vice-Chancellor	Deborah Buszard (deputy)
Principal	Deborah Buszard (deputy)
Students	8,392
Undergraduates	7,668
Postgraduates	724
Location	Kelowna, Canada
Campus	Suburban 516 acres (209 hectares)
Colours	Blue and Gold
Nickname	Heat
Affiliations	AUCC, U Sports, CWUAA
Website	https://ok.ubc.ca/

The University of British Columbia's Okanagan Campus (commonly referred to as UBCO) is a campus of the University of British Columbia, located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Home to approximately 8,410 undergraduate and graduate students, the 209 hectares (516-acre) Kelowna campus is located in the interior of the province, in British Columbia's scenic Okanagan Valley.

The current site of UBC Okanagan was originally used by Okanagan University College, which had been founded in 1989 (in principle) as a part of a plan by the government to improve access to post-secondary education in the Southern Interior British Columbia. Originally degrees were awarded in partnership with other universities, but by 1995, the university college began granting degrees in its own name. In the late 1990s, Okanagan University College began lobbying efforts to gain full university status.

In December 2002 the British Columbia Progress Board submitted a report to the provincial government, recognising the need to expand post-secondary education in the Okanagan. The board, chaired by then University of British Columbia president Martha Piper, recommended that the province extend “the mandate of an existing provincial University to Kelowna…”.

In March 2004, BC Premier Gordon Campbell and the UBC President Martha Piper held a press conference, announcing that OUC would be dissolved. Okanagan University College’s university operations would be consolidated at its North Kelowna Campus and would come under the control of the University of British Columbia. The other programs and campuses of Okanagan University College would form a new community college, which would later take on the name Okanagan College. The OUC Board was reportedly not invited to the press conference and had not been told in advance of the imminent demise of OUC Board and removal or the termination or the majority of the OUC board members.

According to the Ministry backgrounder released at the time, the affiliation between UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan would be “based on the highly successful University of California model” and that “UBC Okanagan and UBC Vancouver will each have an independent senate to set academic priorities for their respective institutions, based regional needs and priorities. At the same time, they will share a common board of governors, with strong representation from each region.”