New to LFS

Dean's Message

Rickey Yada, Dean

Rickey Yada, Dean

Welcome to the Faculty of Land and Food Systems! I’m delighted that you have chosen to join our team.

Our Faculty has a long and proud history here at UBC, one that stretches back to the University’s inception more than a hundred years ago. We are known around campus as the “friendly” Faculty, and I think you’ll find that we live up to that name.

This on-line orientation should give you a better idea of who we are and what we’re about, and will provide important start-up information – how to get an email address, where to get keys, etc.

If you find you still have questions after reviewing this on-line orientation, please feel free to contact our Director of HR & Administration, Barbara Hsiao.

I look forward to working with you.

Rickey Y. Yada, Dean

About LFS

One of UBC's original three founding faculties, the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (formerly Agricultural Sciences) began with just four departments in 1915. Over the years the Faculty has expanded and evolved, and is now home to three undergraduate programs, nine graduate prorgrams (including six doctoral programs), and 12 research centres and groups, including the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm, Vancouver's only remaining working farm.

Dean

Prof. Rickey Yada

Associate Deans
Assistant Deans
  • Assistant Dean, Learning Technologies: Cyprien Lomas
  • Assistant Dean, Development and Alumni Engagement: Tracy London
Directors
  • HR Director: Barbara Hsaio
  • Finance Director: Stuart Mackenzie (jointly-appointed with the Faculties of Forestry, and Applied Science)
  • Director, Student Academic Services: Christine Klaray
  • Program Director, Applied Biology: David Fraser
  • Program Director, Food, Nutrition & Health: Zhaoming Xu
  • Program Director, Global Resource Systems: Brent Skura
Research Centres
Research Groups

Respectful Environment

Building an Environment of Respect, Diversity, Opportunity & Inclusion:

In late September 2008, President Toope introduced the UBC Respectful Environment Statement for Students, Faculty and Staff. The Statement speaks to our freedoms and our responsibilities, and provides the guiding principles to support us in building an environment in which respect, civility, diversity, opportunity and inclusion are valued. Read the revised UBC Respectful Environment Statement.  Please familiarize yourself with the University's Respectful Environment webpage to learn about the various resources and services that are available to you as well as Policy #3 - Discrimination & Harassment.

New to Teaching in LFS

Visit the New to Teaching in LFS page for information and resources for new Faculty members.

New Office Set-Up

Phones, Voicemail & Long-distance calling

Departmental Voice Administrators:

UBC IT provides telephone service to all faculty and staff at UBC Vancouver, which includes telephone sets, lines and voice mail. LFS faculty and staff can arrange for voice services to be installed or added by contacting the Departmental Voice Administrator for their building (see above).

If you require long-distance phone services, please speak with your supervisor to obtain a speedchart to charge the calls to, and contact their Departmental Voice Administrator to obtain a long-distance calling code.

Manuals for all UBC IT Telephones

Faxes & Printing

MacMillan has two main multi-function printers that are equipped for fax services. The Mailroom (MCML 262) can be reached at 604-822-2184. The Dean's Office (MCML 249) machine can be reached at 604-822-6394.

To reduce paper use for junk faxes, all MacMillan incoming faxes are transmitted as PDFs to the Dean's Office Coordinator's inbox, who will then forward to the recipient as required.

Information on printing services can be found on the Learning Centre's website. To obtain an access code for photocopying and printing, please see Mona Lee <mona.lee@ubc.ca>.

Key requests & FOB access

Key and card access requests can be submitted online at https://secure.landfood.ubc.ca/keydesk/.

Once approved by your supervisor, the request is forwarded to the UBC Parking & Access Control Offices at GSAB (#204 - 2075 Wesbrook Mall). When your key is ready for pickup, you will receive an email from their office. Be prepared to show photo ID and pay a deposit (which can vary depending on the key requested).

If the room is accessible via card access, you will be contacted with instructions on how to enable access via your UBC Employee ID card.

