He was Chair of Education Council (now Senate) for six years and is currently serving a three year term on the Board of Governors. He studied Honours Mathematics and Physics as an undergraduate before receiving his degree in Architecture (University of British Columbia, 1973) and Masters of Business Administration (Simon Fraser University, 2002). He has worked as an architectural designer, an urban planner, has built houses and has exhibited as an artist and photographer. He is the recipient of a Canada Council Grant and the City of Vancouver Heritage Award. In 1979, he founded the Vancouver League for Studies in Architecture and the Environment and initiated the Alcan Lectures in Architecture (Vancouver).