Saint Mary's home to YMCA Peace Medal winner and champion for peace

Pictured L-R: Patrick Guerra, SMU’s student coordinator for Peaceful Schools International; Ruby Jangaard, Amelia Penney-Crocker and Marin DeWolfe, who created new books for Peaceful Schools International; Bridget Brownlow, SMU's Conflict Resolution Advisor, President Peaceful Schools International; Michaela Peters, a SMU Arts student who has travelled with the SMU Northern Ireland Peace Education Program.

YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth has awarded its 2018 Peace Medal to Bridget Brownlow, Conflict Resolution Advisor at Saint Mary’s and President of Peaceful Schools International. YMCAs across Canada present the Peace Medal to individuals or groups who, without any special resources, status, wealth or position, demonstrate a commitment to peace leadership within their local, national or global community.

Representatives from Saint Mary’s University recently participated in a conference on peace in Northern Ireland. The conference, “Twenty Years of Peace: Progress and Possibilities in Northern Ireland,” took place at Yale University on November 29 and 30.

The symposium brought together academics, community leaders, politicians and architects of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, which in 1998 marked a formal end to the conflict in Northern Ireland.

“Our Northern Ireland Peace Education Program has existed for 14 of the past 20 years since the Good Friday Agreement,” notes Bridget Brownlow, SMU’s Conflict Resolution Advisor and President of Peaceful Schools International.  

She and Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, President and Vice-Chancellor of Saint Mary’s, attended as invited discussants at the symposium on Yale’s campus in New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. Summerby-Murray’s academic research and teaching interests include cultural and historical geography in Northern Ireland; and he has been a strong champion for SMU’s collaboration with Peaceful Schools International, as well as experiential learning and global engagement.

Brownlow, who recently received the 2018 Peace Medal from the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth in November, was also part of a public panel session. Her session at the Yale event , “The Future(s) of Northern Ireland,” was chaired by Dr. Richard N. Hasse, an American diplomat long involved in efforts toward Northern Ireland’s peace process.

Participants included Simon Coveney, Tánaiste (deputy head) of the government of Ireland; Karen Bradley, British MP and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; General John de Chastelain, a member of the International Advisory Board for Peaceful Schools International; and others.

“My role was to speak to the unique and progressive nature of our peace education programming, whereby we are sharing the same peace education resources locally as we are with children in Northern Ireland,” says Brownlow.

“We have 14 years of very positive relationships with educators and more than 20 primary schools in Belfast, and those relationships are as strong as ever. It’s not unusual to hear people there say ‘the world has forgotten about us’. It’s always very reassuring that they know we at Saint Mary’s University and Peaceful Schools International have not forgotten about the people living in a post-conflict Northern Ireland.”

Saint Mary’s is also keen to continue a working relationship with researchers at Yale in relation to peace education. Brownlow and Dr. Bonnie Weir, a political science professor at Yale, are looking at ways for the two universities to collaborate.

Last month, with support from SMU and SMUSA, Peaceful Schools International launched three new storybooks written and illustrated by three Halifax junior high students. The resource books will be distributed to elementary schools in Nova Scotia and during the next SMU visit to Northern Ireland in February.

The books have generated a great deal of interest – more detail can be found in these recent media reports:

•  Halifax students produce books to help promote peaceful schools
  (CBC Nova Scotia)

• ·Kids books created by kids (CBC Facebook)

• N.S. girl pens picture books to help other kids with conflict resolution
  (CTV News Network)

Saint Mary's hosts public panel on international institutions

Saint Mary's University's recently hosted an engaging public panel discussion, that serviced as a precursor to the Halifax International Security Forum three-day annual conference.

The panel, entitled Discord, Disruptions, Disorder: A World Without International Institutions, took place on November 15th in the McNally Theatre Auditorium. The event is the result of a partnership between the Halifax International Security Forum, Dalhousie University and Saint Mary's.

“The goal of the Forum is to start conversations between decision-makers and opinion-leaders from around the world that help shape foreign policy,” said Peter Van Praagh, President of the Halifax International Security Forum. “Our partnership with Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s ensures that tomorrow’s leaders have a voice in those discussions.”

