UBC Dean’s Advisory Committee

The UBC Dean’s Advisory Council on Rural and Remote Health exists to strengthen the university’s social accountability to the people of rural British Columbia. Guided by principles of equity, generalism, and reconciliation, the DAC facilitates collaboration across the Faculty of Medicine and pentagram Partnership + health system partners to advance rural-responsive education, service, and research. Our shared vision is a province where healthcare learners are trained in rural, for rural, and where rural communities are recognized as full partners in shaping the future of health and medical education.

To provide strategic, rural-place-based advice to the UBC Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President Health that promotes:

• Community-engaged medical education and training pathways that prioritize rural and Indigenous contexts; 

• Sustainable team-based care models, supported by adequate housing, transport, and digital infrastructure; 

• Equitable integration of cultural safety, administrative innovation (e.g., AI-enabled tools), and distributed leadership in healthcare; 

• Systems change that uplifts rural generalism and fosters workforce retention in underserved areas. 

As we look to the coming year, the DAC will deepen its role as a think-and-do tank for rural transformation. With renewed leadership under Dr. Anthon Meyer and Dean Jones as co-chairs, the Council will focus on high-impact priorities identified by our membership: supporting transport and retrieval infrastructure, advancing hybrid and virtual models of care, strengthening rural learner and health team accommodations, and shaping admissions processes that value community origin and intent to serve. We will also re-energize the conversation around generalism as a core philosophy of care and education, and promote UBC’s opportunity to lead globally in rural health innovation and scholarship. 

We extend sincere appreciation to outgoing co-leads Dr. Mike Allard and Dr. Alan Ruddiman for their vision, stewardship, and longstanding commitment to this work. Their leadership has laid the foundation for the DAC to continue influencing systems toward a more just and responsive health future for rural BC.