Premier Stephen McNeil on campus to congratulate Enactus team on the success of the Square Roots food token program

Premier Stephen McNeil came to Saint Mary’s recently to congratulate Enactus team members on the success of the Square Roots food token program, as they prepare for a national competition. Enactus is a global student organization focused on addressing social issues through entrepreneurship. A total of 38 students are heading to Toronto next week to compete in the Enactus Canada National Exposition.

The Province of Nova Scotia recently supported Saint Mary’s work in entrepreneurship when it announced an $11 million investment for the creation of the Entrepreneurship, Discovery and Innovation (EDI) Hub on campus.

Saint Mary's team wins ‘Distinguished Delegation’ award for their work at Model United Nations

On March 29, the Saint Mary's delegation to the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in New York City, won a ‘Distinguished Delegation’ award for their work representing Bulgaria.

NMUN is the world’s largest Model UN, and can trace its founding back to the League of Nations. It is the only Model UN that takes place in the actual UN headquarters in New York, and sees 5,500 students from more than 130 UN member countries.

“It’s an extraordinary opportunity for students,” says Political Science chairperson Dr. Marc Doucet, “to get this kind of real-world experience, and interact with students from around the world.” Since Saint Mary’s first delegation in 2003, more than 200 students have attended, making the conference an opportunity to build international connections and gain a greater global perspective. This year was the most international Saint Mary’s delegation yet, with 21 students attending, from Canada, India, the Bahamas, Saint Kitts, Japan, and the UK attending. They represented fields of study including Political Science, International Development Studies, Economics, Sociology, and Business.

“It really strengthens our delegation because the UN is not solely political,” says Abby Dooks, a Political Science and International Development Studies student. “It deals with everything from education to human rights to business to economics, so you need that diverse expertise to understand the topics.”

This year, students visited the Bulgarian Permanent Mission to the UN, and met with diplomats at Bulgaria’s permanent mission to the UN, to discuss current global affairs and issues.

Dooks was attending this year for the second time. “The highlights were different from last year—this year it was really seeing other students achieve the same milestones I did last year, especially those were might have been nervous. One friend of mine was worried all year, concerned that she wasn’t going to be able to speak in front of the entire room, and so a highlight for me was when she did her speech and was just amazing. Those are the moments that make these experience so worthwhile.”

Saint Mary’s enhances entrepreneurship and innovation through new centre

• See gallery of high-res images

To celebrate more than 25 years of cultivating entrepreneurship at Saint Mary’s, the school is today introducing the Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre.

Meet the disruptive entrepreneurs from Saint Mary's

“Although Saint Mary’s has always aimed to instill an entrepreneurial mindset within our students across all academic disciplines, we’re now taking our focus on entrepreneurship to the next level,” says Saint Mary’s University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray.To launch the new entrepreneurship centre, more than 200 Saint Mary’s alumni, business partners, and government representatives are gathering tonight at a special venture showcase. In conjunction with the centre’s launch, the university is also kicking off a creative campaign celebrating graduates’ entrepreneurial successes.

“We created this campaign to highlight the immense number of inspiring stories that started in the hallways of Saint Mary’s University,” says Dr. Patricia Bradshaw, Dean of the Sobey School of Business. “Today, and over the coming months, we’re celebrating the success of our alumni by showcasing the great entrepreneurial careers launched by graduates in Arts, Business, and Science.”

The Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre, formerly known as the Sobey School Business Development Centre (BDC), has played a key role in building workforce skills, creating employment, supporting start-ups, and growing companies. It has also offered undergraduate and graduate students hands-on business research and consulting experience.

“Approaching the BDC’s 30-year mark, we’ve helped thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of graduates,” says Michael Sanderson, the Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneur Centre’s Acting Director. “As a bridge to the community, we’re pleased to see the repositioning of our role through the launch of the Saint Mary’s Entrepreneurship Centre; we’re ready for growth.”

“Saint Mary’s has been developing and mentoring entrepreneurs for decades,” says
Dr. Summerby-Murray. “We’re proud to play a key part in the ongoing growth of Atlantic Canada. And I hope that when our federal, provincial, and industry partners look to Saint Mary’s, they see eager learners and doers who spark innovation within our region, across Canada, and around the world.”

