British Columbia gave it University status. “The
first graduating class was in 1929 with 11 stu-
dents. Needless to say, we’ve grown, and today
we are graduating close to 400 students every
year,” explains the Associate Vice President of
Advancement and Alumni Affairs, Broek Bosma.
The world-class design institute was previous-
ly remodelled to accommodate 800 students,
but today’s University manages two-and-a-
half times that number full time, with another
3500 continuing studies students throughout
the year. “We moved to this facility in 1980
and the building we’re in is a converted wire
factory, which is reflected in our logo as part of
our history. However, the current building just
can’t support the technical infrastructure we
require to train and develop 21
st
century art,
design and media talent.”
Emily Carr University’s motivation for this
massive undertaking is to provide a purpose-
built, best-in-class building for students in un-
dergraduate, graduate and continuing studies
programs, as well as for faculty, research teams
and their many collaborating partners. Increas-
ing demand and a booming creative econo-
Sidney Doberstein navigates through virtual reality at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. (Maxime Cyr Morton)
120 business elite canada
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AUGUST 2014
