Serving Students and the Community as Dean
When Dr. Rickey Yada started as Dean of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems back in 2014, he was asked by Dr. David Farrar, then UBC Provost and Vice-President, Academic, how he planned to build capacity.
“I said that I would focus on getting to know the people we serve—students, staff, faculty, alumni, partners, etc.—and being a good listener,” he says, recounting advice he received from other agricultural school deans.
“I spent a lot of time meeting people, even before I officially started, to try and understand the interests and needs of those we serve.”
Now, with his two terms as Dean coming to a close on Sept. 30, 2024, the Faculty’s capacity has grown in several ways. The number of undergraduate students has increased from 1,477 in 2014 to 1,759 in 2023. Similarly, the Faculty’s stronger focus on research and on developing professional programs has led to a 71% jump in graduate students in the same time frame.
He is a triple alum of UBC’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems (BSc in Agriculture, MSc, PhD). Known as someone who places a high priority on supporting students, Dr. Yada is well-recognized when he walks the hallways, having served as a mentor, a judge in case competitions, and a cheerful volunteer, even if it involves sitting in a dunk tank.
“I think it means a lot to the students when faculty get involved, because then they realize, ‘wow they’re interested and they care.’ When I was a student, I don’t know if I knew who the Dean was or what the Dean did. I’ve always been student facing, which is why I started the Dean for a Day contest. It gave students a chance to shadow me and get a glimpse of how UBC runs from behind the scenes.”
Before joining UBC, Dr. Yada worked at the University of Guelph and served in many leadership roles, including Department Chair, and Assistant Vice-President of Research. Also, from 2003-2011, he was the Scientific Director, Advanced Foods and Materials Network, a Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) that brought together 26 institutions and more than 200 graduate students.
From NCE, he saw the value of multi-disciplinary collaboration across the tri-council mandates (from life science/engineering
to health sciences to social science and humanities). This seeded a desire to foster collaboration across Faculties, and to
hire faculty members who are cross-appointed with other units at UBC—such as engineering, science, forestry, business, and
arts—to benefit research and teaching.
“To me, where faculty members live administratively isn’t important. It’s what they do when we establish partnerships/
collaborations that’s important, and I think they help identify opportunities that may not have been apparent when they are
embedded in a single Faculty.” He believes the role of a Dean is to identify opportunities and facilitate success.
Dr. Yada launched two five-year strategic plans, one early in his tenure and then an updated one in 2021. The latest plan came out in a more complex time—during the pandemic, with climate changes impacting us in B.C., and with the acknowledgement that the university needed to enhance efforts to advance equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigeneity (EDI.I).
These factors helped to shape the most recent strategic plan which entwines the UN Sustainable Development Goals within the Faculty’s core areas of strengths. “I think LFS had a lot of good people within the Faculty. I wasn’t sure there was focus for the Faculty. The breadth of expertise that we have is quite large but I thought it was quite important that everyone shoot for the North Star.”
In addition, to align the Faculty with UBC’s EDI.I initiatives, he created two new roles: Associate Dean of Equity, Decolonization, and Inclusion (Dr. William Valley); and, Senior Manager, Indigeneity (Dana-Lyn Mackenzie).
Research is another area that has seen an increase in capacity during Dr. Yada’s tenure, with the average annual research
funding per faculty member rising from $198,000 in 2016 to approximately $354,000 in 2023.
“That was a combination of a number of things. We hired really well when it came to young faculty members and they’ve done a superb job. Also, Nick Grant (Research Facilitator), Baohua Wang (Research Assistant), and David Kitts (Associate Dean, Research) have been game changers. Their whole attention is making sure that the quality of the applications is the best
it can be.”
He is proud of how land and food systems has been a leader in experiential learning, enabling students to develop complex problem-solving skills through working with community partners. These could be local partners through the LFS core series of courses (Land, Food and Community), or partners further afield through programs such as Global Resource Systems.
Students can also dig-in and learn first-hand about food production and regenerative agriculture at the Faculty’s 24-hectare UBC Farm site or at the Dairy Education and Research Centre in Agassiz, B.C.
The Faculty is in the midst of three capital projects that have resulted from Dr. Yada connecting with industry, and balancing both community and economic needs. The first is the Food and Beverage Innovation Centre (FBIC) at UBC, which will support B.C.’s food and beverage entrepreneurs through new product research and development, testing, and industry training.
“The FBIC was a project we talked about back when I was a student, so I’m excited to see that it is near completion.”
The second is a new building at UBC Farm, a jewel at UBC but one of the campus’ best-kept secrets. The building is moving into design phase and once completed, it will support, teaching, research and community outreach. Finally, the renovation and installation of robotic milkers at the Dairy Education and Research Centre (DERC) in Agassiz, B.C., recently completed, further enhancing DERC as a world-class research site.
Never one to sit still, Dr. Yada will turn his experience to the University of Alberta where he will become Dean, Faculty of
Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences starting Oct. 1. The question asked most often is whether he can wear shorts
in Edmonton? He seems to think so.
“I say ‘yes’ because I’m going to be indoors 98% of the time. I understand there are tunnels or walkways between the buildings and I won’t have to be exposed to the weather, so I don’t see why I can’t. But ask me after a year of being there,” he quips.
Dr. Yada’s advice for students:
“This is an opportunity to build your network.
Some of my best friends I met during my time here
as an undergraduate or graduate student. Some of
these friends have identified opportunities. Some of these
people you meet may be your employer – even if they aren’t classmates, they’re alumni, etc.”
“If you see an opportunity, I think you need to take it.
Not foolishly – but if you don’t, then you’re in that
no-persons’ land of should have, could have, would have.
For me personally, that’s not a good feeling because it’s an
opportunity lost.”
