VOLUME 11 IssuE 6

Chief Forester to be
Stationed at UNBC

By KATHLEEN DE VERE
News EDITOR

The appointment of Jim
Snetsinger as British Columbia’s
new chief forester marks a first
not only for British Columbia and
Prince George, but for UNBC as
well.

By setting up his office in
Prince George, Snetsinger’s
appointment means that he is the
first chief forester to be based out-
side of Victoria, as well as the first
chief forester to have an office at
UNBC.

Snetsinger replaces outgoing
chief forester Larry Pedersen,
who stepped down from the
position after 10 years to become
the assistant deputy minister of
B.C. Timber Sales this September.

As chief forester, Snetsinger,
who took on the position on
November 8th, will be the senior
professional forestry executive of
the ministry, responsible for
developing plans and programs
to manage provincial forest and
range lands. Snetsinger will be
the executive in charge of British

Columbia’s Forest Science pro-
gram and will-be responsible for
determining timber harvest lev-
els for each timber supply area
and tree farm license in the
province. He will also oversee the
ongoing implementation of the
new Forest and Range Practices
Act and regulations.

“We're looking forward to
working with Jim,” said Max
Blouw, vice-president of research
at UNBC. “His presence on the
campus will strengthen the link-
ages, partnerships and collabora-
tion between the university and
the Forest Service in all areas of
forest management.”

By maintaining an office at
UNBC, Snetsinger will be serving
to strengthen and increase ties
between UNBC and the forest
industry, as well as highlighting
Prince George’s role as one of
British Columbia's forestry capi-
tals.

Snetsinger has a great deal of
experience in Northern British

CONTINUED IN NEWS, PAGE 2

James Moore:

Homegrown

By CAROLYNNE BURKHOLDER
EDITOR IN CHIEF

UNBC graduate James Moore
has proven once again that our
university has the ability to
influence the entire nation.

After graduating with his
Bachelor’s Degree in Political
Science in 2000, Moore was elect-
ed as the Conservative Member

“T decided | wanted
to stay in British
Columbia to attend
university, and
UNBC seemed. like
the best choice. My
sisters went to SFU
and | think I had a
much better univer-
sity experience.”
-lames Moore

of Parliament representing the
Port Moody-Coquitlam-Port
Coquitlam riding, which meant
that at age 24, Moore was the
youngest elected MP in the his-
tory of British Columbia.

Moore visited UNBC on
November 8th to speak to stu-
dents about his career in politics,
the Canadian political system,
and his experience as a member
of the Conservative Party of
Canada.

‘Moore’s

Politician

Although he is originally from
New Westminister, Moore chose
to attend UNBC because of the
many opportunities the universi-
ty had to offer.

“The University was incredi-
bly accommodating, they were
very flexible in transferring my
credits from Douglas College,”
he said. “I decided I wanted to
stay in British Columbia to
attend university, and UNBC
seemed like the best choice. My
sisters went to SFU and I think I
had a much better university
experience.”

UNBC obviously appreciates
contributions _to
Canadian politics as well, since
in 2002, the UNBC Alumni
Association selected Moore as
the Alumni of the Year. “I was
absolutely flattered,” said Moore
of his award. “I have the certifi-
cate on the wall in my office.”

Surprisingly, entering politics
was not Moore's main goal after
finishing his degree.

“I finished.my undergrad and
I applied to, grad school. I got
into the UNBC Masters pro-
gram,” he said. “I decided to run
[for office] and if I won then I
was on to anew adventure and if
I lost that was okay too.”

Currently, Moore is serving his
second term as an elected repre-
sentative of the Conservative
Party of Canada, and he believes

CONTINUED IN NEWS, PAGE 3

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YES, YOU CAN SAY FUCK IN A NEWSPAPER... SINCE 1994.

UNBC Ranks High in Surveys

On top of matching best ever result in Maclean's, UNBC
dominates in research as well

SNOTION

STUDIES

ee

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE WILSON

Hardworking UNBC Students Asuka Haga and Charlea Mitchell are one of the reasons that UNBC’s

national ranking continues to rise.

By KATHLEEN Dé VERE
News EpITOR

The old«chestnut that UNBC
stands for “University of No Better
Choice” has probably been buried
for good now that not one, but
two, national surveys have ranked
our school as one of the best in the
country.

First in the list of good news for
UNBC was the announcement that
the school had matched its ranking
from last year in the annual
Maclean's survey of Canadian uni-
versities.

“This is evidence
of UNBC’s success
in building a
research-intensive
small university
that is particularly
responsive to -
northern issues”
~-Max Blouw

UNBC was ranked seventh
overall in the Primarily
Undergraduate category, which
not only matches our best-ever
ranking, but also means _ that
UNBC is still the best small uni-
versity in all of Western Canada.

Secondly, in a survey conducted
by the Toronto-based company
Research Infosource Incorporated
for the daily newspaper the
National Post, UNBC was ranked
as one of Canada’s top research
universities.

UNBC placed very well in the
survey, not only against small uni-

versities close to our size, but
against much larger and older
schools as well.

In terms of research intensity
among all universities: in Canada,
UNBC is ranked 20th, higher than
Simon Fraser University, Carleton
University in Ottawa, and the
University of New Brunswick.
Among small universities, UNBC
is ranked second, nearly tied with
Ontario’s Trent University, which
scored only marginally higher.

“UNBC should stand for
University of Not a Bad Choice,”
joked Ken Janzen, a third year
Nursing Student here at UNBC,
when asked how he felt about his
school’s ever improving reputa-
tion.

“I’m very happy to hear about
these results,” said Kristen
McDonald, a political science stu-
dent who will be graduating this
year. “Getting my degree here is
like investing in a stock that’s
guaranteed to go up.”

There were several factors that
enabled UNBC to maintain its
Maclean’s ranking. The average
entering grade of students at
UNBC has continued to rise - this
year’s average grade of entering
from high school was 81.2 percent,
up from 80.3 percent last year.

Small class sizes were also an
important factor in UNBC’s high
ranking. The majority of first and
second year classes still have fewer
than 25 students, and this year
only 15 classes had more than 100
students.

The allocation of monies to
scholarships, bursaries and the
library has also continued to grow
at UNBC, with more than $1.7 mil-
lion given to needy students, as
well as $1.7 million dollars dedi-

cated to new library acquisitions.

In addition to its top-ten rank-
ing, UNBC also placed fifth in the
section of the Maclean’s national
reputational survey that asks high
school guidance counselors, uni-
versity officials, and industry lead-
ers to name the “leaders of tomor-
row.”

Despite coming quickly on the
heels of the Maclean’s announce-
ment, the news that UNBC is a top
ranked research school was also
well received. .

“This is evidence of UNBC’s
success in building a research-
intensive small university that -is
particularly responsive to northern
issues,” said Max Blouw, Vice-
President Research. “Although
UNBC is only a decade old, our
research activity is greater on a per

“UNBC should
stand for
University ot Not
a Bad Choice”

- Kei fatuzen

capita basis than many larger and
older universities. It illustrates the
quality of our faculty and stu-
dents.”

The Research Infosource survey
measured research income from
federal granting councils, the per-
centage of faculty and graduate

student involvement in research,

and the success of researchers in
having their findings published.
This year, McMaster University
was ranked number one among all
universities.

&