For the first time ever, the University of Northern British Columbia is ranked No. 1 in the country by Maclean’s Magazine, and more than 90 per cent of UNBC graduates were satisfied with their university experience.

Those are just two of the highlights that made 2015 a great year at UNBC, a year during which the University celebrated its 25th anniversary.

January

The Northern Medical Program (NMP) celebrates a decade of medical education in the North. The distributed medical program, part of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, was one of the first of its kind in North America.

Since its launch, the NMP has expanded its annual intake from 24 to 32 and has graduated eight classes since 2008.

UNBC students Torrye McKenzie and Matthew Ewen helped spearhead the Fair Trade Campus project.

UNBC is now a Fair Trade Campus. In order to earn the designation, UNBC students, faculty, and staff worked together to meet FairTrade Canada’s procurement standards regarding the price, labour conditions, and environmental sustainability of products consumed and sold on campus.

“The Fair Trade designation is the latest example of UNBC’s ongoing commitment to sustainability,” says UNBC President Daniel Weeks.

February

UNBC President Daniel Weeks announces he will forego the official president’s installation and direct the cost savings towards student awards.

UNBC’s men’s basketball team makes history after a 69-57 win over the University of Fraser Valley Cascades secured them a berth in the post-season, the first time in UNBC history since joining CIS Canada West.

Devin McMurtry, a forward with UNBC’s men’s basketball team, receives the Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service Award. McMurtry is the first UNBC student-athlete to receive a major Canada West award.

Many faculty, staff and students volunteered with the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

The Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre plays host to five sports during the 2015 Canada Winter Games, the most sports at any single venue.

March

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, visits UNBC’s Prince George’s campus where he meets with President Daniel Weeks. He also participates in the nationally televised closing ceremony of the 2015 Canada Winter Games, which is hosted at UNBC, the first time a Winter Games closing ceremony is held outdoors.

UNBC researchers discover a new way to study gene splicing in pre-messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA), which could help provide a better understanding of how the process works in humans and lead to development of new treatments for genetic diseases.

UNBC’s Faculty Association goes on a two-week strike which ends on March 18.

April

A research paper co-authored by UNBC geography professor Dr. Brian Menounos projects that glaciers in Western Canada will lose 70 per cent of their volume by the end of the 21st century. The paper, entitled Projected deglaciation of western Canada in the twenty-first century, is published online by the journal Nature Geoscience on April 6.

UNBC is named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the fourth year in a row.

Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire, a Canadian humanitarian and best-selling author who has worked passionately as an advocate for genocide prevention, mental health, and war-affected children, headlines the 11th annual Dr. Bob Ewert Memorial Lecture and Dinner.

May

Five UNBC environmental engineering students are part of a team that wins this year’s BC Water and Waste Association Design Competition. This qualifies them for the international Water Environment Federation’s Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference in Chicago in October where they place third.

A new research paper co-authored by five UNBC scientists documents the physical and chemical characteristics, location and extent of a sediment plume within Quesnel Lake for the first time since a mine tailings pond breach in August 2014.

Students process to the 2015 Convocation ceremony.

UNBC grants more than 700 credentials during its 2015 Convocation. Convocation also includes the installation of UNBC President Dr. Daniel Weeks, and retiring First Nations Studies Professor Antonia Mills is bestowed with the title of Professor Emerita.

June

The new Learning and Development Centre opens its doors at the University Hospital of Northern B.C. The 1,365 square-metre centre provides additional space for students in the Northern Medical program and medical residents pursuing specialty training.

UNBC marks its 25th anniversary with a community gathering that celebrates the University’s founding and its many achievements, while charting a course for its future.

For the first time in its history, the UNBC Board of Governors has a chair who is also a UNBC graduate. Ryan Matheson has been a provincially appointed alumni representative on the Board of Governors for more than four years and has been vice-chair since 2013. He replaces outgoing board chair John Turner who had served in the position since 2012.

According to the first comprehensive survey of alumni, more than 90 per cent of UNBC graduates are satisfied with their university experience. As well, more than 80 per cent are employed in fields related to their area of study.

UNBC researchers secure a combined $436,000 in funding through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to support research projects in health care, biology, and computer science, the purchase of new imaging equipment, and scholarships and fellowships for high-calibre students in eligible master’s or doctoral programs.

July

An interdisciplinary team of UNBC researchers will further the study of local mushrooms as a potential cancer treatment thanks to a contract research agreement from Genome British Columbia.

The $52,000 provided from the Genome British Columbia Strategic Opportunities Fund will allow Biochemistry Professor Dr. Chow Lee and his fellow researchers to continue to search for and catalogue the properties of local mushroom species.

August

Steve Simonson is named the interim head coach of the UNBC Timberwolves men’s soccer team. Simonson replaces Alan Alderson who resigned in July to take on a new position with the Vancouver Whitecaps in London, Ont. After the season, Simonson was named the team's permanent head coach.

September

Post-secondary students across Canada will benefit from a ground-breaking new textbook on Indigenous health created in part by two UNBC professors. Doctors Margo Greenwood and Sarah deLeeuw, co-editors, have gathered perspectives and experiences of Indigenous people around the country to provide an in-depth look at the realities of health and healthcare in Aboriginal communities.

A partnership between the Prince George Chamber of Commerce and UNBC helps local businesses better understand their carbon footprint. The partnership has already facilitated one local business to become carbon neutral.

The Carbon Footprint Reduction Program completes its third phase which saw JFT Secure become the first participating business to meet the threshold to become carbon neutral.

UNBC and the Northern Undergraduate Student Society (NUGSS) partner to offer full sponsorship for five refugees fleeing conflict and uncertainty in Syria. The initiative will be run through the World University Service of Canada’s Student Refugee Program that NUGSS has been involved with for 10 years.

Janet Rogers, an award-winning author and former Poet Laureate for the City of Victoria, is the latest Writer in Residence at UNBC.

October

Student Alison Warner on why she thinks UNBC is No. 1.

Maclean’s magazine names UNBC the top university in the Primarily Undergraduate category that includes 19 universities. The school finished in the top five in seven different categories including student awards, total research dollars, library acquisitions, student/faculty ratio, faculty awards, operating budget per full-time student and library expenses.

November

Two UNBC economists, Dr. Fiona MacPhail and Dr. Paul Bowles, are part of a team of 28 academic researchers from a dozen universities, civil society organizations and Aboriginal participants examining the corporate and community dimensions of fossil fuel extraction in Western Canada.

The Honourable James Moore, who served in Canada’s House of Commons for 15 years, including a number of senior cabinet roles, and who graduated from UNBC in 2001, is named UNBC’s sixth chancellor.

December

Arbitrator Stan Lanyon releases his decision on the first collective agreement between UNBC and its Faculty Association, awarding a five-year contract, running from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2019.

Linda Parker is fundraising for the UNBC Jared Parker Memorial Scholarship, in memory of her son who took his own life in April, 2015. The scholarship will support graduate students doing research in mental health and mental illness.

UNBC Chemistry Professor Dr. Margot Mandy has been named a member of the International Astronomical Union. The IAU is the foremost international organization of professional astronomers and Mandy’s nomination is in recognition of her internationally recognized theoretical research in astrochemistry.

Three UNBC Environmental Engineering students, Allison Matfin, Kathleen Horita and Maureen Long, have prepared a report for the Nak’azdli Whut'en First Nation and the District of Fort St. James evaluating the feasibility of options for a potential new wastewater treatment facility for the communities.