UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA - RECOVERING THE UNIVERSITY FABRIC

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Overview

Rhodri Windsor-Liscombe

Point Grey Pre-University (pre-1890)

Emma Spenner Norman

Early History (1890-1949)

Diane Archibald

Post-War Reconstruction (1950-1980)

Lara Tomaszewska

• Post-War Period — Overview
• Archival Notes

The Urban Community (1980-2003)

Lisa Moffatt

by Lara Tomaszewska

Post-War Period — Overview

The post-war period between 1950 and 1980 is by no means cohesive; it contains economic, political and most notably, cultural shifts. The development of the University of British Columbia, both physically and “ideologically,” must be considered within these larger provincial, national and global trends and ruptures. These three decades represent the University’s greatest period of growth in terms of the built environment, with over 100 buildings erected. The present report is particularly concerned with two of the four themes of the Recovering the University Fabric project: 1) physical construction; spaces of learning and culture, and; 2) making of place; economic, cultural and political factors.

The theme of administrative process undergirds the whole paper as the research is entirely derived from University archival documents. In other words, the specific issues of governance and policy between 1950 and 1980 have been widely documented in various sources across campus. This report intends to reflect the richness of these specific archives; it also hopes to be a broader testament to the interpretive power of “the archive” in general.

In considering the construction of physical space and “place” on campus, this report will focus on individual buildings and cultural life. In each post-war decade, the activities around the construction of particular buildings and student culture are indicative, if not symptomatic, of the larger economic and political structures of the University and the Province. In addressing building construction and student cultural life, the complex and diverse forces that coalesced to impact on the development of the University (both physically and mentally) may be revealed.

The 1950s: Funding and Expanding Towards Permanency

In light of predicted provincial growth and increased enrollment, President Norman MacKenzie (1944-1962) stated his commitment to constructing student residences as well as major buildings to house and facilitate entire Schools and disciplines. The University architects, Sharp & Thompson, Berwick, Pratt were largely responsible for the concept and design of much of the physical expansion of the University.

MacKenzie initiated a large-scale funding program with the provincial government in order to concretize campus expansion and move towards permanency. In 1956, the provincial government allocated $1,000,000 per year for ten years to the UBC expansion program. The Arts Building (Buchanan), Medical Building and residences were the main beneficiaries of the expansion funding.

An important factor contributing to a particular notion of place on campus was the formation of The Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation in 1955. It was established with a one million dollar endowment to fund projects in the fields of culture and creative activities, health and welfare, and higher education. MacKenzie was instrumental in the Foundation and, together with Leon Koerner, who came with his wife Thea from Czechoslovakia in 1937 and established a forestry company, manifested a vision for the University that included the interconnection of physical, academic and social development.

The 1960s: Growth, “Bigness,” Diversity

Marshall McLuhan philosophized about the epistemological shift of the 1960s as witnessed in the demise of the mechanical age and rise of the electric age. Coincident were consciousness-raising movements such as feminism, civil rights, gay rights and environmentalism. Protests against the catastrophe of the Vietnam War and rage against the conservatism of governments were experienced all across North American campuses and with a particular distinction on the West Coast.

At UBC, governance, physical expansion and academic life were less and less directed by the initiatives of particular individuals and governments as seen in the 50s. Instead, there emerged diversity in decision-making processes and a range of interdisciplinary committees and projects. UBC President John MacDonald (1962-1967), wrote in his First Year Review in 1964:

The modern large university, into which the category of the University of British Columbia falls, is a complex organism, a far cry from the traditional “Groves of Academe” and the ivory tower…those days are gone. “Bigness” has become characteristic and the pace of life on campus has quickened. (UBC Reports, 1964)

The fear of “bigness” was articulated in a debate featured in the Ubyssey on October 2, 1964 in which one student accused the University of “balkanization” – the alienation of students from the university community due to its large size. However, another student responded by arguing that size meant diversity and therefore greater academic and social potential. Institutional critique as well as academic freedom countered and balanced the monolithic “bigness” of the University. This was demonstrated in both building construction and in academic and cultural life on campus.

