2011 Annual Report
2011 Annual Report
Message from the Chair
Hugh Gordon, FCA, LL.D
In 2011, the Irving K. Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society awarded $1,000,500 to 343 students to assist them in their studies at 25 universities, colleges and institutions across the province. Of the awards, 94 were Transfer Scholarships, 110 were Aboriginal Student Awards, and 139 were International Scholarships - including eight Premier’s Scholarships granted to students with exceptional academic and community service records.
During the year the Society received a $2 million grant from the Ministry of Advanced Education to create an Aboriginal Teacher Education Award. Annual awards of $5,000 will fund Aboriginal students enrolled in education programs at B.C. universities. The Society looks forward to issuing its first Aboriginal Teacher Education Awards in the fall of 2012.
During 2011, the Society implemented a number of changes to administrative protocols for the Transfer and International Scholarship programs. These changes will streamline the administration and ensure application and adjudication procedures remain practical and responsive to the needs of students.
The Society thanks the post-secondary institutions that continue to assist in the delivery of its programs and the staff of the Victoria Foundation who manage and administer them. As Chair, I am particularly grateful for the many contributions of the Society’s board members and for the extensive expertise and wisdom they bring to its governance.
In June 2011, one of the Society’s founding members, Dr. Irving K. Barber, retired from the Board of Directors and became Director Emeritus. Ike spearheaded the drive to create the Society in 2004 and provided ongoing guidance through six years of service on the Board.
The Society was greatly saddened by Ike’s passing on April 13, 2012. He was a devoted champion of post-secondary education in British Columbia, contributing through both the dedication of his time and his philanthropy.