November 18, 2005 for immediate release

The Universityof Northern British Columbia will beholding a public session in Prince George later this month on UNBC’s academic programmingand priorities for the future.  The eventis being co-presented with Initiatives Prince George.

The AcademicVisioning Initiative is being led by the University’s Vice PresidentAcademic and Provost, Dr. Howard Brunt. “The purpose is to take stock of wherewe are, and – more importantly – identify where we’re headed in terms of our academicmission,” says Dr. Brunt. “Since UNBC first began offering courses in the early1990s, we have expanded to the point where we now offer about 60 degrees. Whatshould be our priorities for the future? What can we do really well that willbe useful to northern communities and make us a centre of excellence in thecountry? I’d like to hear how residents of Prince George might answer these questionsand I’m grateful to Initiatives Prince George for helping us.”

Public Academic Visioning Session:

Tuesday, November 29, 7pm, Ramada Hotel CranbrookSouth Room  

The event will include a presentation by Dr. Brunt,who will speak about the development of academic themes and the consultationthat occurred to date throughout northern BC.

Post-secondary education is amajor contributor to Prince George’seconomy and its future prospects for growth and diversification. A recenteconomic impact assessment, for example, indicated that the annual economicimpact of the University and College is more than $700 million. While theprovincial post-secondary landscape is becoming more competitive, UNBC isregularly rated the best small university in western Canada and it scored its best-everranking this year in the annual Maclean’s magazine ranking of Canadianuniversities.

Contact:
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC - 250.960.5622