In 1964, the University of British Columbia announced an architectural competition for the design of the Student Union Building, thus acknowledging the significance of student life at the University. The SUB would be the “social-cultural heart of campus,” “living room,” and “hearthstone” of the physical and mental University. The winning design would be characterized by internal and external harmony and would include spaces ideal for free discussion, informal learning and would generally promote the “common welfare.” (Booklet for Architectural Competition of SUB, Alma Mater Society, 1964)

The physical and psychological “bigness” of the University meant that regional, national and international connections could be secured. It also meant that there were more spaces and places for inter-disciplinary collaboration. In 1961, B.C. Binning established the Festival of Contemporary Arts, an annual multidisciplinary arts festival that featured dance, visual art, poetry, theatre and cinema and that ran until 1971. The Festival took place across various venues on campus, including Buchanan, Main Library, the Lasserre Building, and the Student Union Building. Writers, artists, dancers, etc., came to UBC from all over Canada and the United States to participate. Marshall McLuhan visited UBC several times, including in 1964 when he lectured on Fine Arts and popular culture at the Festival for Contemporary Arts.

The 1970s: Housing, Land-Use and Identity Politics

Social and cultural movements that gained momentum in the 1960s, crystallized in the 1970s through the establishment of committees, organizations and institutions. At UBC, the construction of the Museum of Anthropology (1976) and the controversy over the University Endowment Lands (1972-1975) illustrate the shift from “decision-making from above” that was characteristic of the 1950s, to a more complex negotiation of individuals, special interest groups, the government and the University.

First Nations history and culture was “re-appropriated” in the late 1960s and early 1970s at UBC as demonstrated by the creation of Totem Park and in the painted mural by Charles Comfort of Captain Vancouver and Aboriginal Peoples. The “preservation” of First Nations history and culture became a crucial and controversial issue for the University. Both the site and mandate of the Museum of Anthropology responded to both Aboriginal and non-Native interests, not only to those on campus, but also to those in Vancouver and B.C.

The University Endowment Lands (UEL), consisting of 1700 acres of forest, was the locus of a land-use crisis, but, ironically, not in relation to Native Land Titles. Both Vancouver and UBC suffered from a housing shortage and, in response, the provincial government proposed to develop housing on the UEL. The controversy continued for several years, with supporters of development demanding housing, and opponents demanding that a Provincial Park be established to conserve the Endowment Lands. The conflict was not only of concern to campus planning and development but also to the larger community and was covered closely in both the mainstream and alternative media. The Endowment Lands Regional Park Committee and the UEL Tenants Society were both formed to oppose the proposed development and they succeeded in stopping LRS Development Enterprises Ltd. in 1976. One of the main reasons for this victory was the lack of an Official Land Use Plan for the UEL.

Conclusion

The building boom at UBC started in the 1950s and continued until the 1980s. However, while the University maintained its commitment to expansion and permanence, the processes of decision-making and the spirit of campus life continually shifted. Power that had been embodied in individuals such as MacKenzie and in entities such as the Socred Government in the 1950s, started to fragment in the 1960s to circulate among student and faculty organizations on campus. UBC Reports, The Ubyssey, the Alma Mater Society, the Fine Arts Committee, and the Graduate Student Society are examples of organizations that both articulated changing notions of the university and mobilized ideas and funding for the continued development of physical and mental space on campus.

Archival Notes

Fonds:

UBC Reports

Box File #:

vol 1, no 1

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

article

Date:

Feb 1955

Author:

N. MacKenzie

Length or size:

2 pages

Research theme or area:

physical development

Notes:

MacKenzie writes inaugural editorial for UBC Reports stating that the aim of the publication is to keep alumni, students, and faculty informed of events at UBC. Article includes 3 main issues:

1. Government announces $10 million expansion program for UBC; $1 million/year for 10 years. Main focus will be Arts building, Medical building and residences
2. Gift from government of 435 acres to expand campus
3. vol. 2, 1955: Front cover is a campus map illustrating where the $10 million will be spent

Fonds:

The Ubyssey

Box File #:

vol. XXXIX, no.2

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

article

Date:

Sept 1956

Author:

[unknown]

Length or size:

1 page

Research theme or area:

growth: housing / residences

Notes:

Growth of BC and the University is subject of article. Implications of the re-election of the Social Credit and effects on funding for the University. Heavy housing shortage reported, especially for out-of-town students. 1955-56 had highest enrollment increase since 1948.

Fonds:

UBC Reports

Box File #:

[n.a.]

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

article

Date:

1956

Author:

N. MacKenzie

Length or size:

1 page

Research theme or area:

growth

Notes:

MacKenzie writes that by 1985, population of UBC will be 30,000. Discusses physical demands placed on site by growth.

