Every year, final examinations are held for more than 500 UBC doctoral candidates, and each of these examinations involves a faculty member serving in the role of Chair.
Chairs of doctoral examinations have an important function; they represent the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, ensure the exam is fair and proceeds according to UBC policies, and report back to us about the proceedings and the Examining Committee’s recommendation.
In 2021, Chairs continued to perform this key function in challenging circumstances. Many experienced Chairs had their first experience of an exam in a virtual format while others have become Zoom experts. Virtual defences on Zoom have had the benefit of allowing participation by many more External Examiners; approximately 35% of defences had an external examiner attending remotely. Chairs welcomed these examiners and helped them to enrich the defence experience for the doctoral candidates. Thanks to the patience, kindness and good humor of our Chairs, we have managed to support the defences of the candidates who have navigated the challenges of the pandemic to get to that final point.
Dr. Susan Porter, Dean and Vice-Provost, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies would like to recognize the following Department of Medicine faculty members who chaired doctoral examinations between January and December 2021:
- Jason Barton (Division of Neurology)
- Liam Brunham (Division of General Internal Medicine)
- Edward M Conway (Division of Hematology)
- Denise Daley (Division of Respiratory Medicine)
- Doris Doudet (Division of Neurology)
- Vincent Duronio (Division of Respiratory Medicine)
- Richard Harrigan (Division of Social Medicine)
- Thomas Hudson Kerr (Division of Social Medicine)
- Shannon Kolind (Division of Neurology)
- Jeremy Road (Division of Respiratory Medicine)
- Christopher Ryerson (Division of Respiratory Medicine)
- Andrew Sanford (Division of Respiratory Medicine)
- Stephan van Eeden (Division of Respiratory Medicine)
We sincerely appreciate the service they have provided, and continue to provide, to the University and in support of quality graduate education and research.