Mercedes Stephenson, host of The West Block on Global News, moderated the discussion.

Panellists included:

• Kenan Rahmani, an advisor to Syrian civil society organizations, most notably The White Helmets;

• Ayman Mhanna, Executive Director of the Samir Kassir Foundation in Beruit;

• Antonio Ramalho da Roche, Professor of International Relations at the University of Brasilia; and

• Daouda Sembene, former Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund.

“As a city with a truly global outlook, Halifax is a fitting site for this esteemed gathering of thinkers and problem solvers,” said Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, President and Vice-Chancellor of Saint Mary’s University. “We are extremely proud to host this year’s very timely public debate over the future of our global institutions.

The Halifax International Security Forum is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, DC.

Sobey School of Business MBA ranks #8 in the world for sustainability

The Sobey School of Business is eighth in the world for sustainability, according to the recently released Corporate Knights Better World MBA ranking.

The eight place finish marks the highest ranking yet for the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University. The school attributes its success to the way sustainable development and ethics are deeply embedded in its courses, the strong ethnic and gender diversity of its student and faculty, and the faculty’s extensive research on sustainability themes. Corporate Knights assessed 141 business schools across 25 countries for its rankings.

“Placed as we are here on the east coast of Canada, the impacts of climate change are strongly felt. At the same time, our province is a leader in immigration, and has a deep history in co-operative and alternate business models. We understand how important sustainability must be in business today,” noted Dean Harjeet Bhabra. “We are proud of our faculty’s strengths in international research and ethics, and the growing expertise in social enterprise development at Saint Mary’s, which have helped us achieve this recognition.”

The Sobey MBA program ranked second in Canada, with Schulich, at York University, placing first nationally. Warwick University in Exeter, UK, was ranked first in the world
Corporate Knights introduced two new metrics to this year’s ranking: the gender and racial diversity of graduate business department faculty. Such diversity can influence student perception of what leadership looks like, and means that business schools can model meaningful standards for more diverse corporate boards and management.

According to Corporate Knights, The University of Connecticut's School of Business and the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax led the way on racial diversity with 51 percent of faculty identified as visible minorities.

Participating schools were graded on five indicators: the number of institutes and centres dedicated to sustainable development; the percentage of core courses that integrate sustainable development; faculty research publications and citations on sustainable development themes; and faculty gender and racial diversity.

In 2014, the Sobey school’s faculty unanimously voted to become signatories to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Management Education initiative (PRME). A central part of this commitment is a pledge to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

For Saint Mary’s and the Sobey School, the ranking was helped by research and work conducted through the school’s centres: the Atlantic Research Group on Economics of Immigration, Aging and Diversity, the new International Centre for Co-operative Management, the Centre for Leadership Excellence, the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services, and the Centre of Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives.

See Corporate Knights' full top 40 here.

Saint Mary’s University celebrates the new Viola Desmond Bursary

African-Nova Scotian students attending Saint Mary’s University will soon have more support available to them as a result of a newly established bursary.

The Viola Desmond Bursary was announced on November 8, the date of Viola’s heroic anti-discrimination action in 1946. The bursary is fully-endowed and will be given out every year to full-time African-Nova Scotian students at Saint Mary’s.

“At Saint Mary’s, community is at the heart of what we do. We are very proud to be part of commemorating Viola Desmond, and to have a financial award named in her honour,” said Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice-President, Academic and Research. “This award will assist generations of African-Nova Scotian entrepreneurs attending Saint Mary’s on their path to success.”

The initial award amount will mark the year of Viola Desmond’s anti-segregation action, 1946, with students receiving $1,946. While this award is not renewable, it may be awarded to the same student more than once.

While preference for the bursary will be given to students in the Sobey School of Business, the bursary may also be awarded to students in programs featuring entrepreneurship. Preference will also be given to female students from Halifax County. Students must also have a financial need.

This award was established with the permission of the Desmond Family and through the generosity of The Honourable Wilfred P. Moore, Q.C., LL.D., and Ms. Jane Adams Ritcey.