The Saint Mary's Entrepreneurship Centre

Saint Mary’s archaeological expedition to share the story of people enslaved at coffee plantation in Cuba

Students unearthing artificacts at the Angerona Plantation archaeology site. 

A group of Canadian university students are about to depart on an archeological expedition to Cuba, spearheaded by Saint Mary’s University. The students will be excavating historical artifacts and investigating the cemetery at Angerona, a Cuban national historic site and former slave plantation, 80 kilometres east of Havana.

Interested in applying to join the expedition or looking for more information?

Email Professor Taylor at c.aarontaylor@gmail.com. The fee to join the expedition is $1600 (this includes accommodations, meals and transportation within Cuba) plus airfare and tuition (2 credits). The deadline to apply is May 4th.

“This expedition offers an opportunity to work with our partners in Cuba to uncover more of the lost history of the Angerona Coffee Plantation,” said Aaron Taylor, a Professor of Archaeology at Saint Mary’s and the program’s instructor.  “This plantation has a big historical significance in Cuba, and we want to help tell the stories of the people who were enslaved there.”

During the 19th century, Angerona was one of the largest slave plantations in the Americas—yet little is known about the day-to-day lives of the people who lived there.

A collection of some of the artifacts found in the first year of the excavation.

From June 10 to July 1, students from Canada and Cuba will be working together on excavating, identifying and interpreting the artifacts they find.

In addition to continued exploration of the site’s barracks, this expedition will include an investigation of the plantation's cemetery and the recovery of skeletal remains. This will provide a clearer story of life on the plantation. The team will be able to learn more about the people on the plantation, such as their general health, diet, age of death, and burial customs. This will include further research into the possibility that Nova Scotia supplied large quantities of codfish to Cuba during the period of the plantation system.

This trip marks the second year of what will be at least a five-year partnership between Saint Mary’s University, Havana’s Cabinet of Archeology and the College of San Geronimo.

 For more information about the expedition and to apply to join the team, visit http://www.smu.ca/academics/departments/cuba-archaeology.

Slideshow: Feb. 28 Town Hall with Treasury Board President, MP Scott Brison

The Honourable Scott Brison came to campus Feb. 28, for a town hall with students, faculty and staff about the federal budget. 

Student entrepreneurs from across Canada at Saint Mary’s for business development conference

Pictured here are (l-r): event organizer Kaitlyn Touesnard; Dr. Patricia Bradshaw, Dean, Sobey School of Business; Andy Fillmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax; Michael Sanderson and Sarah Meany, both of the Sobey School Business Development Centre.

Andy Filllmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax, helped welcome more than 180 budding business owners to the Starting Point Entrepreneurship Conference running at Saint Mary’s from Feb 20-22. Student entrepreneurs have come from across Canada to develop their business ideas, learn from experts and vie for business funding.

The conference brings student entrepreneurs from post-secondary institutions and high schools from across the country together to work with entrepreneurs, CEOs and start-up experts. The students have the chance to work directly with the entrepreneurs to help bring their business ideas to fruition or grow an existing business. At the end of the conference, students have a chance to win cash investments for their businesses.

“Young entrepreneurs play a crucial role in growing the Canadian economy and, as such, help ensure our country’s long-term prosperity,” said Andy Fillmore, MP for Halifax, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). “Giving this latest generation of innovators the tools they need to succeed is critical to building a strong and vibrant future for all Canadians. The Government of Canada remains committed to supporting business start-ups and creating jobs for the middle class and those looking to join it.”

This conference wouldn’t be possible without the support of the local business community, key partnerships and financial support. This includes an investment of more than $150,000 over two years from the Government of Canada through ACOA’s Business Development Program.

The conference is organized by the Saint Mary’s University Sobey School Business Development Centre (SSBDC). Over the past five years, SSBDC programs have provided opportunities to more than 4,500 students, allowing them to be engaged in curricular and extra-curricular activities.

To learn more about the Starting Point Conference visit www.startingpointconference.com.

