The University of the Fraser Valley is gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary on April 4 at 2 p.m., and students are welcome to participate in the opening ceremony to commemorate the school’s founding.
The Cascade spoke with Laura Authier, the associate vice-president, community engagement, about this momentous occasion. According to Authier, April 4 “will start a year’s worth of programming and commemoration that carries through to the following April in 2025 … April 4 is really the starting gun for how we celebrate the year.”
“We’re ending the year with our first alumni weekend and also the debut of what will be the yearly celebration called UFV day, and the format that that will take is a cross-campus community open house,” said Authier.
“We think it’s really special to call back alumni from the last 50 years to revisit both UFV and the Fraser Valley if they’ve moved away, and come and celebrate,” said Authier, who hopes that students will “see themselves as part of a continuum.”
“One of the stories that I really love to tell,” said Authier, “…is how UFV came to be founded… The government announced on April 4, 1974 that they were willing to go forward and create a college in the Fraser Valley. There was a committee that had been involved in looking at things like visibility, how we were going to do it, if we were going to do it, and so that committee ended up being the point-people to actually start the college… That committee then looked at each other and said ‘Okay, it is now April 4. September is coming up in five months. Can we do it?’ Everything that we take for granted today — system of registration; classrooms; a curriculum; what courses they were going to offer and how were they going to teach them; hiring faculty; hiring staff — all of that had to be created. And they said to each other ‘It’s so important. We’ve waited for this for such a long time. We’re going to do it so that we’re open in September.’ So they did all of that in five months.”
Authier said the community had been vocal about higher education options in the Fraser Valley for years, and when the chance presented itself, the committee wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip away.
“I find that story really inspiring. That’s why April 4 is significant. It was kind of the starting gun for that group of people to start building a college from scratch and so of course, we’re kind of revisiting those moments and those milestones as we celebrate 50 years.”
I love the fact that UFV is young,” said Authier. “UFV is small enough, but not too small, and I think we’re not beholden to the traditions that older, bigger post-secondary institutions are beholden to. I think we have a lot of freedom to write our own future.”
“I definitely encourage — as we wrap up the 50th anniversary year — to be looking ahead to 100 years, because that will be the next milestone for us… I think we have the potential to redefine what a post-secondary education can look like.”
Authier also wants to ensure students are aware of the UFV 50 Program Fund. The fund welcomes current students, staff, and faculty to share their ideas about what projects and programs they would like to see in the 50th year. The first round of applications in February has passed, but applicants are welcome to apply between June 3-30, 2024 for the second round.
Veronica is a Staff Writer at The Cascade. She loves to travel and explore new places, no matter how big or small. She is in her second year at UFV, pursuing the study of Creative
Writing.