Dr. Wendy Carroll receives the Dr. Geraldine Thomas Educational Leadership Award

Dr. Wendy Carroll (right) receives the Dr. Geraldine Thomas Educational Leadership Award from Dr. Madine VanderPlaat, Associate Dean of Arts

In 2007, the Quality of Teaching Committee (now the Senate Committee on Learning and Teaching) established an Educational Leadership Award to recognize the faculty who develop, enhance, and promote the quality of teaching at Saint Mary’s and beyond. The Committee gratefully acknowledges the support of the Saint Mary’s University Faculty Union for this award. The award is named for Dr. Geraldine Thomas, national teaching award winner and founding member of the Quality of Teaching Committee. Throughout her academic career, Dr. Thomas supported efforts to improve teaching and learning within the University, the Atlantic region, and nationally.

Dr. Carroll is an award-winning teacher and researcher who is an Associate Professor and the Director of the EMBA program. As an educator, Dr. Carroll has worked boldly to advance the quality of education in business programs in the Sobey School and to raise the profile of Saint Mary’s as a centre of excellence in evidence-based management. In all that she does, Dr. Carroll is an advocate for using evidence-based approaches. Her teaching has motivated students to answer challenging questions about human resource management and to transfer this knowledge to practice. Her excellence as an educator is evidenced by the seven teaching awards she has received in the past eight years.

Dr. Carroll’s research focuses on current issues and challenges in human resource management and leadership. In July 2016, she was awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant for work on exploring employee silence in organizations after unjust events, such as harassment or bullying. She has advised and mentored students to examine the evidence about a variety of human resource practices and worked with them to share the findings through conference presentations and other publications. Through scholarship and workshops, Dr. Carroll is committed to sharing her pedagogical approach and methods with colleagues within and outside of the University.

Dr. Carroll’s commitment to enhancing decision making goes beyond the classroom and takes her into a number of practitioner forums to share knowledge about evidence-based HR. As an early associate of Center for Evidence-based Management, Dr. Carroll subscribes to the principles of knowledge mobilization and sharing by presenting at HR conferences, and at other practitioner associations. For her role as an educator and researcher impacting practice, Dr. Carroll was named one of the top HR professionals of 2016 in Canada by Canadian HR Reporter Magazine

Dr. David Bourgeois wins Father William A. Stewart Medal for Excellence in Teaching

Dr. David Bourgeois receives the Father William A. Stewart Medal for Excellence in Teaching from Mary-Evelyn Ternan (BA’69, BEd’70, MEd’88), Past President of the Saint Mary's Alumni Association

Dr. David Bourgeois, Associate Professor of Psychology, is known for offering students interactive, hands-on learning experiences. He respects diverse learning needs and places great importance on cross-cultural education.

Aside from teaching in the classroom, Dr. Bourgeois shares talks and lectures with the broader community, including Nova Scotia school teachers, prospective Saint Mary’s students and their parents, and visiting academics from Beijing Normal University. He also created the Documentaries with Dave series, which is open to the public and covers social justice issues and politics. Dr. Bourgeois’ interest in Peace and Conflict Studies is demonstrated in his role as a faculty mentor in the Northern Ireland Conflict Resolution Program (NICRP); this initiative has existed at Saint Mary’s since 2004 and has included more than 180 students in its mission of fostering peace education locally and abroad. Dr. Bourgeois also contributed significantly to the development of the University’s new Peace and Conflict Studies minor, and he has been a member of the Board of Directors for Peaceful Schools International, a partner organization of the NICRP, for over a decade.

Committed to university affairs, Dr. Bourgeois serves on a number of Saint Mary’s committees, including the Faculty of Science Curriculum Committee, the Academic Discipline Committee, the Social Benefits Committee of the Faculty Union, and the Conflict Resolution Advisory Committee.

The Medal for Excellence in Teaching is named for the late Father William A. Stewart, a philosophy professor and administrator at Saint Mary’s from 1950-1982. Father Stewart was known for his inclusivity, approachability, innovative teaching, and service to the University.

Saint Mary’s professor receives national award for her contributions to subatomic physics

Saint Mary’s University physicist Dr. Rituparna Kanungo

Saint Mary’s University physicist Dr. Rituparna Kanungo’s outstanding research is being recognized with the 2018 CAP-TRIUMF Vogt Medal for Contributions to Subatomic Physics.