“Viola Desmond has been very good to our city, our province and our country,” said Senator Wilfred Moore. “My family is very pleased to assist Saint Mary’s University in this most noble virtue—the transfer of knowledge. We do so in keeping with the bedrock tradition of Saint Mary’s, offering a hand up.”

Spark Zone recognized as World’s Best in Entrepreneurship Skills

The Spark Zone, a sandbox to foster social innovations and business ideas, has been recognized as the world’s best in enterprise and entrepreneurship skill-building.

The staff of the Spark Zone accepted the award in Houston, Texas from the International Education Business Partnership Network. The IPN Global Best Awards was held October 17 through 19 at the Houston Space Centre.

“This award recognizes Spark Zone’s success in supporting students to learn about entrepreneurship through not only academics but also by introducing them to our great mentors and networks,” noted Jason Turner, Spark Zone manager. “This global award is an endorsement of our ability to guide students in creating viable businesses. We are really proud of the programs and initiatives we’ve introduced in Nova Scotia’s post-secondary institutions.”

Spark Zone is a partnership between Saint Mary's University, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Nova Scotia Community College, Mount Saint Vincent University, the Atlantic School of Theology and University of King's College, with Saint Mary's serving as the host institution. The Spark Zone is funded by the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Advanced Education.

“Nova Scotia’s unique mix of industry and academia, and the ease with which the two come together, is what makes our innovation story compelling,” said Hon. Labi Kousoulis, Minister, Labour and Advanced Education. “The Spark Zone is a great example of innovation in action, and I’m pleased to see it recognized internationally for its leadership.”

The Global Best Award submissions are evaluated on how well the programs deliver the following criteria:

• Enhanced employability

• Extent of experiential learning

• Knowledge transfer of employability skills

• Youth involvement in design and operation of the partnership

• Replicability of the partnership

• Recognition of excellence

The competition includes other entrepreneurship centres and service providers from across the world with winners from six regions attending the conference.

About the Spark Zone

Utilizing physical and virtual spaces, The Spark Zone brings together students and community members to create, develop and ultimately launch business ideas and social innovations. Partners at Saint Mary’s University, NSCAD University, Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia Community College, University of King’s College, and the Atlantic School of Theology provide opportunities for people to connect and then nurture those connections as ideas become reality.

Saint Mary’s collaboration with Innu Nation seen in documentary film screening

The rain could not keep a full house away from Halifax Central Library’s Paul O'Regan Hall on Nov. 3, 2018. Saint Mary’s faculty, Innu Nation, and members of the local community came to hear the story of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Innu Nation. The documentary screening of “Nakatuenita: Respect,” was co-produced by Richard Nuna, Innu Nation, and Dr. Trudy Sable, Community Conservation Research Network - Saint Mary's University and directed by filmmaker Kent Martin. 

The evening began with a traditional Mi’kmaw prayer by Mi’kmaw elder Thomas Christmas and Mi’Kmaw song to welcome participants onto traditional Mi’kmaq territory. Innu Nation’s Grand Chief, Gregory Rich, Dr. Trudy Sable, Saint Mary’s Community Engaged Research Facilitator and Saint Mary’s Vice-President, Dr. Malcolm Butler also welcomed the crowd.

Throughout the screening you could hear engaged asides between front-row members of the crowd.. The film – which ended in a standing ovation – tells the story of Ntesinan, a once peaceful territory where Innu families lived in tents, hunted for survival, and learned “Nutshimit” (country) skills and the fragile relationship between humans and animals from their elders. Their culture is one of respect – respect for the land, plants, animals and each other.

Although the memories of the past remain strong, the Innu now adapt to cultural and spiritual disruption. In the mid 20th century, they were forced to settle into communities by the governments and the church.  A significant part of their territory (later flooded by The Churchill Falls Hydro Project) changed the great falls known to the Innu as “Mista Shipu” forever.

“This film is a very powerful and moving testament to the impact that resettlement, development and climate change has had on Indigenous culture and communities,” said Dr. Butler.

Successful in taking control of their schools in 2009 and income support two years ago, the Innu look to the future of their land, social services, schools and government.

