Government of Canada partners with Saint Mary’s to create new coastal habitat and combat climate change

Dr. Danika van Proosdij

Nova Scotia will soon be home to more coastal habitat and defences against flooding and erosion as the result of a $1.8 million partnership between the Government of Canada and Saint Mary’s University.

“This support from the federal government is crucial. We will use it to create new salt marsh habitat around the Bay of Fundy and beyond, addressing the impact of climate change on our region and tackling a global problem,” said Dr.  Danika van Proosdij, the project lead and a professor at Saint Mary’s University. “Using nature-based strategies and restructuring dyke systems, we will create new vibrant ecosystems for marine life to prosper and new marshes that can absorb rising sea levels and storm surges.”

The new project, Making Room for Wetlands: Implementation of Managed Realignment for Salt Marsh Restoration and Climate Change Adaptation in Nova Scotia, seeks to restore over 75 hectares of tidal wetland (i.e., salt marsh) habitat through the realignment and decommissioning of dyke infrastructure at multiple sites in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. The project will also help to build the Atlantic region’s scientific and technical capacity to manage future realignment and restoration projects.

“At Saint Mary's, community is at the heart of what we do, and that extends to our research,” said Saint Mary’s University president Robert Summerby-Murray. “Dr. van Proosdij’s project shows our commitment to using our knowledge and expertise to address challenges facing our region and the world. I want to thank the Government of Canada for supporting Atlantic Canadian researchers who are at the forefront of combating climate change.”

This project will be undertaken through a well-established partnership between Saint Mary’s University and CB Wetlands & Environmental Specialists (CBWES) Inc. using innovative and proven techniques with a comprehensive monitoring program.

Aspects of the project will also be conducted in consultation with the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and in collaboration with Queen’s University Department of Civil Engineering, the Ecology Action Centre (EAC), Dalhousie University’s School of Planning and School of Resource and Environmental Studies.

This project was announced on Monday, June 25, 2018, as part of the Coastal Restoration announcement made by the Honourable Scott Brison, President of Treasury Board Canada, M.P. for Kings-Hants on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. It was announced that four organizations will receive together over $7 million over 5 years for projects to help restore coastal habitats in Nova Scotia and in the Arctic.

““I am proud to support these Coastal Restoration Fund projects that will restore and rehabilitate important coastal habitats in Nova Scotia and Nunavut. Our funding will encourage and build local community capacity to maintain and restore aquatic habitats.”

- The Honourable Scott Brison, President of Treasury Board Canada”

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From the announcement event

Saint Mary’s new Department of Criminology hosts ground-breaking national conference on harm-reduction in the justice system

More than 200 scholars, corrections workers, and social-justice experts from Canada and beyond came together for a fruitful exchange of ideas on harm reduction in the criminal-justice system at Saint Mary’s this past Thursday and Friday.

Criminology graduate student Omotimilehin Idris presenting during the “Transnational Perspectives” session

For the past eight years, the National Conference on Critical Perspectives: Criminology and Social Justice has been held in Ottawa, and focused on scholarly participants. This year marks the first in which the conference will begin visiting communities across Canada, and also the first in which it substantially moves outside the university’s walls to holistically address issues around crime and justice.

Besides scholars, professionals and employees within the Canadian corrections system, social-justice experts, and non-profit workers came together to discuss new ideas around harm reduction.

“The classic idea of harm reduction is around drug use,” says Diane Crocker, chair of Saint Mary’s Department of Criminology. “And that’s being addressed here, but we’re also expanding the scope to look at how the criminal-justice system at large can harm people, or even how larger social structures cause harm, and exploring how that can be recognized.”

Represented at the conference were universities in Canada, New Zealand, and the UK; criminal-justice experts from the Nova Scotia Department of Justice, and the Halifax Regional Police; representatives from First Nations across Canada; and several levels of government.

Government representatives included Karen Hudson, QC, Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Nova Scotia; Denise Perret, Deputy Minister of the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness; Tracey Taweel, Deputy Minister of the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, and Heritage; Lynn Hartwell, Deputy Minister of the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services; and Karen Gatien, Associate Deputy Minister of the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Dr. Crocker hopes that the conference’s success will be replicated in coming years.

“We’ve set a high bar in terms of having an integrated conference of academics, community members, and criminal-justice professionals coming together to share ideas,” she says. “This has been an incredibly valuable two days.”

The conference was a joint effort between the newly formed Department of Criminology of Saint Mary’s University, and the Nova Scotia Criminal Justice Association.

Intercultural success at SMU

From June 14 - 16, Saint Mary’s hosted distinguished academics from around the world for the International Conference in Intercultural Studies: Immigration, the Dynamics of Identity and Policies for Managing Diversity.

The main goal of the bilingual conference—a collaboration between Modern Languages & Classics professor Dr. Jean-Jacques Defert, Psychology professor Dr. David Bourgeois, and Université Laval faculty member Dr. Jean Ramdé—was to build bridges between researchers and professionals in the public and private sectors.

“We had representatives and employees from the federal and provincial governments, as well teachers, civil servants, and social workers from YMCA and the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, and many others,” said Defert. “They gave very positive feedback, especially around the variety of themes we tackled.”

Variety was a keystone of the conference: more than 40 workshops, panels, and keynote presentations covered subjects ranging from child soldiers to international-student retention to immigrant entrepreneurs.

“The workshops given by community organizations pointed at really concrete ways of dealing with diversity,” said Defert. “For example, we had 45 people from the Conseil acadien scolaire provincial, the Acadian school board in Nova Scotia, attend a workshop by Marie McAndrew of the Université de Montreal on equity and diversity in education, and at the end invited her to continue the discussion.”

Keynote speaker Dr. Ather Akbari, Chair of the Atlantic Research Group on Economics of Immigration, Aging and Diversity, gave a talk entitled “In-Migration and Out-Migration: Atlantic Canada at a Crossroad.” In an interview with Star Metro Halifax, he said “whatever focus groups I have done, I found…if people were given a choice to live either in Nova Scotia to go to another province, if they have a job offer, then they would prefer to stay in Nova Scotia.”

Gatherings of academics and public and private-sector workers like this are critical, says Defert, to build intercultural competence in the province and ensure those immigrants do remain here.

“Nova Scotia is relatively new to having significant levels of diversity,” he said, “so it’s important to exchange ideas and practices.”

The conference was structured around some of the main themes of intercultural studies—education, health, social services, and the workforce—which are also the pillars of a new Intercultural Studies degree program offered by Saint Mary’s.

“This was really the strength of the conference and the program,” says Defert: “bringing together people of all backgrounds to discuss how they deal with, and support, diversity in their own ways.”

An evening with John Ralston Saul

John Ralston Saul gave his insights into immigration and Atlantic Canada at Saint Mary’s University on Friday, June 1st. Ralston Saul praised the centuries-long Canadian approach to welcoming newcomers, something he said is unique to this country and learned from Indigenous peoples. Ralston Saul noted that Canada now stands out among westernized nations for its pro-immigration policies and practices including government programming and citizen volunteers. 

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.