"I feel highly honoured receiving this prestigious recognition which I would like to share with my collaborators,” said Dr. Rituparna Kanungo. “Canada’s world-leading subatomic physics facilities attracted me here, thanks to the pioneering efforts by Erich Vogt. I feel fortunate with the support I received, and want to thank the physics community and Canada for valuing my contributions."

Dr. Kanungo working with students. 

Dr. Kanungo’s research aims to answer fundamental questions about existence. Where do we come from? What are we and most of visible matter in our Universe made of? To address those questions, Dr. Kanungo looks at not only what humans are made of but everything else that we can see around us. At the heart of which lies the nucleus. The nucleus is such a fundamental part of existence that it has driven Dr. Kanungo to look closer to examine the different types of nuclei present in matter and what makes them so varied. This has led her to look beyond nuclei found here naturally on earth and look toward the wider variety, the rarer isotopes occurring in the Universe.

Dr. Kanungo launched her research program in rare isotope science with experiments at the RIKEN facility in Japan where she developed techniques to investigate the structure of rare isotopes using neutron removal reactions. Her work has revealed new information on nuclear halos and associated shell changes. 

The IRIS facility.

She has spearheaded a program in Canada using low energy nuclear reactions to view the inner workings of the rare isotopes. For this she developed at TRIUMF the IRIS facility to study nuclear reactions and is the project leader. With IRIS she has made impactful measurements revealing sensitive ways to constrain the strong nuclear force of nature and illuminated characteristics of halo nuclei. Dr. Kanungo has taken on leadership of the Canadian Rare Isotope Beam Facility with an Electron Beam Ion source (CANREB) for producing beams of heavy rare isotopes, focusing on current and future scientific programs at TRIUMF

Dr. Kanungo has made outstanding contributions to the understanding of the physics of rare isotopes using direct reactions. She has led experiments involving large international collaborations in Canada, Germany, and Japan exploring the properties of rare isotopes. She is at the forefront of a rapidly evolving new field of direct reactions with radioactive ion beams. In addition, she has provided leadership and service to the international and Canadian communities, with a particular focus on current and future scientific programs at TRIUMF.

“This award is a result of a collaborative effort, from the assistance of undergraduate and graduate students to my incredibly experienced colleagues and researchers—everybody has played a role, and I tremendously value everything that they have done to support achieving our goals,” said Dr. Kanungo. "I would like to thank NSERC, Canada Foundation for Innovation and Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Trust for supporting our research."

First introduced in 2011, the Vogt Medal recognizes and encourages outstanding experimental or theoretical contributions to subatomic physics.

Dr. Kanungo will be presented with her medal at the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) Medallists' Recognition Banquet in Halifax on Wednesday, June 13, 2018.

Congratulation to Dr. Kanungo on behalf of the Saint Mary’s University community!

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ABOUT TRIUMF

TRIUMF is Canada’s particle accelerator centre. The lab is a hub for discovery and innovation inspired by a half-century of ingenuity in answering nature's most challenging questions. From the hunt for the smallest particles in our universe to research that advances the next generation of batteries or develops isotopes to diagnose and treat disease, TRIUMF drives more than scientific discovery. Powered by its complement of top talent and advanced accelerator infrastructure, TRIUMF is pushing the frontiers in isotope science and innovation, as well as technologies to address fundamental and applied problems in particle and nuclear physics, and the materials and life sciences. In collaboration with 20 Canadian universities, TRIUMF's diverse community of nearly 600 multidisciplinary researchers, engineers, technicians, tradespeople, staff, and students create a unique incubator for Canadian excellence, as well as a portal to premier global collaborations. Our passion for understanding everything from the nature of the nucleus to the creation of the cosmos sparks imagination, inspiration, improved health, economic opportunity, and a better world for all.

For more information, visit www.triumf.ca  and www.triumf50.com. @TRIUMFLab

Click here to read the CAP media release on the award. 
 

Saint Mary’s University celebrates the achievements of four exceptional leaders

Dominic Barton

Dr. Bernie Francis

Paul Gauthier

Robert (Rob) G. Steele

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The accomplishments of four exceptional leaders will be recognized this May with honorary degrees at Saint Mary’s University’s Spring Convocation 2018.

The University is pleased to recognize the extraordinary achievements of:

• Dominic Barton, a global managing partner of consulting firm McKinsey & Company, who is committed to the internationalization of Canadian universities and colleges. He leads his company’s focus on the role business leadership plays in creating long-term social and economic value.
   
