Stanley is a Professor Emeritus at the Sauder School of Business, where he taught and conducted research in real estate valuation and institutional investments and served in a number of senior administrator roles at UBC.

Throughout his career he has been engaged in community activities including the boards of Children’s Aid Society of Vancouver, Vancouver Stock Exchange, B.C. Assessment Authority, Vancouver City Planning Commission, Arts Club Theatre Company, and BC Arts Council. He has also served on the advisory committees of the Public Guardian and Trustee of B.C., the Real Estate Foundation of B.C., Bentall Kennedy Prime Canadian Property Fund, and the Financial Services Tribunal of B.C.

In 2017, Dr. Stanley Hamilton received the Order of British Columbia and in 2020, he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to business education in Canada and abroad, and for supporting Vancouver's arts scene. Stanley presently serves on the board of Ballet BC, chair of the BC Financial Services Authority and chair of the Wicekaskosiw Sahkahikan Askiwi-Pimiy Heritage Trust Fund (Onion Lake Trust Fund).

Stanley joined the Y.P. Heung Foundation Board of Advisors in 2012, and he has been a Director since 2025.