Fonds:

UBC Reports

Box File #:

vol 6, no. 1

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

article

Date:

Jan/Feb 1960

Author:

[unknown]

Length or size:

2 pages

Research theme or area:

physical development / expansion and permanency

Notes:

• The cover is a drawing of the proposed Graduate Student Centre made possible by gift of $400,000 by Leon Koerner.
• UBC forms council on University Extension: “to provide a closer relationship between the University and the communities throughout the Province…and education for professional and community leadership, use of mass media and community development.”
• By 1960, $6.2 million had been raised in expansion program with govn’t and over $7 million was being used for bldgs. under construction; including Vanier residence for men, an addition to Main Library ($425,000 from Koerner), addition to Wesbrook, addition to Buchanan (Buchanan was first bldg. To be completed under Ten Year Plan).

Fonds:

B.C. Binning Fonds

Box File #:

Box 4, File 1-11

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

ephemera/correspondence

Date:

1961-1971

Author:

various

Length or size:

[n.a.]

Research theme or area:

Festival of Contemporary Arts
making of “place” / cultural life on campus

Notes:

Various pamphlets and correspondence about FCA, multidisciplinary Arts festival, 1961-1971, founded by BC Binning and coordinated by Fine Arts Council.

Fonds:

B.C. Binning Fonds

Box File #:

Box 4, File 1

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

correspondence

Date:

1961

Author:

B.C. Binning

Length or size:

2 pages

Research theme or area:

Festival of Contemporary Arts
making of “place” / cultural life on campus

Notes:

• Letter from Binning to President MacKenzie dated 24 March 1961. Reporting to the President on the first FCA: 28 events, good attendance. Binning supports the Festival saying that it aids expansion and enrichment of campus and that it was worth the money and time. Festival was funded by Fine Arts Department, Students’ Special Events and the President’s Office (total cost: $3,551).
• * possible exhibit object: First Festival of Contemporary Arts Schedule of Events

Fonds:

Norman MacKenzie Fonds

Box File #:

Box 179, 1

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

personal correspondence

Date:

Oct 24, 1942

Author:

W. White

Length or size:

I page

Research theme or area:

physical development / student life

Notes:

Discusses gift of Dr. Koerner of $450,000. for Thea Koerner house.

Fonds:

N. MacKenzie Fonds

Box File #:

Box 179, 1

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

letters/ephemera

Date:

ca. 1963

Author:

various

Length or size:

[n.a.]

Research theme or area:

making of “place” / notions of university

Notes:

Various documents about establishment of Koerner Foundation in 1955.

Fonds:

N. MacKenzie Fonds

Box File #:

Box 179, 2

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

Working Papers

Date:

1962

Author:

Koerner Foundation

Length or size:

6 pages

Research theme or area:

making of “place” / notions of university

Notes:

Summary of Grants in 1962 by Foundation:

Cultural and Creative Arts:

$19,000.

Heath & Welfare:

$23,070.

Higher Education (to Dept. of UBC):

$50,830.

Fonds:

N. Mackenize Fonds

Box File #:

Box 179, 2

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

Working Papers

Date:

Sept. 7, 1962

Author:

Koerner Foundation

Length or size:

approx. 50 pages

Research theme or area:

making of “place”/ notions of Univresity

Notes:

1. Constitution of Foundation (lawyers: Ladner, Downs, Locke, Clark and Lenox)
2. Summary of Grants for 1963:
   • Cultural and Creative Arts: 29,400.
   • Health and Welfare: 23,200.
   • Higher Education: 44,400.
3. Summary of Grants for 1964:
   • Cultural and Creative Arts: 31,650.
   • Health and Welfare: 13,000.
   • Higher Education: 48,850.

Fonds:

UBC Reports

Box File #:

1964

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

article

Date:

1964

Author:

John MacDonald

Length or size:

2 pages

Research theme or area:

making of “place” / mental and physical space

Notes:

President John MacDonald’s First Year Review.

1. Growth in BC and Canada; post-war population surge. MacDonald reference his own essay “Higher Education in BC and a plan for the Future.”
2. Financing of UBC: politics and education are not separate as public education is paid for by public funds

Essay acknowledges role and function of university in larger fabric and how they function. MacDonald writes about “bigness” and new role of university.

