April 8 is UBC’s sixth annual Giving Day, a 24-hour university-wide fundraising event aimed at building collective momentum to fuel innovation, discovery and change on campus and beyond.
Ahead of Giving Day, we spoke with Dr. Barbara Arneil, professor and former head of the Department of Political Science, about the importance of getting involved.
Why have you participated in fundraising efforts for Giving Day?
I can’t imagine a time when politics has been more important than today. Now more than ever, we need young folks with a solid education in domestic and international politics who can help people understand what is going on in the world. Our fundraising efforts are an important part of this, especially as universities across Canada face a challenging financial reality. The Department of Political Science wants to continue providing students with the valuable learning experiences they have previously had access to.
Efforts like Giving Day enable students to take part in various learning opportunities in politics that enrich their understanding of the political world. During last year’s Giving Day event, I offered a $1,000 challenge gift to provide an incentive to others to contribute, including fellow faculty and alumni. I’m so proud of the way they stepped up and made an important difference.
How does Giving Day impact students?
If you choose to support the Political Science Student Learning Fund, your donation goes directly toward enriching student learning in politics—not only in the classroom but on the ground as well.
This fund is a transformative opportunity for students to take part in international research trips or conferences, as well as internships in the community. They meet political leaders, conduct interviews in the field and present their work at conferences. The insights and skills they gain help graduate students transition from their research to the workforce, and help undergraduates deepen their understanding of the politics of civil society. These experiential learning opportunities ultimately allow our students to become engaged, equity-driven policymakers of tomorrow, ready to create meaningful change.
Why should faculty and staff consider getting involved in Giving Day this year, whether through fundraising, donating or volunteering?
As faculty, we give a lot through our teaching and research, but we also receive a lot in return. I encourage my fellow faculty and emeriti to contribute back to UBC, this home and ecosystem that makes our lives meaningful through the work that we do.
Staff are also a key part of the political science community, and their contributions to Giving Day can have tremendous impact.
I also invite alumni to consider showing their support. Alumni are very important to us, and we deeply appreciate it when they draw on their experiences to provide mentorship, ideas and knowledge about the labour market to our current students. If any alumni want to give back, helping to provide enriched learning experiences through a Giving Day donation is a great way to do it.
Working together to support students, we can all contribute to thriving societies.
The far-reaching impact of giving
Dr. Allen G. Sens, Professor of Teaching, has seen the positive results of the Political Science Student Learning Fund in action.
“The Political Science Student Learning Fund supports so many rich educational experiences for our students, from attending international events to engaging with the local community to creating their own learning projects! It delivers the best learning bang for the buck in our department!”
Daniel Rojas spoke of the value of being able to conduct fieldwork in Colombia as a PhD candidate thanks to the fund.
“Fieldwork allowed me to collect original data, conduct interviews, and attend workshops and conferences with scholars from the region. Without it, my understanding of the consequences of inequality in Latin America would be limited, as would my contribution to the field.”
As an undergraduate, Kiana Nouri gained valuable experience attending the Scholars at Risk Student Advocacy Days in Washington, DC, in March 2024.
“This experience helped me become more confident in my advocacy skills and showed me how impactful team collaboration can be. The support from the fund allowed me and my peers to focus on effectively advocating for the scholars' cases.”