Saint Mary’s Faculty of Arts welcomes first cohort of students from Chinese university

Saint Mary’s Faculty of Arts Welcomes First Cohort of Students from Chinese university

Saint Mary’s Faculty of Arts is the first Arts faculty in Canada to welcome a cohort of students from China to its campus. For the next two years, Saint Mary’s University will be a home-away-from-home for 37 students from Beijing Normal University - Zhuhai (BNUZ), who will complete the final two years of their undergraduate degree at Saint Mary’s.

See also:
Between Two Worlds

The unique exchange between Saint Mary’s and Beijing Normal University – Zhuhai is creating extraordinary opportunities for students, and professors like Dr. Cecilia Qiu

“Saint Mary’s is the first university in Canada, and maybe first in the world, to have implemented a 2+2 Program in Arts,” said Dr. Margaret MacDonald, Dean of Arts at Saint Mary’s.

The program is a result of a unique and longstanding partnership with BNUZ. The first partnerships date back to 2002, and since then, hundreds of students from BNUZ have attended Saint Mary’s. Saint Mary’s is now expanding its 2+2 agreements to all three campus faculties—Business, Science, and Arts faculties, enabling BNUZ students to complete the first two years of university study on campus at BNUZ, and transfer to Saint Mary’s to complete the final two years of their degrees in Halifax.

“The links between China and Canada are growing with each passing year, and the next generation of leaders from both our countries will benefit from the international exchanges we establish today,” said Dr. Eric Henry, an Assistant Professor in Saint Mary’s Department of Anthropology. “Having the BNUZ cohort integrated with our regular classes is definitely fostering those connections.”

Jonathan Shaw, an Educational Developer for Intercultural Learning at Saint Mary’s Studio for Teaching and Learning, is a part-time instructor with the Faculty of Education teaching a course entitled “English as an International Language”. Last semester, he had 11 Chinese students as part of the BNUZ 2+2 Arts cohort, majoring in disciplines such as International Development Studies, History, and Asian Studies.

“Although they are really excited and interested to learn about Canada, they really see their time at Saint Mary’s as part of a global experience,” said Shaw. “These students chose to come here to be part of a very outward-looking, international campus.”

Yajie Cao, a third-year Asian Studies and History major, says that her cohort feels that the variety of support they have received – from the university, individual faculty and staff, as well as Canadian and other international students – has greatly eased their transition to life on campus. “We got to know everyone really quickly. The university really made us feel welcome, and the other students from Canada and abroad are so friendly and helpful. But when we do need some extra help, I know we can always rely on our mentors and tutors!”

Beijing Normal University - Zhuhai is located in Guangdong province near Hong Kong and Macau. BNUZ has 35,000 to 40,000 students studying a number of courses including economics, management, law, and engineering. Its location in Zhuhai places it in a steadily growing business and financial region.

Dr. Madine VanderPlaat named Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts

From February 14 to May 14, 2018, Dr. Madine VanderPlaat will serve as Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts, while Dean Dr. Margaret MacDonald travels to Rome to take up a three-month position as McCarthy Chair in Biblical Studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute.

Dr. Madine VanderPlaat

An accomplished academic with a strong interest in social justice and marginalized populations, Dr. VanderPlaat has had a distinguished career at Saint Mary’s University, beginning in 1991 as a lecturer in Sociology & Criminology. She served as Chair of the Department of Sociology & Criminology between 1999 and 2006, and was Director of the Atlantic Metropolis Centre—a consortium of researchers, government representatives, and NGOs dedicated to policy-relevant research—from 2003 to 2013.

“Dr. VanderPlaat brings a history of strong leadership and experience within the Faculty to her new role, and will continue the great work underway in the Faculty of Arts at Saint Mary’s,” said Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice-President, Academic and Research.

An engaged member of the campus community, she has served on the Academic Senate, University Budget Committee, the Panel of Full Professors, the University Review Committee, and the University Appointments Committee, among others.

Since 2013 she has been the Associate Dean of Arts, Research and Outreach and is currently the Chair of Senate.

