Interculturalism in focus at Saint Mary’s

One of many International Education Week activities included The Day of the Dead community altar at the Patrick Power Library (Oct 29 - Nov 4), which celebrates the memory of departed loved ones and the continuity of life.

The important role of international education in fostering global citizenship is the focus of celebration this week as Saint Mary’s marks this year’s International Education Week.

“The enthusiastic reception of the cultural events and international opportunity sessions we are presenting this year speaks to the outward-looking ethos of our student, staff, and faculty community,” says Miyuki Arai of the Office of Global Learning and Intercultural Support at The Studio for Teaching and Learning who co-organizes the event each year. “Although many students are interested in study abroad opportunities, we’d like to see even more people take advantage of the more than 100 academic exchange agreements we have with partner universities in over 30 countries around the world.”

The power of international experiences and intercultural learning is a particular passion of University president Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, especially in his capacity as Board Chair of the Canadian Bureau for International Education. Intercultural learning is a strategic priority for the university, and Saint Mary’s strives to “foster deeper relations between cultures and provide our students with a distinct and global perspective,” he says. ”We continue our commitment to graduating students with global perspectives and intercultural competence, while working to ensure that we as faculty and staff live these values ourselves each day.”

This year’s celebration includes the International Opportunities Fair hosted by the Patrick Power Library, several study abroad information sessions, the always popular Korean Cultural Café, and a music recital hosted by the Confucius Institute. The week winds up on Friday with the showcase event, Stories from Overseas, where former and current exchange program participants reflect on how their educational journeys have been shaped by international study. 

For more information on international learning opportunities at Saint Mary’s University, contact the Global Learning and Intercultural Support office at gocentre@smu.ca.

Alumni win top honours for athletic achievements

Justine Colley-Leger

Jackie Barrett

Suzanne Muir

Saint Mary’s has a long history of athletic excellence. This fall, three exceptional former student-athletes are being given top honours for their accomplishments.

Basketball legend Justine Colley-Leger BComm’14, powerlifter and Special Olympian Jackie Barrett BComm’98, and soccer star Suzanne Muir BComm’93, will be inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame on November 15 in Halifax.

They are among five athletes to be celebrated not only for their outstanding contributions to Nova Scotia sport, but each rising to national acclaim.

A force to be reckoned with in the sport of powerlifting, highly decorated Special Olympics athlete Jackie Barrett will make history as the first Special Olympian joining the Hall of Fame this year.

Originally from Spryfield, Barrett has dominated Canadian Special Olympics powerlifting competitions throughout his career with 20 gold medals, and he has represented Canada well at the World Special Olympics competition with an incredible 13 first-place finishes. In his final year of competition (2015), he set three Special Olympics world records, lifting 277.5 kg, 297.5 kg and 697.5 kg in the squat, deadlift and triple combination events respectively. In the same year, he also became the first Special Olympics athlete to be nominated for the Lou Marsh Award as Canada’s top athlete.

Justine Colley-Leger is the all-time leading scorer in the history of CIS women’s basketball. Her impressive play earned her two CIS National Player of the Year awards and she led the Saint Mary’s Huskies to four consecutive AUS championships and CIS silver and bronze medals. She was also a two-time AUS MVP, four-time All-Canadian and five-time AUS first team All-Star, while playing more than 40 games with the Canadian national team.

Suzanne Muir was named AUS Rookie of the Year during her time playing with the Saint Mary’s Huskies women’s soccer team. Her standout skills also earned her two AUS MVP awards, five-time AUS All-Star status and two-time All-Canadian honours. Twice named Athlete of the Year at Saint Mary’s University, Muir went on to play with Canada’s national women’s team from 1992 to 1999. She played with the national team at the 1995 and 1999 World Cups. She was inducted into the Saint Mary’s Sport Hall of Fame in 2014.

On a related note, Justin Palardy BA’11, geography major and former Husky, was a pro football player with CFL and now a coach for the Dalhousie Tigers. He is being inducted on Nov 1 to the Colchester County Sports Hall of Fame.

Tickets for the 2019 Induction Night are on sale now at the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame. Call 902-404-3343 to place your order.

Celebrating the new Dr. Hari Das Commons

Saint Mary’s students now have access to a newly renovated space to study, connect, and relax - the Dr. Hari Das Commons. 

Completed at the end of September, the 1,725 square foot area, located on the second floor of the Loyola Residence building, is named after the late professor, Dr. Hari Das. The commons honours his connection with Saint Mary’s and was made possible by the family of Dr. Hari Das.  

