First Of Its Kind $100,000 Endowment For Indigenous Students Pursuing Graduate Studies In Forestry

Nov 7, 2018 - 6 years ago

TimberWest and the Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia (UBC) announced a first-of-its-kind $100,000 endowment program for Indigenous students pursuing a graduate degree in forestry.

The endowment established by TimberWest, along with matching funds from the Faculty of Forestry, will award scholarships of $4,000 per year to First Nations, Inuit, or Métis graduate students studying forest resource management or forest sciences who have a demonstrated interest in pursuing their career in British Columbia.

“The Faculty is pleased to be able to match TimberWest’s generous gift,”said Dr. John Innes, Dean, Faculty of Forestry. “Student awards are vital in helping us attract, retain and grow the number of Indigenous students in the Faculty by both recognizing excellence and helping reduce the financial burden of higher education through increasing accessibility.”

“We want to help ensure that financial barriers do not prevent the many talented and motivated Indigenous students from pursuing a graduate degree in forest sciences,”said Jeff Zweig, President and CEO of TimberWest. “UBC is home to Canada’s leading forestry programs, and the Faculty has done a superb job over the past decade to increase Indigenous student participation. We support UBC in its objective to engage and inspire Indigenous students to become the next generation leaders in forestry stewardship.”

The TimberWest Forestry Award for Indigenous Students will be awarded by the UBC Faculty of Forestry on an annual basis.

The UBC Faculty of Forestry has already secured additional benefits as a result of this newly launched endowment. The endowment provided UBC eligibility to receive an additional three provincial scholarships through the BC Government Scholarship program, each valued at $15,000 and made available to graduate level students.