Do you remember this classic essay prompt: “Compare and contrast A and B, outlining their similarities and differences”?
alumni UBC posed this challenge to our audience with the question: Who is UBC’s most famous alum?
After receiving numerous suggested names from UBC alumni, we selected 64 notable graduates (with conferred degrees) from the arts, media, science, health, politics, business, sport, and other fields in a friendly bracket-style competition.
Readers were then invited to compare and contrast these individuals in a series of head-to-head matchups. Nearly 27,000 UBC alumni were engaged with the initiative. UBC grads cast over 107,000 total votes from across more than 70 countries over six rounds while deliberating.
The pairings invited comparisons across diverse professions, generations, accomplishments, public visibility, and historical eras. But there weren’t any easy answers.
How do you compare a viral music sensation (bbno$) with a groundbreaking sci-fi author (William Gibson)? Or an internationally influential psychologist who developed social learning theory (Albert Bandura) with a former Vancouver city manager who led BC’s COVID-19 immunization efforts (Penny Ballem)? Or Aritzia CEO Jennifer Wong with lawyer and politician Jody Wilson-Raybould?
Matchups featuring individuals with similarities proved to be just as difficult to decide upon, as revealed by the close results from contests between actors Hannah Simone and Grace Park or athletes Andrea Neil and Evan Dunfee.
Underlying many of these choices was a broader question: What exactly is fame?
As the competition demonstrated, fame resists simple measurement. Public recognition, professional achievement, cultural influence, historical legacy, lasting impact, media and public presence, and the ability to inspire others all became factors to analyze.
Such considerations intensified in the final rounds. Acclaimed health expert and public speaker Gabor Maté's strong showing reflected his global influence that reaches millions through books, interviews, and talks. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's deep run reflected his exceptional visibility, yet other outcomes indicated that name recognition alone didn’t determine the results.
After five rounds of bracket matchups, two finalists emerged: historian, journalist, author, broadcaster, and intellectual Pierre Berton, with more than 50 books to his name and four decades as a Front Page Challenge panelist on CBC, and Paralympian and inclusion advocate Rick Hansen, who raised international awareness about spinal cord injury with numerous initiatives, including his Man in Motion World Tour from 1985 to 1987.
Although the two finalists might appear to have little in common, both have fundamentally expanded how Canadians think.
Berton is renowned for popularizing Canadian history, with literary classics like Klondike (1958), The National Dream (1970), The Last Spike (1971), and The Invasion of Canada (1980). His influence extended well beyond books, with decades of television and radio work (including an interview with fellow UBC alum Nardwuar) that continue to reach new audiences.
He also used his writing and broadcasting to challenge prevailing attitudes on major issues of his day such as the Japanese Canadian internment (1940s); the Korean War (1950s); and birth control, homosexuality, and residential schools (1960s). While he illuminated Canada’s past, he also encouraged Canadians to reconsider widely held assumptions in pursuit of building a better future.
Similarly, decades before mainstream conversations addressed inclusion, Hansen encouraged everyone to rethink how buildings, institutions, communities, and society could better serve people with disabilities.
A six-time Paralympic medallist and three-time world champion in wheelchair racing who was named three-time Canada's Disabled Athlete of the Year and inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame, Hansen leveraged his athleticism to transform public attitudes toward disability and accessibility. His influence rippled outward, improving countless lives and inspiring other public figures, organizations, and initiatives.
Following his world tour, Hansen founded the Rick Hansen Foundation in 1988, which attracted the support of leaders and advocates, including fellow UBC alum and former BC premier Mike Harcourt and future Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan. He later established the Rick Hansen Institute in 2008 and, with then-UBC president David Strangway, supported the founding of what became the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), a centre focused on spinal cord injury research.
With his global impact, enduring public visibility, and decades of leadership as an athlete, advocate, and humanitarian, Rick Hansen has been named UBC's most famous alum—after receiving 74 per cent of the final vote.
As we reflect on his journey—and the 40th anniversary of the launch of his Man in Motion World Tour—the following video revisits his extraordinary undertaking. Accompanying these highlights is the 1985 hit song "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," which was created by BC producer David Foster and British singer John Parr in honour of Hansen's mission.
One alum emerged as the winner—yet this initiative was ultimately a celebration of the remarkable breadth and diversity of UBC graduates. We thank the 64 highlighted alumni for participating. To discover even more alumni across a wide range of expertise and experiences, we encourage everyone to read The University of British Columbia Magazine, as well as the numerous stories, profiles, and features available from UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan.
We hope this showcase inspires you to continue learning about the people, achievements, and stories of the more than 435,000 individuals in over 145 countries who make up UBC’s global alumni community.
The final bracket