Fonds:

The Ubyssey

Box File #:

1964

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

article

Date:

Oct. 9, 1964

Author:

student Mike Hunter

Length or size:

2 pages

Research theme or area:

“place”/ governance and student life

Notes:

• Law student Mike Hunter writes about the lack of transparency of housing policy on campus and blames Pres. MacDonald: accuses admin. of lack of honesty about loan payments and cost of housing.
• (Interesting argument as it relates to MacDonald’s idea of “bigness” and points to a distinct break between student voices and admin.)

Fonds:

UBC – Student Union Building

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

pamphlet

Date:

ca. 1966

Author:

AMS

Length or size:

1 page

Research theme or area:

physical space

Notes:

• Psychedelic-coloured pamphlet about opening of SUB (year before opening); shows floor plan in a mandala design.
• *possible exhibit object

Fonds:

UBC – Student Union Building

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

Booklet for SUB competition

Date:

1964

Author:

AMS

Length or size:

30 pages

Research theme or area:

physical space / notion of “place”

Notes:

Booklet outlines guidelines for architectural competition for SUB. New notion of union. Needs to be “hearthstone” of campus, a place for communal learning, harmony, common welfare, free discussion.

Fonds:

UBC - Architecture

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

building description

Date:

Spring 1962

Author:

Thompson, Berwick and Pratt

Length or size:

2 pages

Research theme or area:

physical development / notion of university

Notes:

Lasserre Building description: originally conceived as an Arts Centre; uses 4 storey construction in concrete and brick; form follows function. Designed to house Fine Arts, Architecture and Planning: “let all creative arts be brought together, let all buildings face into a court where students can interchange ideas, let Fine Arts, Architecture and Planning be united by one building.”

Fonds:

The Ubyssey

Box File #:

1964

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

article

Date:

July 1964

Author:

various

Length or size:

one page each

Research theme or area:

student life and mental space / physical

Notes:

1. SUB to open in 1967 – announcement of competition (and continued coverage all Summer and Fall)
2. Oct 2, 1964: MacDonald announces loan fees to be paid to govn’t for residences
3. Article by disillusioned student about “balkanization” at UBC – alienation due to administrative dishonesty and “bigness”

Fonds:

N. MacKenzie Fonds

Box File #:

Box 180, 1

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

Working Papers

Date:

1965

Author:

Koerner Foundation

Length or size:

5 pages

Research theme or area:

making of “place”

Notes:

Summary of Grants by Koerner Foundation for 1965:

• Culture and Arts: 28, 150
• Health & Welfare: 13,450
• Higher Education: $47,150

Fonds:

Exhibition Files

Box File #:

Art Becomes Reality

Location at UBC:

Morris & Helen Belkin Art Gallery

Name or type of document:

Festival Pamphlet

Date:

1964

Author:

FCA Committee

Length or size:

2 pages

Research theme or area:

making of “place” / cultural life

Notes:

• Pamphlet for 1964 Festival of Contemporary Arts; lists McLuhan as Lecturer; title of lecture “Changing Attitudes to Space in Poetry, Painting, Architecture since Television,” and “The Strange Tendency of the Popular Arts to go Iconic and Highbrow.”
• Belkin Files have most FCA schedules and pamphlets and exhibition information, 1961-1971.

Fonds:

N. MacKenzie Fonds

Box File #:

Box 179, 180

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

correspondence and working papers

Date:

1965-1968

Author:

N. MacKenzie and L. Koerner

Length or size:

[n.a.]

Research theme or area:

notions of university

Notes:

Koerner Foundation established in 1955 and was very significant in the physical, academic and social development of the campus. Funds were allotted to building construction and academic endowments.

Fonds:

UBC - Art

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

article, UBC Alumni Chronicle

Date:

Autumn 1969, v. 23, n. 3

Author:

n/a

Length or size:

5 pages

Research theme or area:

making of “place”

Notes:

Glossy photo spread of Totem Park: “corner of UBC that is preserving a slice of Indian culture.”

• notion of history and preserving native culture
• poetics of appropriation of First Nations history on campus
• Native history starts to be “picked-up” on campus

* possible exhibition item

Fonds:

UBC Reports

Box File #:

1970

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

cover image

Date:

vol. 16, n.1, 1970

Author:

[unknown]

Length or size:

1 page

Research theme or area:

student cultural life

Notes:

Under President Gage, this image shows visual art that was in the festival for Contemporary Art – work by artists Herbert Gilbert (faculty in Fine Arts department), curated by Ann Pollack.