Dr. James Morrison appointed professor emeritus after long career at Saint Mary’s

When James Morrison was growing up in Economy, Nova Scotia, in the 1950s, his father was often known to entice local characters and storytellers into the family home. “He wasn’t a storyteller,” says Dr. Morrison, “but he loved to hear stories. Eventually of course, I went off to university, and decided that those stories and that kind of knowledge weren’t very important—but I came back around.”

And then some. Dr. Morrison, who this past year became Professor Emeritus of History after nearly 40 years at Saint Mary’s, has spent much of his career developing the field of oral history in Canada, and becoming one of its most prominent and important advocates.

“Growing up where I did,” he says, “I’m sure it put me even subconsciously in the mindset that this kind of folklore, when accepted for what it is, absolutely constitutes a record of history.”

Dr. Jim Morrison at a gathering in the International Education Centre with students Maria and Juan Canales (wearing traditional Chilean dress) of Halifax. 1980. University Archives

First, however, Dr. Morrison turned to the world. He first studied History and English at Acadia University, where he developed an interest in social-political issues within Nova Scotia, especially those affecting marginalized populations and the African-Nova Scotian community. He then earned a Commonwealth Scholarship to study at Nigeria’s University of Ibadan, graduating in 1976 after working on oral traditions in the Nigerian highlands as part of his thesis work. From there, he returned to Canada and began working with Parks Canada as an oral historian, compiling an oral history of Kejimkujik Park.

Finally, in 1979, Dr. Morrison began his career at Saint Mary’s, coming on board as Executive Director of the International Education Centre (IEC)—an early example of what would become Saint Mary’s hallmark dedication to international education and outreach.

“It’s wonderful how Saint Mary’s has continued down this path,” says Dr. Morrison. “When I began the IEC was the only game on campus in terms of international studies. We had speakers’ programs in schools, with graduate students from around the world making presentations and raising the interest level of people locally in what was happening globally.”

Dr. Morrison later became Dean of Arts in 1983 until 1989, and in 1988-89 (and again in 2001) served as Program Coordinator of the International Development Studies program, and was Coordinator of the Asian Studies program at various points between 1992 and 2012. From 1990 onwards, he served as a Professor of History and taught courses on South East Asia, India, African, Atlantic History as well as oral history and ethnic/cultural  history of Nova Scotia.

Dr. Morrison has balanced these on-campus commitments with a similarly impressive record of community service. He has been President and Vice-President of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, a historian and archivist with Frontier College since 2000, and an advisor for the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia and the Black Loyalist Museum. Since 2007 he has been a member of the Advisory Committee on the Interpretive Master Plan for Heritage in Nova Scotia.

Dr. Jim Morrison discusses education in developing countries with Dr. John Orkar on the weekly Halifax cable TV show 'Your World'. 1980. University Archives.

One of his most significant achievements was his work, between 1997 and 2011, as an advisor and historian with the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, which would later become the first national museum outside of Ottawa. “Museums are one of the institutions that the public trusts the most,” says Dr. Morrison. “Developing this infrastructure is tremendously important.”

In the 1990s, Dr. Morrison conducted some of the first interviews with individuals sent to Canada as children during World War 2, as well as medical personnel and customs officials, helping to put together the nascent museum’s first exhibits, based significantly on oral history, an achievement of which Dr. Morrison is justly proud.

“When I was in Africa, we were coming out of a long period in which the history of the elites was regarded as the only real history—military and political history, the history of the powerful. And that’s important and crucial, but the history of others, women, labour leaders, farmers, and ordinary people, were always missing from these accounts. Oral history is not a matter of putting a microphone in front of someone and simply taking what they say at face value, but when done properly, it is of critical importance. And, there is a broader acceptance of it now than ever.”

Dr. Morrison was recognized in 2009 with the Order of Canada for “lasting contributions to his province and to the field of historical research.” In 2013, he was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of his research and advocacy on immigration and oral history.

He has also been the recipient of many fellowships and accolades, including Senior Visiting Fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (1989-90), Visiting Scholar at Hokkaido University of Education (1996, 2004), and a Visiting Fellow at Jawaharlal Nehru University (1999).

