To enhance the value of the UBC Sauder School of Business Bachelor of Commerce degree while cultivating the personal, professional, and academic success of students.
The CUS is one of the largest business school organizations in Canada, both in terms of its $1.4 million annual operating budget and its thousands of actively-involved students within the society.
From its inception over seventy years ago, the UBC Commerce Undergraduate Society (CUS) has played a pivotal role in shaping the success of UBC Bachelor of Commerce students in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
The growth of social and professional opportunities in the CUS is a source of inspiration for all student societies in Canada.
The Commerce faculty has developed an international reputation for its sophisticated learning atmosphere and the CUS has evolved significantly alongside it. With the money that it collects through student fees, the CUS is able to support its members through a range of services and clubs that cater to some variation of the personal, professional or academic success of its students.
The CUS houses tutoring services, social functions and large-scale conferences that offer insights into possible careers and numerous networking opportunities with industry professionals.
If you are a student at the UBC Sauder School of Business, make sure that you take advantage of what the CUS offers. For some, this will be filling up a free cup of coffee in the student lounge or going on the annual ski trip. For others, it will mean joining a club and going to workshops on the specialization that the club is focused on. For others still, it will mean filling a position and gaining extremely valuable work experience.
Whatever the case may be, everyone in the CUS is afforded equal rights; there will always be a wealth of opportunity here.
It’s your student fees. You should know exactly how they’re being used.
It’s your second home. You should feel safe, included and welcomed.
It’s your Undergraduate Society. You should feel empowered to succeed in your own way.
The field of business today has been shaped by a history of colonialism that still systematically disadvantages marginalised communities worldwide. At the CUS, we recognise the mistakes we have made during our participation in that history and make a solemn commitment to do better.
Sexism, misogyny, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or any other form of prejudice has no place at the CUS. We will do everything in our ability to help any in our community who have faced such behaviour. If we are to be the next generation of business leaders, we must build a community that values diversity and stands against the social, economic, and environmental injustices of our time. We still have a lot more work in our path to becoming a more equitable and just society, but we promise to continue learning and working towards that goal in all the ways that we can.
Students of Commerce in the Faculty of Arts formed a student club under the wing of the UBC Alma Mater Society, called the Commerce Club
Commerce Club was disbanded due to lack of interest
Creation of the Department of Commerce
Subsequent split from the Department of Economics led to renewed interest and Commerce students elected Ernest C. Harvey as class president. A more robust, but still unofficial, student government formed shortly after, with a group of students forming the Commerce Executives under Commerce president Jack Moxon
President Hugh Hall reformed the Commerce Club, bringing the group under the wing of the AMS once again
The club thrived, and after two years of negotiations and effort, the Commerce Undergraduate Society was officially formed on October 10th. The CUS quickly gained legitimacy, hosting popular events and launching campus-wide initiatives. The Commerce Undergraduate Society Banquet became the organization’s flagship annual event, hosting thousands of attendees at the Hotel Vancouver downtown
The CUS, along with other undergraduate societies, received stewardship of several of the war huts behind Brock Hall, unused since the end of the war, to serve as their offices
The CUS initiated many long standing traditions in the following years, first publishing the Ledger Magazine (precursor to the Cavalier newspaper) and the Balance Sheet Newsletter (precursor to the CUSunday)
With the enthusiastic support of the Dean, POITS (the CUS’ beer garden) was founded
Costs of running the society were increasing, and a referendum was held to raise a $2.00/year student fee. The referendum garnered 83% approval, and the student fee was successfully levied
With the money raised from increased student fees during this decade, the turn of the millennium brought about many notable events still recognizable today. Me Inc, Imprint, Enterprize, and many other conferences were first launched, and when JDC West came to life. The composition of the CUS changed drastically as well, with the implementation of a constitution and a code of procedures to set out our goals, visions, and practices
With the money raised from increased student fees during this decade, the turn of the millennium brought about many notable events still recognizable today. Me Inc, Imprint, Enterprize, and many other conferences were first launched, and when JDC West came to life. The composition of the CUS changed drastically as well, with the implementation of a constitution and a code of procedures to set out our goals, visions, and practices
The Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration at UBC was renamed the UBC Sauder School of Business under the tenure of Dean Dan Muzyka
CUS passed a referendum of a building fee of $658.40/student for the mortgage of the new and current building of Henry Angus
Global pandemic (Covid-19) hits and CUS starts operating an unprecedented online year
CUS stands with 25 services and 15 affiliated clubs and will be returning to in person events