The University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs announces a generous donation of $1 million from the Lind family in memory of Philip B. Lind, CM, honouring his exceptional legacy and love for his alma mater, and Canada-U.S. relations. The Phil Lind Initiative is one of UBC’s most influential speaker series and courses dedicated to the promotion of open dialogue and diverse perspectives on the world’s most pressing global issues. Thanks to the generosity of the late Philip B. Lind, CM, the Phil Lind Initiative has been hosted by the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs since 2015. The Lind family’s new gift enables UBC to build on the extraordinary success of this prestigious series and will extend the Phil Lind Initiative to the 2027 season.

“UBC is deeply grateful for the ongoing support and generous commitment of the Lind family,” said Benoit-Antoine Bacon, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of British Columbia. “Fostering the exchange of intellectual discourse and thought-provoking dialogue is central to our mission as a leading university. The Phil Lind Initiative has made a profound impact on our campus community, and we are privileged to honour and celebrate the memory of one of UBC’s most distinguished alumni in such a meaningful way.”

“Our father believed in the potential to shape a better future by bringing together diverse viewpoints that enrich society,” said Jed Lind, Phil Lind’s son. “The Phil Lind Initiative at UBC combined our father’s loyal support of his alma mater with his passion for engaging on important global topics. We are excited to continue the legacy of the Phil Lind Initiative, which provides a valuable platform for productive conversations around U.S. policy and identity. Never has this forum felt more necessary than the present moment.”

This announcement comes as the 2025 Phil Lind Initiative series on What it Means to be “American” has just been unveiled. Speakers for the upcoming series will include Boston College professor and author Heather Cox Richardson known for her wildly popular newsletter Letters from an American; Ziwe, writer and comedian known for her satirical commentary on politics, race, and young adulthood; former Republican congress member Adam Kinzinger known for his vocal opposition to Trump’s claims of voter fraud; and Navajo composer and artist Raven Chacon known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning composition Voiceless Mass. The series will kick off with the multimedia art installation the bomb by film maker Smriti Keshari and writer Eric Schlosser at UBC’s Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory Gallery. Events will take place between January and April of 2025, and are presented in partnership with the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts.

“The Phil Lind Initiative inspires our students and the UBC community, along with wider public audiences, to engage meaningfully with complex social and political issues,” said Allison Macfarlane, Director of the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. “As a result of this remarkable gift and the significant contributions of Phil, and now Jed who is part of the Phil Lind Initiative Advisory Board, we are able to continue creating spaces for the type of rich intellectual exchange that the Lind family is so passionate about.”

The Lind family’s gift is part of FORWARD, the campaign for UBC, with the promise and potential to advance healthy lives, a healthy planet, and healthy societies.

About Philip B. Lind

The late Philip B. Lind, CM (BA ’66, LLD ’02), was a brilliant business leader and a passionate supporter of arts, media and education devoted to advancing our nation’s rich and varied culture. From revolutionizing the broadcasting landscape in Canada to transforming the potential of telecommunications, his work greatly contributed to the social, cultural, and economic well-being of Canada.

Lind was a long-time supporter and advocate of UBC. At the centre of Lind’s philanthropy was his steadfast belief that deeper understanding and connection can create a more inclusive world. He generously invested in many areas of scholarship at the university, including the Phil Lind Chair in U.S. Politics and Representation, the U.S. Studies Program, the Rogers Multicultural Film Production Project, the Belkin Curator’s Forum, and the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection. Lind provided invaluable strategic advice as co-chair of UBC’s successful start an evolution campaign, which concluded in 2015 and FORWARD, the campaign for UBC, launched in 2022.

About the Phil Lind Initiative

Thanks to the generosity of the late Philip B. Lind, CM, the Phil Lind Initiative has been hosted by the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs in the Faculty of Arts at the University of British Columbia since 2015. The initiative’s mandate is to invite prominent U.S. scholars, writers, and intellectuals to UBC to share ideas with students, faculty, and the wider community on some of the most urgent issues of our time.

The inaugural series, led by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, focused on “The Politics of Inequality.” Since then, the Phil Lind Initiative has drawn over 12,000 in-person attendees and engaged UBC and the broader community in critical dialogues on topics such as the climate crisis, polarization and corruption in American politics, inequality and racial violence, and the impact of the digital age on the media landscape. Past speakers have included high-profile figures like Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay, Bill McKibben, Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad, Masha Gessen, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Winona LaDuke, Ibram X. Kendi and others.