University of Northern British Columbia

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University of Northern British Columbia

Motto 'En Cha HunĂ¡ ("He/she also lives." in Carrier)
Established 1994
Type Public University
Chancellor Alex Michalos
President Don Cozzetto
Provost Howard Brunt
Students 3675
Location Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
Address 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9
Telephone 250.960.5555
Mascot Timberwolves
Website UNBC main page

The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is a small, research-intensive university whose main campus is in Prince George, British Columbia. UNBC also has regional campuses in the northern British Columbia cities of Prince Rupert, Terrace, Quesnel, and Fort St. John. Nearly 4200 students were enrolled at UNBC in the 2005-2006 academic year.

UNBC's Geoffrey R. Weller Library
UNBC's Geoffrey R. Weller Library

The British Columbia legislature established the university on 21 June 1990 with the UNBC Act in response to a grass roots movement spearheaded by the Interior University Society. UNBC offered a limited number of courses in rented office space in 1992 and 1993 but opened officially, for full operation, in 1994 with the completion of the main Prince George campus after two years of construction. It is located on Cranbrook Hill, overlooking the city from the west. It is architecturally interesting for having apparently separate buildings linked by a hub that is partly beneath ground level, the Agora building. [View more photos of the campus.]http://www.unbc.ca/photos

UNBC's buildings are designed to represent the northern landscape. The 'Wintergarden' area has a flowing blue staircase below a ceiling of wooden lattices, representing the west coast rainforests. The cafeteria has a lighthouse design representative of the North's rugged coastline. There are also other structures, such as triangular glass peaks, which represent mountains and act as sky-lights for the UNBC Bookstore.

UNBC's motto 'En cha hunĂ¡ literally means "He/she also lives." in the Nak'azdli (Fort St. James) dialect of Carrier. It is said to be a saying meaning "other people have their point of view" or "respect everyone's point of view".

Because of its northern latitude, UNBC is a member of the University of the Arctic.


UNBC's students' union is the Northern Undergraduate Student Society.


[edit] Student media

  • Over The Edge, a weekly student newspaper. Established in 1994.
  • CFUR, the campus radio station.
  • Watt, a music and entertainment magazine produced by CFUR.

[edit] Notable Alumni

  • Ranjit Bul, Vice-Mayor of Surrey, British Columbia.
  • Baljinder Bumra, TD Canadatrust
  • Gary & Juggie Dhaliwal, Brothers & Okanagan apple orchard moguls.

[edit] External links


Neyoh, one of UNBC's two residences
Neyoh, one of UNBC's two residences


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