Dr. Hari Das

“Dr. Das had a special connection to Saint Mary’s and it’s wonderful to see him recognized in this manner. His relationship with students and faculty, along with his contributions in the Sobey School of Business, make the naming of this space especially fitting,” said Saint Mary’s President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray.  

Sustainably designed, the Dr. Hari Das Commons was conceived as a hub of student activity. The modern, bright space includes 50 seats and a large meeting table for learning, socializing, and collaboration and features new comfortable furniture, a higher ceiling, new lighting and finishes.

Overlooking the quad, track, and athletics field, the Dr. Hari Das Commons is ideally located to bring students together from across all faculties, creating a sense of community in the space.

“The Dr. Hari Das Commons is a beautiful addition to our network of learning commons which are emerging across campus,” said Saint Mary’s Vice-President, Finance and Administration Gabe Morrison. “It reflects Dr. Das’s commitment to students and leading-edge scholarship. The renovation reflects the concept and design standards established for the adjacent and upcoming Sobeys Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hub.” 

A professor in the Sobey School of Business for 32 years, Dr. Das was deeply connected to students, faculty, and staff. While at Saint Mary’s, he taught several graduate and doctoral courses and continued his research in understanding human behaviour. His memory lives on at the university through the guidance and direction he provided for many business students. 

“Dr. Das had a tremendous impact on me and also influenced my own teaching,” says Saint Mary’s alumnus Dr. Scott MacMillan, Associate Professor in Management at Mount Saint Vincent University. “He was a brilliant teacher who knew what he wanted his students to know. He had very high standards, always worked hard, and demanded the same of others.” 

An eminent national and international scholar, Dr. Das received his MSc and PhD from the University of British Columbia and published several journal articles and textbooks. Dr. Das’s interest in human resources led him to co-author the best-selling textbook, Canadian Human Resource Management. Now in its 12th edition, with almost 300,000 copies sold, it is one of the most successful textbooks published in Canada and is used in over 70 universities in the country.

In addition to his work as a scholar, Dr. Das published two novels and several short stories; however, his passion was filmmaking. Active in the Atlantic Filmmakers’ Cooperative, he wrote, directed, and produced a number of documentaries and commercial films. His short films on child labour and female infanticide received recognition and won awards.

Dr. Hari Das passed away in 2010. In honour of his memory and relationship with Saint Mary’s, the family of Dr. Hari Das has funded several philanthropic investments at the university. “We are very grateful to the family of Dr. Hari Das. Their generous support of the university through the Dr. Hari Das Commons, Dr. Hari Das Conference Room, Dr. Hari Das Global Scholars Award, and Dr. Hari Das Memorial MBA Scholarship is extraordinary,” said Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. “Dr. Das’s legacy will live on in this space, bringing students together to make important interdisciplinary connections.” 

Two Planks and a Passion Theatre coming to The Oaks (Saturday, Oct. 26)

Elapultiek (ehl-ah-bool-dee-egg) - "we are looking towards" - marks the first time Two Planks and a Passion Theatre commissioned an Indigenous playwright from Nova Scotia to create a new work for the company. The show was a great success during the 2018 summer season and returned this year for two special fireside shows and a provincial tour that reaches Saint Mary's for a performance on October 26.  

Playwright shalan joudry is an oral storyteller, hand-drum singer and poet the traditional district of Kespukwitk (southwest Nova Scotia). Following years of raising children, performing, writing and ecology work, shalan now lives and works in her community of Bear River First Nation, sharing messages of reconnecting to both land and culture.   

“We are thrilled to bring shalan’s play to a broader audience. The response to our first production in 2018 was overwhelmingly positive -- the play has been so important to so many people, and it is clear that we need to bring this story to as many Nova Scotians as possible,” says Artistic Director Ken Schwartz. It's presented at Saint Mary's by the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Science, and Student Affairs & Services.

Find out more about the play at www.artscentre.ca/elapultiek.html. 

Celebrating Ursula Johnson’s work at the Art Gallery

On Wednesday, October 16, an eager crowd gathered at Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery for the launch of the catalogue Ursula Johnson: Mi’kwite’tmn (Do You Remember).

First presented at Saint Mary’s in 2014, it toured Canada from 2014 to 2018. Mi’kwite’tmn examines ideas of ancestry, identity and cultural practice. Johnson deconstructs and manipulates the function and image of Mi’kmaw basketry, using traditional techniques to build non-functional forms.

The catalogue includes essays and interviews about the work. It is a trilingual publication – with texts provided in Mi’kmaw, French and English.