“Their resilience has amazed me in the face of so many forces that have tried to undermine who they are as a people, deeply and spiritually connected to their lands and to the animals. We have much to learn about how to truly work together in collaboration and mutual benefit,” said Dr. Sable.

In the meantime, the answer for Grand Chief Gregory Rich is clear.

“The film is a message of the struggle today for the Innu people. Our connection is to the lands, to the animals, and it has been our culture for many, many years. I know we can not go back to how it was before, but to be part of the land and the animals is the answer to our struggles, Ntesinan,” said Grand Chief Rich.

Saint Mary's 1977-78 men’s basketball team inducted into NS Sport Hall of Fame

Members of the Saint Mary’s Huskies 1977-78 Men’s Basketball Team.

In photo: Head Coach Brian Heaney, Assistant Coach Willie Follette, Managers, John Landry and Calvin Smith, Trainer Richard Bishop and the players, Ron Blommers, Bruce Holmes, Tom Kappos, Derrick Lewis, Ross Quackenbush, Roger Tustanoff, Mike Solomon, and Frank White.

You could not make this stuff up.

It was a packed house with 11,000 fans jammed into the newly-minted Metro Centre in downtown Halifax in 1978. Two Nova Scotia university basketball teams were locked in a pitched battle to win the national championship.

Fans were divided with half cheering for Saint Mary’s Huskies and the other for the Acadia Axemen. Both teams were stacked with talent, spirit and a hunger for victory.

Acadia took the lead early in the game, but Saint Mary’s fought back and defeated their opponents to win the CIAU title 99-91.

On Friday, Nov. 2, the 1977-78 Men’s Basketball Team was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame, 40 years after a victory that will go down in history as one of the most exciting university sporting events in Canada.

All but a few of the team members returned to Halifax from all over Canada and the US to receive their honour at the Halifax Convention Centre.

They were presented with their honour by Owen Carrigan, who served as President of Saint Mary’s University that year and Doug Wright, a long-serving member of the Saint Mary’s Sport Hall of Fame Committee.

“It was the greatest game ever played at a college level in Canada,” said Coach Brian Heaney. “That CIAU national title took basketball to another plateau in Canada.”

Even 40 years later, players and fans remember that night. Saint Mary’s was the host team and seeded last. The magic ignited when they defeated the top-ranked Manitoba Bisons (92-81) who were favoured to win the championship. In the next round, they beat the University of Victoria Vikings with a score of 82-79.

That earned them a spot in the final against the Acadia Axemen. It was a grudge match and a showdown of hometown rivals, according to player Rick Plato.

“If you wrote it up for a movie you wouldn’t believe it. We were two power houses, tough, determined, confident skilled and talented,” he said.

With a victory and winning score of 99 points, they set the record for most points scored in a final game. That record was not broken until 2016.

“It was the time of our lives,” remembers player Tom Kappos. “We were a bunch of 18-year old Canadian kids, and this entire stadium was overflowing with people, fans, emotion.”

That game and season didn’t just change varsity basketball in Canada. It changed the lives of certain players too.

“It changed my life after being in the US,” said player Frank White. “People here were warm, welcoming, kind, they treated me with love and respect. Everyone had such a sense of purpose. In our hearts, we knew we were going to win that game.”

Player Ross Quackenbush, who later went on to coach men’s varsity basketball at Saint Mary’s, called that night the highlight of his career. Looking back at pictures, he laughs about the styles of 1978.

“Back then it was the time of short shorts and long hair. Now the shorts are long, and the hair is short.”

Whatever the fashion, that night was all about basketball. Player Ron McFarland received the Most Valuable Player award, finishing with 38 points.

The Saint Mary’s team were victorious in a game that will never be forgotten by either team or the 11,000 fans.