Secure access (alarm codes)

Alarm code requests can be submitted online at https://secure.landfood.ubc.ca/sa/

Mailboxes

All mailboxes for MacMillan users are located in MCML 262. Campus mail is normally available after 11am, weekdays. Please contact Mona Lee <mona.lee@ubc.ca> to set up a mailbox.

All mailboxes for FNH users are located in FNH 200. Please contact Barbara Wakal <barbara.wakal@ubc.ca> to set up a mailbox.

Directory Listings

To create/update your listing in the UBC Employee directory, please contact Mona Lee <mona.lee@ubc.ca> (MacMillan users) or Patrick Leung <patrick.leung@ubc.ca> (FNH users).

To include your contact and biographic information (if applicable) in the LFS directory, please contact the Dean's Office Coordinator <dean.landfood@ubc.ca>.

Business cards

Business cards require approval of your supervisor, and require a speedchart to charge the order to. Please familiarize yourself with the LFS Business Card Guidelines before submitting your request.

Booking a faculty vehicle

Please review the LFS Faculty Vehicle Policy before submitting a vehicle booking request.

Please note that there is a 24 hour (working days only) turn around time for request confirmation. Please do not take a vehicle without confirmation, as there may be a request ahead of yours that simply has not yet shown up on the booking page.

Bookings can be made at http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/bookings/vehicle

Payroll, benefits, and other HR items

UBC ID Card

The UBCcard is the official identification card of the University of British Columbia. Your UBCcard is used to access services and facilities at UBC, including UBC Library and UBC Food Services. To obtain your card, please visit the online portal, where you can apply for a UBCcard, deactivate a lost or stolen card, or load money onto your UBCcard account. https://services.ubccard.ubc.ca/

Updating my personal information

It's important to keep your employee file up to date. Updates to contact information, including mailing address, phone number, email address, and emergency contacts can made via your self-service account on the UBC Management Systems Portal (MSP): https://www.msp.ubc.ca

Name changes must be submitted through the Payroll Department on a UBC Personal Data Form [Word] along with a copy of your Social Insurance Card issued under your new name.

Payroll and direct deposit

Monthly paid employees are paid on the 15th and the last working day of each month.   Hourly paid employees are paid on the 8th and 23rd of each month. Depending on when paperwork is processed in central payroll, you may have to pick up your first paycheque at the Payroll Office, Financial Services, General Services Administration Building.

The university recognizes 11 statutory holidays:

New Year's Day (Jan. 1) Labour Day
Good Friday Thanksgiving Day
Easter Monday Remembrance Day (Nov. 11)
Victoria Day Christmas Day (Dec. 25)
Canada Day (July 1) Boxing Day (Dec. 26)
BC Day

 

If a statutory holiday falls on a weekend, the university will determine an alternate day.  Alternate days for statutory holidays falling on a weekend are posted in each department in December for the following year.  Click here for the current statutory holiday listing www.hr.ubc.ca/general/stat_holidays.html.

Benefits

UBC’s Online Enrolment method  allows new employees to complete all the forms necessary for payroll and to enrol in eligible benefits . Visit Enrolling in Benefits (one stop sign on) at www.hr.ubc.ca/benefits/enroling

Note:  To use the online enrolment system you will need the Enrolment Code shown on your Letter of Offer.

Employee Pensions

Information on enrolling in the Employee Pension Plan (both Faculty & Staff) can be found at http://www.pensions.ubc.ca/

Management Systems Portal (MSP) Self-Service

Faculty, staff, and student employees can update and view their personal and payroll information in a highly secure and real-time environment using our self-service web portal. Users will log-in using their Campus Wide Login (CWL) ID.

Within the portal, there are a number of features (see below). The tools and applications within this portal will help reduce the dependence on cumbersome, paper-based processes, improve efficiencies, and give faculty and staff direct control over their important, confidential, and personal information, including the ability to:

  • View and update personal information
  • View prior and current paycheque(s)
  • View benefit enrolments, beneficiaries, and dependents
  • View compensation history
  • View basic pension information and estimate your yearly pension contributions and retirement income
  • Access and complete confidential university-wide surveys
  • Register for select professional development courses.

