A vibrant look back through a century of student life, achievement, and activism at UBC.

“Sheldon Goldfarb’s skillful and lively storytelling makes this a valuable contribution to social history and a memoir to be enjoyed by all who lived it.”—from the foreword by Kim Campbell

From Pierre Berton to Kim Campbell, Debbie Brill, and Justin Trudeau, the University of British Columbia has accepted some impressive students into its fold over the past century. Yet, the story of UBC’s student body—the largest and arguably most vocal in western Canada—comprises much more than the eventual achievements of the institution’s most famous members. Today, the university boasts an alumni of over 300,000—men and women who spent their student days in the shadows of two world wars, those who marched for every cause, and those who can barely remember any of it.

Featuring over two hundred photographs and illustrations collected from UBC’s student archives, The Hundred-Year Trek is a visually fascinating presentation and light-hearted narrative of student life at the University of British Columbia from its founding in 1915 until its hundredth year. Author Sheldon Goldfarb, the archivist of the UBC’s Alma Mater Society, tells the story of the students’ treks and struggles as they helped build their university and won a share in determining its direction. More than just a year-by-year recap of university life, this book is a lively look at the wider social and cultural trends of the past century.

Sheldon Goldfarb has been the archivist of UBC’s Alma Mater Society for over twenty years. He holds multiple degrees, including a master’s in Archival Studies and an MA and PhD in English. He is the author of the young adult novel Remember, Remember, which was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award, as well as academic books on William Makepeace Thackery and dozens of literary essays, book reviews, and biographical articles.

Sheldon Goldfarb's profile page

Kim Campbell's profile page

In The Hundred-Year Trek, a coffee-table history of student life at Vancouver’s University of British Columbia (UBC), archivist Sheldon Goldfarb grracefully turns what could be a century-long trudge through history into a sprightly stroll across the green (if shrinking) lawns of a major West Coast post-secondary institution.

Stan Persky, Dooneyscafe.com

"This is a perfect book to dip into, with snapshot commentaries on a multitude of events in any given year, presented with a concise wit that makes even AMS politics appear interesting. Such an approach is open to criticism, of course, in that the serious and the trivial sit side by side and may seem to be given equal importance. But Sheldon Goldfarb succeeds in setting student activism into a wider perspective of the political and social movements that have impacted UBC policies and the minutiae of student life, among them two world wars, the depression, the rise of feminism, and changing attitudes towards First Nations and visible minorities."

Ormsby Review