The launch included a ceremonial welcome and a discussion between Diane Mitchell (Mi'kmaw translator), artist Ursula Johnson and Director/Curator Robin Metcalfe on the intricacies and challenges of translating text into Mi'kmaw.

The Saint Mary’s University Art gallery has been a leader in working with contemporary Indigenous artists and curators. Over the past decade, it has presented five major Indigenous exhibitions.

Ursula Johnson is a performance and installation artist of Mi’kmaw First Nation ancestry. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally since graduating from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design with a BFA in Interdisciplinary studies in 2006.

Her performances are often place-based and employ cooperative didactic intervention. Recent works include various mediums of sculpture that create consideration from her audience about aspects of intangible cultural heritage as it pertains to the consumption of traditional knowledge within the context of colonial institutions. Johnson has been shortlisted for the Salt Spring National Art Prize and the Nova Scotia Masterworks Award. In 2017, she was the first Indigenous artist from Atlantic Canada to be honoured with the Sobey Art Award, the pre-eminent prize for young Canadian artists.

Saint Mary’s launches Career Week

Saint Mary’s Student Affairs and Services is pleased to announce the first-ever SMU Career Week 2019, from October 28th - November 1st.

The free conference is curated for 3rd and 4th-year students, recent graduates, and alumni.

Over the course of five days, participants will have the opportunity to attend fun interactive sessions, networking opportunities, social events, skill-developing workshops and more. There are also career fairs for Indigenous students and students wanting to pursue international opportunities.

Session topics include:

• Resume and cover letter help

• New and emerging careers

• The impact of AI and what this means for entry-level positions

• Government-funded employment initiatives and how to access them

• The Atlantic Immigration Pilot Project and the best path for permanent residence

Students can sign up at career360.smu.ca. For more information see the schedule below or visit smu.ca/careerconference

A riveting presentation by renowned artist Kent Monkman

Left to right: Dr. Rylan Higgins, Chair of the Department of Anthropology; Raymond Sewell, Indigenous Student Advisor; and Artist Kent Monkman

Kent Monkman discussing his powerful 2017 artwork The Scream (2017, acrylic on canvas, 84” x 126”), now in the collection of the Denver Art Museum.

Screened at the Making Miss Chief event, this is a scene from Another Feather In Her Bonnet | Miss Chief Eagle Testickle & Jean Paul Gaultier. The short film captures Miss Chief’s faux 2017 wedding to the fashion designer at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts. See it on the Kent Monkman Studio’s YouTube channel.

A full house burst into rapturous applause after Kent Monkman’s presentation on October 9, organized by the Saint Mary’s Department of Anthropology. There were two standing ovations: one for the artist himself, another for his two-spirit alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, a time-travelling central figure in many of his paintings, videos and performance art pieces.

Held in the Paul O’Regan Hall at Halifax Central Library, the “Making Miss Chief” event was presented in partnership with the Office of the Indigenous Student Advisor, Saint Mary's University Art Gallery and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Public Affairs (CCEPA).

Monkman treated the crowd of nearly 300 to the first “test run” of a few chapters from his forthcoming book of Miss Chief’s memoirs, to be published in 2020 by McClelland & Stewart. Written with his longtime collaborator Gisèle Gordon, the book emerged from his solo exhibition Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, which was on view at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) last fall and is now in Winnipeg before heading to Vancouver in the spring.

In the exhibition and the book, Miss Chief serves as the guide on a journey to unpack North American art history “as it’s told through settler culture,” focusing on themes of resilience, sexuality, loss and perceived notions of Indigenous experiences. Among the highlights Monkman shared with his Halifax audience was Miss Chief’s origin story, as depicted in his 2018 artwork Being Legendary.

“I created Miss Chief in 2004 to be this really badass character to reverse the colonial gaze,” he said. Using a broad spectrum of tools ranging from humour to serious critique, the larger goal is to “decolonize Canada … Miss Chief has just become this force.”

The character’s wardrobe took some inspiration from the singer Cher, said Monkman, a fan since his childhood in Winnipeg, where he was the youngest of three brothers who played hockey. “I was terrible at hockey. My act of rebellion was to ask for a Cher wig for my 10th birthday. I got a hockey jersey,” he recalled.

Monkman wrapped up his talk with a screening of Another Feather In Her Bonnet | Miss Chief Eagle Testickle & Jean Paul Gaultier. The short video captures Miss Chief’s faux wedding ceremony to the famous fashion designer, September 8, 2017 at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts. The museum had taken some heat for a headdress piece in an exhibition by Gaultier, which was seen as cultural appropriation, and so invited Monkman to develop an artistic response. 