• Dr. Bernie Francis, a thoughtful and passionate voice for the Mi'kmaw people, who has helped preserve the Mi’kmaw language through an easy-to-learn orthography, which is officially recognized by Mi’kmaw chiefs across the province and by the Canada-Nova Scotia-Mi’kmaw Tripartite Forum. 
   
• Paul Gauthier, one of Canada’s most successful entrepreneurs. He is the founder and president of the Cole Harbour Foundation, a non-profit focused on improving educational opportunities for children and youth, which has helped many Saint Mary’s students over the years.
   
• Robert (Rob) G. Steele, one of Atlantic Canada's top chief executive officers. With more than 18 years in the communications industry, he is a Canadian Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame inductee. In addition, he has an impressive record of success in the auto sales sector where he has built the region’s largest and most diversified automobile group.

“Saint Mary’s University recognizes the important role that leadership and innovation play in the growth of our institution and the Atlantic region,” said Saint Mary’s University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. “Our honorary degree recipients are leaders in business, culture and philanthropy, people who drive growth and prosperity. We are incredibly proud they are joining the Saint Mary’s community, and we look forward with excitement to Convocation and the conferring of their honorary degrees.”

The honorary degree recipients will receive their degrees later this May at Saint Mary’s University’s Spring Convocation 2018, which runs from May 16 to May 18.

Saint Mary's University community driving growth as Top 50 CEOs

Saint Mary’s University is celebrating the success of the Saint Mary’s alumni whose innovation, drive and business leadership were recognized by Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEO Award.  

The well-attended award ceremony took place in the recently opened Halifax Convention Centre. It was a fantastic night of entertainment and celebration, that recognized the successes of leaders who are driving growth and prosperity in the Atlantic region.

It was a particularly spectacular night for Saint Mary’s University, our alumni, our friends and our partners. This year's award winners includes alumni Joyce Carter, BComm’84, Stuart MacLean, EMBA’97; Darren Nantes, BComm’89; Carl Sparkes, MBA’87 and Saint Mary's University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray.

Read on for more about our alumni recently named Top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Business Magazine.  

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Joyce Carter, BComm’84
President & CEO,
Halifax International Airport Authority

Joyce Carter, BComm’84
President & CEO,
Halifax International Airport Authority

Joyce joined the Halifax International Airport Authority in 1999, and since then she has been integral in its growth and development, becoming Chief Financial Officer in 2006, Chief Strategy Officer in 2008, and President & CEO in 2014. Since she became CEO in 2014, there’s been tremendous growth in both passenger and cargo numbers. In 2016 alone, the airport contributed $2.8 billion to the Nova Scotia economy.

 

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Stuart MacLean, EMBA’97
CEO, WCB Nova Scotia
 

Stuart MacLean, EMBA’97
CEO, WCB Nova Scotia

Stuart is passionate about making a difference in the lives of working Nova Scotians by reducing the impact of workplace injury. Five years ago, the commercial fishing sector had the highest rates of injury and fatality in Nova Scotia. MacLean was determined to end the tragic legacy. He and WCB teamed up with government and safety champions in the fishing industry, engaged their board, made investments and watched a safety culture begin to emerge. Today, injuries are at an all-time low.

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Darren Nantes, BComm’89
Chairman & CEO, Nantes Capital Inc

Darren Nantes, BComm’89
Chairman & CEO, Nantes Capital Inc.

Darren started his career as a CA and went on to hone his entrepreneurial skills by acquiring underperforming companies and implementing change to increase value. Nantes acts on investment opportunities through his private venture capital firm, Nantes Capital Inc. He currently owns 10 companies in a variety of business sectors.

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Carl Sparkes, MBA’87
President & CEO, Devonian Coast Wineries Ltd.

Carl Sparkes, MBA’87
President & CEO, Devonian Coast Wineries Ltd.

To Carl, business is like a sport. Winning is important but having fun while doing it makes it worthwhile. If the fun leaves, so does he. As president of Olivieri Foods, he quadrupled growth in as many years. That was followed by similar results for Canada Bread, Eastern Bakeries, Omstead Foods and Bento Nouveau. By 2011, he was more than ready to pour his energies into a business of his own, so he created Devonian Coast to acquire Jost and two other Nova Scotia wineries.

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Saint Mary's is proud to have five members of the Saint Mary's community recognized as Top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Business Magazine. You can read more about the Top 50 CEOs in the May-June issue of Atlantic Business Magazine, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the awards.