The Saint Mary’s team were: Ron Blommers, John Brown, Bruce Holmes, Derrick Lewis, Tom Kappos, Ron McFarland (MVP) Rick Plato, Ross Quackenbush, Art Screaton, Mike Solomon, Roger Tustanoff, Mark Vickers, and Frank White; (Coaches) Brian Burgess, Brian Heaney, and Willie Follette; (Managers) Hector Corkum, John Landry, Calvin Smith and Allan Wentworth; (Trainer) Richard Bishop; and, (Team Doctor) Dr. David Petrie Sr.

We’re all in this together: Collaborating on social studies education

More than 300 social studies teachers took part in “Calling All Citizens”, their annual provincial conference hosted October 26 for a fourth year at Saint Mary’s University. 

“I think we would all agree that social studies education is more important now than ever,” said Maureen McNamara, a Cape Breton teacher and president of the Nova Scotia Social Studies Teachers Association (SSTA). “We must continue to help our students not just to understand our rapidly changing world but their role as citizens. In doing so, we must create safe spaces for discussion and debate, not argument and polarization.”

The event included a trade exhibition, 30 workshops – including 10 led by Saint Mary’s professors and staff – an AGM and several off-site sessions at locations such as the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Millbrook Cultural and Heritage Centre. The day began with a spirited keynote on fostering ‘civic competence’ and community service in Canadian schools, by Dr. Alan Sears, Professor of Social Studies Education at the University of New Brunswick.

Dr. Margaret MacDonald, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, welcomed the teachers to campus and highlighted the sessions led by Saint Mary’s professors and staff: “We're talking about Mi'kmaq music and art, human resilience in the face of mental health challenges, competencies related to intercultural learning, strategies for accommodating racial and religious differences, field schools in The Gambia, and even sessions off-campus such as the hands-on archaeology at Grand Pré National Historic Site,” she said.

Nova Scotia teachers, museums and educational organizations lead the other workshops.  

“Together, this roster offers teachers of all grades a rich professional learning day that can only benefit our students in the end,” said Wendy Driscoll, conference co-chair. “The SSTA is proud of our partnership with Saint Mary's University because it brings together teachers and professors for the common purpose of student achievement.”

These connections are a highlight of the annual event for Joe Bellefontaine. The Grade 9 teacher at Riverview High in Sydney has also taught with the Chignecto and Annapolis Valley school boards, and has a SMU Bachelor of Arts degree in geography and geology.

“People in universities are leaders in their field, so it's great to see their ideas and what they’re working on,” he said. “They have access to different resources, and they're really willing to talk to teachers and to make those connections with public school systems.”

For more highlights, see @NSSSTA on Twitter and the conference agenda. 

Saint Mary’s rises up the rankings in Canadian Research Universities report

Saint Mary’s professor Dr. Christa Brosseau, Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Chemistry & Materials works in the lab with Ph.D. student Najwan Albarghouthi.

Saint Mary’s University is rising up the research rankings, according to Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities 2018. In 2018, Saint Mary’s is Nova Scotia’s second largest research university by research income and one of eight universities driving significant increases in research and research funding in Atlantic Canada.

“Saint Mary’s University is home to innovative research that impacts not only our institution but contributes to addressing problems of global importance,” said Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice-President, Academic and Research.

Saint Mary’s learning-centred environment places a high value on the process of research and innovation, as students, as professors, as researchers, ensuring that the university is not simply transferring knowledge but creating it. The university hosts nine Canada Research Chairs ranging from astronomy to international finance, contributing to this knowledge transfer and creation. Saint Mary’s receives over $8 million annually from outside funding sources including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and Canada Research Chairs. 

“Fiscal 2017 was a very strong year for Atlantic universities,” said Ron Freedman, CEO of Research Infosource Inc.  “Five universities – a mix of large and small – performed very well, with research income growth well in excess of the national average.”

Total Atlantic university research income in Fiscal 2017 rose to $357.5 million from $311.7 million in Fiscal 2016.  Nationally, combined research income of Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities jumped by 6.8% to $7.33 billion in Fiscal 2017 from $6.87 billion in Fiscal 2016 - the most substantial gain in a decade. 

Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities List 2018 ranks full-service universities based on their total sponsored research income. To obtain a more balanced picture of how universities are performing, the Research Universities of the Year (RUY) rankings take into account key measures of research success.

