October 26, 2007

A national ranking of Canada’s research-intensive universities hasnamed UNBC as one of Canada’s top Research Universities of the Year.Only universities that place within the top three in their sizecategory have the distinction of being named a Research University ofthe Year. UNBC placed third among the 20 small universities.

Overall, UNBC has ranked 29th among Canadian universities, placingbetter than many universities that are much larger and older than UNBC.For example, UNBC placed one point ahead of the University of Regina,which has nearly 13,000 students. UNBC has just over 4000.

“The reason for our success is simple: we have the best faculty in thecountry,” says UNBC President Don Cozzetto. “They’re connected withnumerous industry groups, communities, and government agencies such asNorthern Health, to both ensure that the community is part of theresearch process as well as the dissemination and application of theresearch results.”

In the 2005-06 fiscal year, UNBC attracted nearly $16 million inresearch funding, a 90% increase over the results from the previousyear. This large annual increase is due to a number of new developmentsduring 2005-06: research funding for the new National CollaboratingCentre for Aboriginal Health, the acquisition of state-of-the-artforestry research equipment to assess fibre quality, the expansion ofUNBC’s high-performance computing centre, and the addition of healthresearch equipment.

UNBC has a research profile that is far beyond what is normal for asmall university. For example, the University has 13 research chairsand a research infrastructure that includes two research forests, anational centre of aboriginal health, the I.K. Barber Enhanced ForestryLab, a landscape ecology research centre southeast of Quesnel, andnumerous other research centres and institutes. To date, UNBC hasattracted about $10.5 million in funding for research equipment fromthe Canada Foundation for Innovation and the British Columbia KnowledgeDevelopment Fund.

The ranking is conducted by Research InfoSource and published in theNational Post. Universities are assessed on a number of criteriarelated to research funding and research publications. The 2007 rankingis based on data from the 2005-06 fiscal year.

The expansion of research at UNBC relates to the growth in graduatestudents at the University. About 14% of UNBC students are pursuingmaster’s or doctoral degrees and they are vital to the research process.


Contact:
Dr. Don Cozzetto, President, UNBC – 250.960.5600
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC – 250.960.5622