Green College regularly hosts extended residencies for Canadian, Indigenous and international activists, architects, artists, composers, journalists, scholars, writers and others. Invitations to all Green College Invited Residencies are subject to a formal application process, and are initiated by a nomination by a UBC faculty member.
For more information, please contact gc.programs@ubc.ca.
Current Residencies
Writer in Residence at Green College: Jaspreet Singh
Jaspreet Singh is the author of acclaimed poetry collections, non-fiction, novels, short stories, and a memoir. More and more his work engages with deep time and the ecological crisis.
He began writing short pieces in the late 1990s and eventually chose to be a full-time writer rather than pursue a career as a research scientist. Since that time, he has published eight books—non-fiction, fiction, poetry. Increasingly these days his creative writing work engages with the new epoch, the Anthropocene. The concept of the Anthropocene (even when described informally) challenges the strange modern separation between “nature” and “humanity,” destabilizes our human-centric maps and our sense of time, and creates new forms of affect and thought; it calls for an integration of diverse disciplines to address the climate crisis and interspecies relationships, and to further the project of decolonization. All his books published after 2019—non-fiction and fiction—are an earnest attempt in this direction.
Helium (2013) and Chef (2008)—his earlier novels—were published internationally by Bloomsbury and received both popular and critical acclaim. Chef explored the damaged landscapes of Kashmir. It was a finalist for a Commonwealth Writers’ prize and won the Georges Bugnet Award. Helium investigated genocidal violence and was a 2013 Observer Best Book of the Year in the UK. The Globe and Mail called it a “tour de force” and the Financial Times described it as a “powerful meditation on historical forgetting.” My Mother, My Translator—his 2021 memoir—has been called an “indispensable, inimitable” book “that reshapes memoir.” It was a finalist for the Betsy Warland Between Genres Award, and the recipient of the 2022 City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize. His newest collection of poems “Dreams of the Epoch & the Rock” was published in Canada in November 2024.
Jaspreet will be in residence at Green College for four months beginning in January 2025.
Upcoming Residencies
John Grace Memorial Composer in Residence: Rea Beaumont
Dr. Rea Beaumont is an internationally recognized concert pianist and composer. Beaumont is known for her powerful performances, critically acclaimed albums and finely crafted compositions that frequently highlight important global issues including climate change.
She is the recipient of the prestigious SOCAN Foundation / MusCan Award of Excellence for the Advancement of Research in Canadian Music. Rea Beaumont studied at the University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, Royal Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and The Banff Centre. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto.
Rea will be in residence at Green College in April, 2025.
Learn more about Rea Beaumont and her work on her website.
Current Residency Programs
Visiting Scientist from France at Green College
The French Scientist in Residence at Green College, UBC, Vancouver is a scientific residency program launched in partnership with the Cultural and Scientific Office of the French Embassy in Canada for researchers based in France. The aim of this program is to facilitate and strengthen collaboration with academic researchers at UBC in scientific fields that are priorities for France and Canada, as defined at the first Joint Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation between France and Canada in 2023.
This program is open to researchers working in the following areas:
Emerging Technologies: AI, quantum, societal impact, etc.
Health: One health, public health policy, genomics, etc.
Ocean and Polar Sciences: Oceanography, biodiversity, marine ecology, etc.
Energy: Renewable energy, net zero transition, sustainability, etc.
The next call for applications is expected to be issued in December 2025 (for the 2026-27 academic year).
Past Scientists in Residence:
| Year | Visitor |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Roenick Olmo, VisitingScientist from France at Green College |
John Grace Memorial Visitors in Residence
Thanks to a generous gift from Dr. Patricia Merivale, UBC Professor Emerita, this residency was established in 2021, in memory of John Grace (1943-2021), who as Dean of Graduate Studies oversaw the foundation of Green College. The residency allows the College to support visiting scholars, writers, artists, musicians, journalists, social activists and other kinds of practitioners who take up residence at the College, sharing fully in the intellectual and social life of the community.
Past Visitors in Residence:
Meredith and Peter Quartermain Poet in Residence
With thanks to Meredith and Peter Quartermain, UBC alumna and UBC Professor Emeritus respectively, their generous gift created an endowment in 2021 to support writers with an interest in poetry. Preference is given to writers from underrepresented communities with a diverse background, such as, but not limited to, persons who identify as women, people of colour, Indigenous or 2SLGBTQIA+.
Past Poets in Residence:
| Year | Poet |
|---|---|
| 2021-2022 | Margaret Christakos, Meredith and Peter Quartermain Poet in Residence at Green College |
Patricia Merivale Visitors in Residence
A generous gift from Dr. Patricia Merivale, UBC Professor Emerita, established the Merivale Visitors in Residence Program endowment in 2024 to support visiting scholars to take up residence at Green College. Visiting scholars will engage with graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, UBC faculty and the broader community, fostering collaboration and the exchange of ideas on interdisciplinary topics. Please visit this page to learn more about this gift.
Writers in Residence
The role of Writer in Residence at Green College was inaugurated in 1999 by Lynn Coady. Since its inception, the College has hosted several talented writers for a one term stay.
Past Writers in Residence:
| Year | Writer |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Colleen Murphy |
| 2021-2022 | Margaret Christakos |
| 2019 | Daniel Canty |
| 2018 | Alison Wearing |
| 2017 | Anne Simpson |
| 2015 | Erin Moure |
| 2012 | Shyam Selvadurai |
| 2011 | Don Hannah |
| 2009 | Oana Avasilichioaei |
| 2008 | Patricia Robertson |
| 2007 | Andrea Spalding |
| 2006 | Merilyn Simonds |
| 2005 | Gary Geddes |
| 2004-2005 | Kevin Kerr |
| 2003 | Nalo Hopkinson |
| 2002-2003 | Karen Connelly |
| 2001 | Wade Compton |
| 2000 | Roo Borson |
| 1999-2000 | Lynn Coady |
Yosef Wosk Visitors in Residence
Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Yosef Wosk, OC, OBC and UBC alumnus, Green College launched the Yosef Wosk Visitors in Residence Program in 2022 to support Indigenous academic visitors in residence. Yosef Wosk Visitors in Residence live at Green College and engage with the resident and university communities to foster the exchange of ideas and new ways of thinking and working.
| Year | Visitor |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Lisa Riehana, Yosef Wosk Artist in Residence at Green College |
| 2022-2024 | Andrea Reid, Yosef Wosk Indigenous Fisheries Scientist in Residence at Green College |
Past Residency Programs
The Supreme Court Justice in Residence
The Supreme Court Justice in Residence program was inaugurated in the 2000-2001 academic year. Under this program, a Supreme Court Justice would visit the College for one week, offering talks and participating in College events and activities.
The Liu Institute Visiting Fellow in Residence at Green College
From 2010 to 2015, the Liu Institute for Global Issues and Green College hosted an influential scholar, activist, artist, leader or practitioner to participate in the intellectual and social life of the College with a focus on facilitating problem-based interdisciplinary research on global issues.
Past Liu Institute Visiting Fellows in Residence include:
| 2014-2015 | John Krige, Kranzberg Professor of History, Technology and Society, Georgia Institute of Technology |
| 2013-2014 | Chris Dolan, Director of the Refugee Law Project, Makerere University |
| 2012-2013 | Mojtaba Mahdavi, Political Science and Middle East Studies, University of Alberta |
| 2011-2012 | May Haddad, Social Activist and Physician |
| 2010-2011 | Wynet Smith, Coordinator and Natural Resources Expert, United Nations Security Council of Experts on Liberia (S/RES/1903 [2009]) |