Login to Self-Service at http://www.msp.ubc.ca.

To access Self-Service, you will need your campus-wide login (CWL).  If you have problems with your CWL, please contact the IT Help Desk. If you wish to access Self-Service from off-campus, you will need to access the site using the UBC VPN. For information on how to set up the VPN, visit the UBC IT website.

Personnel Absence Tracker (PAT)

Personnel Absence Tracker (PAT) is an online attendance management system that was developed by UBC IT Services.  It eliminates the need for paper forms while still ensuring that requests are entered and tracked timely and accurately.  The system is web-based and allows employees to enter their own leave requests directly into PAT electronically.  Supervisors receive email notifications of a pending requests needing their approval.  Employees will be able to track their own accruals themselves.

https://my.landfood.ubc.ca/forms/


Email, website, and other IT items

Email Setup

Most LFS employees are entitled to a ubc.ca email address, and 1GB of mailbox space. Features of UBC's Faculty and Staff email service (FASmail) can be found here: http://it.ubc.ca/projects/strategicprojects/ubc-email/projectdescription.html#features

New LFS employees should contact the Systems Administrator to set up a new mailbox: it@landfood.ubc.ca

Support documentation on using the FASmail service, including initial set-up, and how to access your UBC email on your laptop or mobile device can be found at http://it.ubc.ca/projects/strategicprojects/ubc-email/setupdocs.html

Connect Learning Management System

Blackboard Connect is a Learning Management System (LMS) used in over 1150 courses at UBC. In 2012, UBC's e-Learning team at the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTLT) began migrating courses from the existing LMS, WebCT Vista over to the new Blackboard Connect system. For more information on Connect visit http://elearning.ubc.ca/connect/

The LFS Learning Centre offers group training sessions for faculty and teaching assistants based on the four Connect quadrants.

Campus-Wide Login (CWL)

Campus-Wide Login (CWL) is designed to give you access to UBC's online applications with the same username and password. A CWL account currently provides you with access to the Student Information System, the Library or BlackBoard Connect, and more.

Standard Accounts

Standard accounts are for students, staff, faculty and others who have active employee or student ID numbers. Standard accounts grant access to free anti-virus, UBC Wireless and VPN.

Guest Accounts

CWL guest accounts are available for people who have a relationship with UBC, but do not have UBC-issued employee or student ID numbers, such as:

  • Visiting faculty
  • Some distance education instructors
  • Some consultants and contractors
  • UBC-located conference goers

Guest accounts grant access to UBC Wireless, VPN, and other online services (excluding online access to UBC Library journals and other subscriptions).

Basic Accounts

CWL basic accounts are for people who wish to use RISe or myCV and who are not eligible for a standard or guest account.

Basic accounts can't access UBC Wireless, VPN, and other online services.

Borrowing A/V or Multimedia equipment

Please take a moment to review the use policy regarding LFS multimedia equipment.

Multimedia and AV equipment for use in MacMillan is location in MCML 268 and can be booked online here.

Multimedia and AV equipment for use in FNH is located in FNH 230 and can be booked online here.

Setting up a research website/blog

Through the UBC Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTLT), faculty, staff, and students can create a personal or professional blog using the UBC Blogs service. UBC Blogs is built on the WordPress open-source blogging platform, and is easy to set up.

Some examples of LFS blogs:

UBC research groups and units wishing to set up a website incorporating the UBC Common Look and Feel (CLF), can also utilize the UBC Content Management System (CMS), which is also built on WordPress. These sites are reserved for official LFS affiliates (rather than for personal use).

Some examples of LFS Websites using the UBC CMS:

If you're interested in setting up a website or blog for your research group, please see our Web Communications Coordinator,<web-requests@landfood.ubc.ca> or our Computer Systems Manager, Edmund Seow <it@landfood.ubc.ca>.

