A Lifelong Commitment to UBC, Leadership, and Student Mentorship

About

Name	David Kitts
Title	Dean pro tem
Company	Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Grad year	PhD 1981, MSc 1976, BSc 1974
Program	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Agricultural Sciences (research)

November 5, 2024 – We asked David Kitts, the new Dean pro tem and triple alum of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems about his role as a mentor. David has spent most of his career at UBC, starting in 1983 as UBC-NSERC Research Fellow (URF) in the Department of Food Science when LFS was called the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. Most recently David was the Associate Dean of Research and Director of the Food, Nutrition and Health Program. He has volunteered his time to the LFS Mentorship Program for 5 years. 

What motivates you to volunteer as an LFS Mentor? 

I recognize the importance of being in the position to have an impact on someone’s academic career and future, by giving the necessary support, encouragement and valued suggestions that come from my own experience in particular from being an educator. 

Are there ways that you feel you benefit by mentoring? 

I feel lucky that I can help students to do better and from this comes a feeling of accomplishment and worth.  

Have you had a mentor or someone you see as a mentor? How did they impact your student/career journey?

Yes, I’ve had mentors, and I would not be where I am today without those significant individuals who were there to support me and provide me with their encouragement and input on how to do better and be successful at it.  What was instilled in me more than anything, was a desire to maintain my enthusiasm on what I was doing and to concentrate on the small details too. I have found that these two points were great ones to follow and have served me well.

Could you share with our LFS mentor community, your top-tip for on mentoring? 

Take the time to connect with people whose career pathways you are interested in and learn from their experiences and journeys. Be respectful for each individual’s uniqueness and be clear in your messaging. Having clear, intended feedback and suggestions encourage us to do better and in turn achieve success. 

What is something that you are proud of that you have accomplished in your career? 

I am proud of being a respected scientist in my discipline of study and someone that people can feel comfortable and trust to approach, when they have important questions to ask on how to do well in academia.  

And finally, what are you most looking forward to on this academic year’s LFS Mentorship Program? 

Getting to know new students that I have not met before and to learn all about their goals in life, especially the professional ones.