History of the UBC Medical Student & Alumni Centre (MSAC)

40 Years of MSAC at a Glance

David Hardwick, William Webber, Richard Beauchamp and Curt Latham in 1988.

1983 – Dr. David F. Hardwick, MD’57, LLD’01 and a group of keen students first proposed the idea of a student and alumni centre.

1984 – The UBC Medical Alumni Association (MAA) was established. Its first project was the construction of MSAC.

1985 – A site at the northeast corner of 12th Avenue and Heather Street was leased from Vancouver General Hospital. Fundraising began. By the end of the year, the MAA had raised $48,000 for the centre.

1988 – Three phone-a-thons organized by the UBC MAA raised most of the funds needed to begin construction. More than 60 volunteers phoned alumni all over BC. It was the most successful phone-a-thon in UBC’s history with $160,000 in total pledges.

 

MSAC on opening day, March 17, 1990.

1989 – A groundbreaking ceremony marked the official beginning of construction.

1990 – MSAC’s grand opening included a ribbon cutting ceremony led by Dean Martin Hollenberg. Students conducted a ‘reverse trek’ from UBC to the MSAC site.  The fundraising goal of $960,000 was reached in March.

1995 – The unveiling of a donor cairn in the courtyard of MSAC recognized the support of hundreds of donors.

1996 – Opening ceremonies were held for Phase II of MSAC.  More than $1,250,000 had been raised to date.

2004 – MSAC  expanded with the addition of a locker room and the Heritage Time Capsule wall.  Each class of medical graduates now has its own time capsule drawer for special memorabilia relating to that class.

2005 – Videoconferencing equipment connects MSAC’s many student activities to UBC Medicine’s distributed sites in Prince George and Victoria.

2007 – MSAC officially became the William A. Webber Medical Student & Alumni Centre

2014 – The construction of an MSAC space for the Island Medical Program began in late 2014 at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria.

2015 – MSAC celebrates its 25-year anniversary! The construction of MSAC Victoria was completed.

2017 – MSAC NMP opens in the University Hospital of Northern BC in Prince George.


UBC Medical Student & Alumni Centre
2750 Heather Street
Vancouver, BC Canada
V5Z 4M2

Phone: 604-875-5522
Fax: 604-875-5528
E-mail: msac.centre@ubc.ca