Important Contacts

IT/Email Issues:

Multimedia (including software & equipment assistance):

Instructional Support (Connect/Vista):

Mandatory Training Modules

If you have already not done so, please complete the following online training courses and email a copy of your completion certificate to the following:

  • For students and staff, please send to the attention of Mona Lee (mona.lee@ubc.ca)
  • For faculty, lecturers, research associates, postdoctoral fellows and visitors, please send to the attention of Melanie Train (melanie.train@ubc.ca)
Working Together to Prevent Bullying and Harassment

At UBC, we strive to provide a safe, respectful and productive work environment for our faculty, staff and student employees. The Respect Environment Statement sets out the expectations of everyone who is a member of the UBC community in this regard.

Bullying or harassment are behaviours that prevent us from the kind of respectful and productive environment envisioned in the Respectful Environment Statement. Bullying or harassment are not acceptable and will not be tolerated at UBC.

New legislation requires all UBC Faculty & Staff (including students employed by the University) to receive training about the new workplace bullying and harassment policies and requirements on how to recognize, prevent, and address workplace bullying & harassment.

Please complete the online course here.

Privacy Matters @ UBC

The Privacy Matters @ UBC initiative aims to increase the awareness of privacy and information security at UBC. Higher education institutions are often the target of data breaches, which not only affect the individuals whose personal information is compromised, but also the organization experiencing the breach.

Nearly every UBC faculty and staff member has access to confidential information, including personal and financial information. As the disclosure or loss of this information could be very harmful, it's important for you to know how to protect it.

Please complete the online course here.

Workplace Violence Prevention Training

Certain jobs and work environments may present a risk of injury to employees arising from violence. Risk factors include activities where employees interact with members of the public, handle money in retail settings, work with pharmaceutical drugs or work after-hours.

Violence in the workplace is any incidents of violence including attempted or actual assaults, or any threatening statement or behaviour, towards an employee by any person other than a co-worker, which give the employee reasonable cause to believe that he or she is at risk of injury.

All workers must know how to respond in a potentially threatening or violent situation. The Workplace Violence Prevention Training covers general personal security information.

Please complete the online course here.

New Worker Safety Orientation

The New Worker Safety Orientation covers general safety information that all workers must be aware of before beginning to work at UBC. Once the general safety course is complete, workers must also receive a site specific safety orientation as each area will have their own safety procedures (i.e. meeting area during a building evacuation, etc…). The first part is online and covers the following general safety topics:

  • Policy #7: University Safety
  • Employer, Supervisor and Employee Responsibilities
  • Worker Rights
  • Hazard Reporting
  • Resolving unsafe work situations
  • Reporting Accidents/Incidents
  • First Aid
  • Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS)
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Prevention of Bullying & Harassment
  • Violence Prevention
  • Emergency Procedures

The site specific safety orientation is required to be completed with your supervisor.

Please complete the online course here.

Health and Safety

For life-threatening emergencies, fire, or major spills  call 9-1-1.

For Campus Security, dial 2-2222 from any UBC phone (604-822-2222 from an outside number).

If you or any of your staff work in a lab, please review the LFS Health & Safety guidelines, under the Operations page.

MacMillan Building

Hours: Monday - Friday 7am - 7pm; Saturday 10am - 6pm; Sunday 12pm - 6pm

The MacMillan Building is home to the following Faculty Units:

      • Dean's Office (Administration, Faculty Relations, Development, Communications, HR) - MCML 248
      • Finance - MCML 254
      • Student Services (Undergraduate, Graduate, International, Aboriginal, CBEL) - MCML 344
      • The Learning Centre (IT, Multimedia, Learning Management System) - MCML 264
      • MacMillan Learning Commons (Student study space) - MCML 360
      • Agora Cafe (Student-run cafe, LFSUS)  - MCML Lower Level
      • Conference Rooms: MCML 139 & MCML 350
      • LFS Faculty/Staff Lunch Room: MCML 370b
      • Booking classrooms and meeting rooms

Food, Nutrition and Health Building

Navigating UBC Campus