Finally, his impressive publication history includes authorship and editorship of 13 books and monographs, as well as many papers, editorials, reviews, and other vital contributions to the study of history in Nova Scotia and beyond.

Dr. Morrison’s career has mirrored so many of Saint Mary’s strengths—community and international outreach especially. And it is still not finished. He continues to juggle multiple projects, including annotating the logbook kept by a Minas Basin schooner captain from 1894 to 1901, a biography of the founder of Frontier College, Alfred Fitzpatrick and editing the diary of a Queens County farmer dating from the 1870s to the 1930s.

“ I have always felt that history  may never end all our differences but it may help us make the world safe for the diversity that is all around us.”

Dr. Val Marie Johnson helps repatriate Inuit cultural materials in the Northwest Territories

Dr. Val Marie Johnson

Earlier this month, with funding from the Saint Mary's University Dean of Research and Dean of Arts, Dr. Val Marie Johnson—of the newly created Department of Social Justice & Community Studies—undertook a Community Research Outreach trip to Inuvik and Aklavik, in the homelands of the Inuvialuit and Gwich’in peoples in the Northwest Territories.

The principal purpose of Dr. Johnson’s trip was to share with community members her historical research on Shingle Point Eskimo Residential School, which operated in the region from 1929 to 1936, and to negotiate the return of copies of archival material documenting the School’s students and staff.

The materials shared with community members included many photos of the School’s students and staff, students’ colouring and drawings, staff and student letters, and School records on students. Dr. Johnson discovered the material in her research on relations between white women staff and Inuvialuit, Inuinnait, Iñupiat, and Gwich’in students and staff at the School.

"It's the living history of this region," Dr. Johnson told CBC North Radio while she was in Inuvik. "My desire is to have this material accessible to people whose living history this involves, as much as possible."

This cultural repatriation of the material is being arranged by collaboration between Dr. Johnson, the Anglican Church of Canada General Synod Archives in Toronto, where the material is now housed, and the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre in Inuvik. The Anglican Church operated the School.

Dr. Johnson also visited with community Elders and descendants of former Shingle Point students, and hosted community events in Inuvik and Aklavik about her research, the materials, and the plans for their new accessibility to community members in the region.

Professor Alexander MacLeod tours with prestigious British literary magazine

Dr. MacLeod speaking at the Shalespeare and Company event.

Saint Mary's professor Alexander MacLeod, of the Department of English Language & Literature, spent part of the past month on tour in England and France with Granta, the prestigious British literary magazine, as it promotes its special Canada issue.

Dr. MacLeod—whose 2010 story collection Light Lifting was nominated for both a Giller Prize and a Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award—has a new short story entitled “Lagomorph” in Granta 141: Canada. His work shared space in the issue with other Canadian writers including Falen Johnson and Catherine Leroux, with whom he appeared at London’s Canada House and Paris’ Shakespeare and Company bookstore.

On November 22, the group visited the renowned Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris.

Macleod's story, Lagomorph, is featured in the current issue Granta 141: Canada.

“The trip has been amazing so far,” said Dr. MacLeod, who was able to spend the night in Shakespeare and Company’s storied guest room, used in years past by writers from Samuel Beckett to the Beats.

Maclean’s Brian Bethune wrote about Granta’s Canada issue, singling out Dr. MacLeod’s contribution as “suspenseful, moving, and…hilarious.”

Related

• Unravelling Atlantic Canada on the Arts with Impact site.
• MacLeod's story collection Light Lifting was a shortlisted nominee for the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize,[1] and the 2011 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.

2017 Arts Dean's List students recognized at key ceremony

2017 Dean's List students with Dean of Arts Margaret MacDonald and Eric Miller (center front)

Eric Miller

Each year, Saint Mary's recognizes Arts students with high academic standing by placing them on the Dean’s List and presenting them with a symbolic key.

To qualify for the Dean’s List, students must have taken at least 30-credit hours during the academic year and achieved a grade point average of at least 3.67.  Dean’s List standing is noted on student transcripts and remain part of their record.

At this year's ceremony, held Thursday, October 26, global polictical consultant Eric Miller BA'93 addressed the students. Miller is president and founder of the Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, and a fellow at the Wilson Center.