Martha C. Piper is a Canadian academic and administrator who was the president and vice-chancellor of the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

(UBC) from 1997 until 2006. She was the 11th person and the first woman to serve as president of UBC. Having been born in

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of ...

, she is also the first person born outside Canada to have held the position. She is a Canadian citizen and was made an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

in 2002. Her contract with UBC stipulated a salary of $350,000 plus incentive payments of up to $50,000 per year upon meeting the performance goals set by the Board of Governors.

Stephen Toope Stephen John Toope (born February 14, 1958) is a Canadian legal scholar, academic administrator and a scholar specializing in human rights, public international law and international relations. In April 2013 he announced he was stepping down as ...

replaced Piper as president of UBC on July 1, 2006. In August 2015, UBC announced that Piper had been appointed as interim president, to serve from September 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, while "the university conducts a comprehensive, global search for a new leader" following the sudden resignation of Toope's successor

Arvind Gupta Arvind Gupta is an Indian toy inventor, author, translator and scientist. He got the civilian award "Padma Shree" on the eve of Republic Day, 2018. Career A graduate from IIT Kanpur (1975 batch), Arvind Kumar Gupta took a year's study leave ...

Santa J. Ono Santa Jeremy Ono ( ja, 小野三太; born November 23, 1962) is a Canadian-American immunologist and academic administrator, currently serving as the 15th president of the University of Michigan since October 2022. Ono previously served as th ...

was later selected to serve as UBC's fifteenth president and vice-chancellor. Piper currently sits on numerous boards in Canada, including for the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in nine provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist Murray Koffler in 196 ...

and the

Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education is an international charitable organization and education center located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 2005, the center describes its mission as "educate the hearts of childre ...

Education and career

Piper holds a BSc in physical therapy from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1967), an MA in child development from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

(1970) and a PhD in epidemiology and biostatistics from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

(1979). After completing her PhD, Piper was the director of McGill's School of Physical and Occupational Therapy until 1985, when she became the dean of the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...

's Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. In 1993, she was made the University of Alberta's vice-president of Research, and also External Affairs starting in 1995. Upon becoming president of the

(UBC) in 1997, Piper inherited a strong record of external fundraising and research development from her predecessor,

David Strangway David William Strangway, (June 7, 1934 – December 13, 2016) was a Canadian geophysicist and university administrator. Strangway was the founder, first President and first Chancellor of Quest University Canada, a private non-profit liberal ar ...

. She was able to capitalize on significant federal government reinvestment in research and innovation, effectively using UBC's position as the largest university in Western Canada to attract large amounts of government and private-sector funding. While building this research legacy, she also left a legacy of debt for her successor,

Trilateral Commission

The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...

'' reported on August 24, 2006, that Piper has become a member of the

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David R ...

, an organization of influential private citizens founded in 1973 at the initiative of banker

David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...

Academic honours and awards

*BSc degree with academic distinction *MA *PhD *DSc (Honorary), May 1998, McGill University *LLD (Honorary), May 1999,

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

*LLD (Honorary), November 2001,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

*DSc (Honorary), October 2002,

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames Ri ...

*LLD (Honorary), December 2003, the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

*LLD (Honorary), October 2005, the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

*LLD (Honorary), June 2006,

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

*LLD (Honorary), October 2008,

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

*LLD (Honorary), 2006,

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Fra ...

*LLD (Honorary), 2006

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being inst ...

*Doctorat (Honorary), 2006

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

*DSc (Honorary), 2006

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical ...

*LLD (Honorary), 2007

University of Northern British Columbia The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is a small, research-intensive public university in British Columbia, Canada. The main campus is located in Prince George, with additional campuses located in Prince Rupert, Terrace, Quesnel, an ...

*LLD (Honorary), 2007

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public univers ...

*Honorary Fellow of

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piper, Martha Presidents of the University of British Columbia Members of the Order of British Columbia Officers of the Order of Canada McGill University Faculty of Science alumni American emigrants to Canada People from Lorain, Ohio Living people Directors of Bank of Montreal University of Michigan School of Kinesiology alumni University of Connecticut alumni Canadian women academics American women academics 1958 births Women heads of universities and colleges Fellows of Merton College, Oxford