History
The Institute's programs began in 1994, thanks to a CAD$15 million donation of Wall Financial Corporation shares three years earlier from the Vancouver property developer, Peter Wall; at the time, this was the largest private donation the University had ever received. As of March 2007, the market value of the shares stood at CAD$48 million. Also in 1994, the University dedicated a CAD$10 million Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies Endowment Fund to the Institute.
The intent was to create an institute of advanced study modelled largely on the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Then UBC President, David Strangway, was quoted as saying "This remarkable contribution will allow us to create an institute that will help UBC and the province of British Columbia move to a new level of international significance".
The Institute began "active operations" in 1994 with the appointment of UBC Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Michael Smith (1932–2000) as Peter Wall Distinguished Professor and acquired its own facilities, at the University Centre, in 1999. The Institute's first full-time director was Kenneth MacCrimmon from 1996 to 2002; its current director is Dr. Janis Sarra, a Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia and founding Director of the National Centre for Business Law.
Read more about this topic: Peter Wall Institute For Advanced Studies
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