Fonds:

UBC – Student Housing

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

article

Date:

vol.16, n.24, 1970

Author:

n/a

Length or size:

1 page

Research theme or area:

physical development / housing

Notes:

Housing was an issue in the 70s: chronic shortages reported, panic among students and public, battles over land-use, rates and costs rising. Article on coed dorms to be built (Acadia) and active role of students in their planning, design and development.

Fonds:

UBC - Art

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

press releases

Date:

1972

Author:

UBC and CBC

Length or size:

2 pages

Research theme or area:

making of “place”

Notes:

Controversy over mural of Captain Vancouver is played out in press release from UBC and response in CBC-BC Viewpoint. Colonial Relations depicted in mural were found to be offensive by some students. Issue at question is appropriate portrayal of First Nations and broader notion of history, identity and power relations on campus.

Fonds:

UBC- Endowment Lands

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

article, Vancouver Calendar Magazine

Date:

Sept. 1974

Author:

B. Pawitt

Length or size:

4 pages

Research theme or area:

physical space and “place”

Notes:

• Outlines controversy over Endowment Land Development: Endowment Lands Regional Park Committee wants to save and protect UEL against govn’t initiatives to develop land for housing (1700 acres). There is no Official Plan for land use on UEL.
• Vertical File is very comprehensive with many newspaper articles, clippings, reports, etc. on this controversy.

Fonds:

UBC - Endowment Lands

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

article, Ubyssey

Date:

Nov, 1973

Author:

n/a

Length or size:

1 page

Research theme or area:

physical space and “place”

Notes:

Article in response to UEL debate: shows 1924 Campus Plan with UEL land use and tries to demonstrate that this land was always intended to be developed – trying to show historical arguments for development. This is in response to student need for housing.

Fonds:

UBC- Endowment Lands

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

article, Vancouver Sun

Date:

March 7, 1974

Author:

n/a

Length or size:

1 page

Research theme or area:

physical space and “place”

Notes:

• Title: “Warfare Goes On Over Endowment Lands.” Image of people in support of housing development on UEL carrying signs “People Need Houses.”
• One of many articles in file that illustrates politics and issues of debate over UEL.

Fonds:

UBC- Land Development

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

Report: “Preserving a Human Settlement: the UEL”

Date:

June 1976

Author:

UEL Tenants Society

Length or size:

30 pages

Research theme or area:

physical space and “place”

Notes:

Report on conflict between LRS Development Enterprises Ltd. Vs. the UEL Tenant’s Society. Outlines absence of adequate regulatory land use policy fro UEL as major problem. Conflict ended in 1976 when UEL won dispute and need for official plan was recognized.

Fonds:

UBC - Architecture

Box File #:

vertical file

Location at UBC:

Fine Arts Library

Name or type of document:

Archival Listing of Campus Buildings

Date:

compiled in 1994

Author:

[unknown]

Length or size:

[n.a.]

Research theme or area:

physical development and archival documentation

Notes:

• Architectural & Development Plans of the University of British Columbia
• Very useful paper document as it lists all buildings on campus and their archival inventories. For example, for the Chemistry building, a researcher could identify which archival inventories contain history, documents, photographs, etc. on this building.

Fonds:

MacDonald Report on Higher Education in British Columbia Collection

Location at UBC:

University Archives

Name or type of document:

report

Date:

1962-1963

Author:

John MacDonald

Length or size:

26 cm

Research theme or area:

making of “place” / notion of university

Notes:

(UBC archival description): Reacting to growing pressure throughout the province to study the long-term requirements of higher education, newly-appointed University of British Columbia President John B. MacDonald offered to conduct a survey and prepare recommendations in 1962. He felt it appropriate that the President’s Office should prepare such a report given the implicit responsibility under the terms of the Universities Act to provide leadership in planning for long-term higher education and to assist in the development of a strong academic program for the province. MacDonald proposed that he prepare a report which would then be submitted to the Board of Governors and Senate for their approval and then sent to the Ministry of Education for consideration. Working with University faculty and staff, MacDonald organized a Committee on Higher Education and heard briefs prepared by interested community groups throughout the province. The "Report on Higher Education in British Columbia" released in January 1963, proposed the establishment of new organizational structures and more decentralization to restructure the increasingly inadequate higher education system in British Columbia. This collection, assembled by William Tetlow of the UBC Office of Institutional Analysis and Planning, consists of President MacDonald’s initial proposal to the Board of Governors and Senate as well as minutes and reports arising from the work of the Committee on Higher Education (1962/63). In addition, there are also copies of numerous briefs presented by community groups from throughout the province.