September 18, 2006

After overseeing the tremendous growth of UNBC research over the pastdecade, UNBC's Vice-President Research, Max Blouw, has announced thathe will not seek a third term as Vice-President after the completion ofhis tenth year in the position.

"It has been a privilege to work with so many gifted researchers -faculty and students - over the past decade, as well as with thenumerous public agencies and businesses throughout the North who havebeen eager to work with us to support research and to implementresearch findings," says Dr. Blouw. "By the time I leave this office atthe end of June, 2007, I will have served for a decade, and the time isright for someone with new ideas."  

"When you think of those people who have helped to make UNBC the greatuniversity that it is, Max is among those at the top of the list," saysUNBC President Don Cozzetto. "When he was appointed to lead the Officeof Research in 1997, UNBC was annually attracting about $3 million inresearch funding. Today, it's more than $18 million and UNBC is citedas one of the most productive small research universities in Canada."

Dr. Blouw came to UNBC as a Biology professor in 1994 from St. FrancisXavier University in Nova Scotia. At UNBC, he has shaped UNBC'sresearch operations, which regularly receive top rankings in nationalsurveys of research intensity and productivity. In 2000, he developedUNBC's strategic research plan and received the 2005 Science andTechnology Champion of the Year from the BC Innovation Council. He hasbeen a member of the Governing Council for the Natural Sciences andEngineering Research Council of Canada, which annually awards nearly $1billion in research funding.  He is also a member of the Board ofDirectors of GenomeBC and the BC Innovation Council.

"This has been the job of a lifetime for me," says Dr. Blouw. "UNBC'saccomplishments have been made possible by the determination ofnortherners and the support of many partners throughout Canada and theworld and I am deeply grateful to them all. Thanks are also due to mycolleagues in senior administration at UNBC and to the Governmentagencies and private corporations that have funded much of our researchactivity. It has been intensely gratifying to work with peoplethroughout the region who value the importance of research and thecontributions that new knowledge makes to our day-to-day lives."
 
UNBC has initiated the process to appoint a new Vice-President Research, who will take over from Dr. Blouw on July 1, 2007.

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