To learn more about the Research Universities of the Year (RUY) report, click here.

Peaceful Schools International launches new books to help children navigate conflict

Resolving conflict can be tricky enough for adults, but a new series of books published by Saint Mary’s University aims to help children better understand and resolve conflicts respectfully and peacefully.

Peaceful Schools International launched the trio of books on October 19, in conjunction with the university and the Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association (SMUSA). All three were written by Amelia Penney-Crocker, a Grade 8 student at Oxford School, while her two best friends Ruby Jangaard and Marin DeWolfe created the engaging illustrations.

Amelia first got involved with Peaceful Schools when the charitable organization – housed and supported at SMU – gave a presentation to her elementary school, which later participated in a Peace Conference here on campus.

“Then I was lucky enough to go to Belfast with the Peaceful Schools team from Saint Mary’s,” said the budding author, who also won the 2016 Woozles writing contest and co-wrote an article about Syrian refugees for Our Children magazine. “It was interesting to see the way kids from other places have a different experience with conflict.”

The idea emerged to create a fun educational resource written by children for children, and “I hope that me writing them and me being a kid will help to connect to other kids in a better way,” she said.

The books are Animal School, The Enchantress from Canada and The Fairy Ring. They examine ways to peacefully de-escalate conflict, address hurtful insults, share difficult feedback, and reach out to adults for guidance on standing up for yourself.

The stories were created for local elementary schools and the Northern Ireland Conflict Resolution Program, now in its 14th year of providing conflict resolution training to SMU students in the faculties of Arts, Science and Commerce. Through the program, the books – and skits based on them – will be shared with children in HRM and more than 100 classrooms throughout Northern Ireland, explained Patrick Guerra, SMU’s student coordinator for Peaceful Schools International. The next trip overseas is scheduled for this February.

 Commending the book’s creators as “our next generation of scholars,” President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray said “we want to celebrate their work particularly as it relates to peaceful schools, and the idea that education around conflict resolution and understanding peace is important for all of us, at all levels of our educational institutions.”

The launch event also acknowledged inspiration and support from Dr. Hetty van Gurp, founder of Peaceful Schools International. She was recently appointed to the newly established Provincial Advisory Council on Education, which replaces the seven dissolved regional school boards.

“What this means is at a provincial level, we will now have the input of Peaceful Schools International promoting the definitive inclusion of peace education in the curriculum, and this has been one of the central goals of the organization all along. So we are very grateful for everything Dr. van Gurp has done to make this a reality going forward,” said Bridget Brownlow, SMU’s Conflict Resolution Advisor and President of Peaceful Schools International.

Saint Mary’s to offer archaeology field school in Cuba to the general public

The ruins of the mansion house at Cafetal Angerona.

The ruins of the barracks complex at Cafetal Angerona.

Saint Mary's University archaeologists at work at Cafetal Angerona.

What began as the archaeological opportunity of a lifetime for students, is now being offered to the general public.

Saint Mary’s University is looking for twelve people with a keen interest in archaeology to participate in excavating historical artifacts at Angerona, a Cuban national historic site and former slave plantation, 80 kilometres west of Havana.

“This expedition builds on the great research partnership we have established over the past two years with Havana’s Cabinet of Archaeology and the College of San Geronimo,” said Aaron Taylor, an alumnus of Saint Mary’s and the program’s instructor. “Sharing this opportunity with people who want to take part but aren’t current students is a big part of this. This field school offers the opportunity for community members to share their passion for archaeology and participate in field research.”

The expedition will be examining the ruins of a previously unknown building behind the plantation’s mansion house and also exploring the walled barracks compound to learn more about the daily lives of the people who were enslaved at Angerona. 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.

This project is a non-credit course to introduce participants to archaeological field methods, Cuban history, and life beyond the resort. The course is offered by the Studio for Teaching and Learning at Saint Mary’s as part of the university’s Open Archaeology Initiative. Open Archaeology engages members of the public in archaeology through short courses and community-engaged research.

The field school runs from Feb.17 to March 3, 2019. For more information or to express interest in participating visit digatsmu.ca.