March 4, 2008
Ottawa - On March 7th, Canada Post will celebrate the centenary of the University of British Columbia (UBC) with a domestic rate (52-cent) stamp. An Act to Establish and Incorporate a University for the Province of British Columbia was passed 100 years ago on this very same day. Point Grey, a 175-acre site on a peninsula on Vancouver's West Side was selected to be its eventual campus.
Construction for UBC was halted when World War I broke out and financial resources were diverted to the war effort. In September 1915, UBC opened at the Fairview Campus adjacent to the current Vancouver General Hospital. As part of the school's epic Great Trek of 1922, students collected 56,000 signatures for their "Build the University" campaign. Their efforts paid off; sufficient funds were amassed to finish the science building, the library, and six other buildings for agriculture, applied science, the arts department, the auditorium, and administrative offices.
Although more work lay ahead, UBC opened its doors on September 22, 1925, and welcomed some 1,400 students to its inaugural lectures. UBC has moved forward in strides since its early days in the "Fairview Shacks." Its two campuses in Vancouver (Point Grey and Robson Square) are home to over 36,079 undergraduate and 8,641 graduate students, and its Kelowna campus, which opened its doors in September 2005, hosts and additional 4,900 students. Moreover, with students invested in everything from policies and procedures to politics, they stand proud behind UBC's motto Tuum est (Latin for "It is Yours").
The modern new stamp design celebrates this significant date in style and features the University's Walter C. Koerner Library building, an impressive and prominent structure located in the centre of the campus. Canada Post entrusted the stamp's design to Susan Mavor of Vancouver's Metaform Communication Design. The stamp features the school's signature colours of blue and golden yellow. Mavor says "I believe we successfully attained our goal which was to convey a strong feeling of energy and dynamism."
The 52-cent stamp measures 30.75 mm x 23.25 mm (horizontal) with simulated perforation. Lowe-Martin printed 1.5 million stamps which will be sold in booklets of eight stamps. The self-adhesive stamp will be printed using lithography in eight colours on Tullis Russell paper. They are general tagged on all sides. The Official First Day Cover will read: VANCOUVER BC. Special gutter strips of eight-stamps featuring UBC and University of Alberta, both celebrating their centenary, will also be available.
More information on this new commemorative stamp is available in the Newsroom section of the Canada Post Web site; and a photo of the stamp can be found in the Photo Centre of the Newsroom. The stamp and Official First Day Cover will be available at participating post offices, online following the links on the Canada Post Web site (www.canadapost.ca) or by mail from the National Philatelic Centre. From Canada or the United States, call toll-free 1 800 565-4362; from other countries call 902-863-6550. You may also visit UBC's centenary website at www.100.ubc.ca for more information.
