Alumni Spotlight

Holloway, Susan

Holloway, Susan

Graduating year: 1983
Degree: BPE
One of the more impressive UBC Kinesiology graduates is Sue Holloway (1983), an Olympian and multi-talented athlete. While at UBC Sue competed on the cross-country team under coach Doug Clement and the Varsity swim team coached by Jack Kelso.

Diewert, Gordon (1951-1981)

Diewert, Gordon (1951-1981)

Graduating year: 1973
Degree: BPE
Described as a prolific scholar with wide-ranging interests, Dr. Diewert also worked on issues such as reaction times in people who had been drinking. He was involved in the development of employment screening programs and was the author of several articles in academic journals.

Dang, Joe

Graduating year: 1960
Degree: BPE
A popular and energetic graduate of the class of 1960, Joe Dang is the first Canadian of Chinese descent to graduate from Physical Education – now Kinesiology. Joe was the manager of the Thunderbird football team during some of coach Frank Gnup’s most successful seasons.

Cue, Victor (1929-2018)

Cue, Victor (1929-2018)

Graduating year: 1951
Degree: BPE
In 1995 Cue was inducted into the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame and is also an inductee in the Basketball BC Hall of Fame. The team he coached, the Dueck Powerglides, is an inductee in the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

Carkner, Bob (1935-2009)

Carkner, Bob (1935-2009)

Graduating year: 1958
Degree: BPE
Bob Carkner was a man with visions; visions of helping others while at the same time broadening the horizons and raising the social conscience of young people.

Butt, Debbie

Butt, Debbie

Graduating year: 1989
Degree: BPE
One of Vancouver’s best known communication and community engagement professionals is 1989 UBC Kinesiology graduate Debbie Butt. Debbie, who as a student played Thunderbird Varsity soccer, specializes in the areas of fundraising, event planning, brand development, employee engagement and community partnerships.

Sinclair, Dana

Sinclair, Dana

Graduating year: 1985
Degree: BPE
Dr. Dana A. Sinclair (BPE ’85) is a performance psychologist at Human Performance International (HPI), where she consults with clients from the medical, corporate and entertainment worlds as well as professional athletes in the NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLS, IndyCar, PGA, Tennis Canada and the Olympics.

Drake, Clare (1928-2018)

Drake, Clare (1928-2018)

Graduating year: 1951
Degree: BPE
Clare Drake is one of UBC Kinesiology’s most acclaimed graduates. A native of Saskatchewan, Clare, in 1947, chose to come to UBC because of its newly-created Kinesiology program – the first such program in Western Canada.

Watt, Norm

Watt, Norm

Graduating year: 1949
Degree: BPE
Norm Watt was one of the originals, that is, a member of UBC’s first graduating class in Physical Education (Kinesiology) back in 1949. He was also an athlete and although not tall, was a notable basketball player and played Varsity Thunderbird basketball during the late 1940s.

Budd, Brian (1952-2008)

Budd, Brian (1952-2008)

Graduating year: 1975

Degree: BPE

Born in Toronto but growing up in Delta, Brian was an all-around athlete entering UBC in 1970. In his first two years at UBC Budd swam for the Thunderbird swim team under coach Jack Pomfret. In his second year he focused on soccer and for four years played on the Thunderbird soccer team. In fact in 1974, Budd scored the winning goal in the CIS final game giving UBC the national soccer championship.