A member of the Fisher River Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba, Monkman currently lives and works in Toronto. He has achieved international recognition, with many solo exhibitions at museums and galleries in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, and screenings at international film festivals. Miss Chief has been at centre stage for site-specific performances at the Royal Ontario Museum, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, Compton Verney and the Denver Art Museum.

Find out more about Monkman and get a closer look at his artworks online at www.kentmonkman.com. If you haven’t seen his painting Miss Chief’s Wet Dream, be sure to visit AGNS, which purchased the monumental artwork in 2018. His newest projects include mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People), commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, to hang in its Great Hall starting on December 19, 2019.

Congratulations to 2019 Alumni and One World Award winners

On Thursday, October 3, Saint Mary’s hosted the One World Alumni Awards Gala.

This annual event acknowledges outstanding alumni with special awards, and in the spirit of working with the community, supports 2 deserving charities and 2 student societies through the One World Awards.

Congratulations to the 2019 Alumni Award Recipients:

• Distinguished Community Service: Karen Oldfield, QC BA'82

• Paul Lynch Alumni Volunteer of the Year: Karen Ross BComm'77 & Joann Boulos-Callias BA'82 BEd'83 MEd'89

• Young Alumni of the Year:
  Sylvia Gawad BSc'14 & Dr. Henry Annan BSc'14

• Associate Alumni of the Year: Glen & Nancy Holmes

The 2019 Student Society Award, valued at $7500, went to World University Services Canada (WUSC) Saint Mary's, and the Nova Scotia Gambia Association was awarded $7500 as the winner of the 2019 Charity Award.

Runners-up Enactus Saint Mary's and Easter Seals Nova Scotia were delighted when SMUSA matched their respective awards, bringing their total awards to $2000 each!

Learn more about these exceptional alumni, and watch the videos about the finalist charities and student societies at https://smu.ca/alumni/one-world-alumni-awards.html

Celebrating Mi’kmaq History Month

October is Mi’kmaq History Month in Nova Scotia. Mi’kmaq History Month builds awareness of Mi’kmaq history and heritage, and celebrates Mi’kmaq culture.

Mikmaq History Month Poster 2019. Learn more about the meaning behind the poster here.

In 1993, Mi’kmaw Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy and Premier John Savage declared October as the official month to recognize and celebrate Mi’kmaw culture and heritage.

October 1, Treaty Day, marks the beginning of Mi'kmaq History Month. There are a variety of events occurring this month on campus and all across Nova Scotia.

Here are some of the events taking place on campus:

• A presentation from renowned artist Kent Monkman: Making Miss Chief on October 9 at 7 p.m.

• A drum making workshop on October 16.

• The Mi’kmaw Gala on October 19 at 5:30 p.m.

For more information on events taking place across campus, visit the SMU events calendar or contact Raymond Sewell, Saint Mary’s Indigenous Student Advisor.

A list of events occurring across Nova Scotia can be found on the Mi’kmaq History Month events calendar. More information on the month can be found here.

Saint Mary’s recognizes two outstanding Canadians with honorary degrees

Fall Convocation

September 27-28

Ceremony Live Feed

Saint Mary’s University will recognize the accomplishments of two outstanding Canadians with honorary degrees at this year’s fall convocation ceremony.

“Honorary degrees celebrate individuals whose accomplishments are an inspiration to our students and people who are exemplars for our entire community,” said Saint Mary’s President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. “I am proud to bestow this honour to Gloria and John for their leadership, and the way in which they embody a key value of our institution, keeping community at the heart of all that we do.” 

The university is pleased to recognize the extraordinary achievements of:

• Gloria Borden, a trailblazer and champion for the arts. One of 18 children raised in New Glasgow, from a young age Borden grew to cherish music, community, sports and boxing. All of these interests represent areas in which she would excel. Borden was the first Black hematology specialist in Canada and participated in research related to the field. Borden was also the first female boxing promoter in Canada and was inducted into the Pictou County Sports Heritage Hall of Fame for her time as a student-athlete. In music, she has been involved in numerous productions and produced the acclaimed God’s Trombones and founded the Nova Scotia Mass Choir.
  

• John A. Young, Q.C., a community builder and legal advocate. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Young’s interest in commerce and law led him to pursue post-secondary degrees in both those fields in Halifax and England. After a time spent working on Parliament Hill, he joined three other young lawyers starting a small law firm in Halifax. Young became an important part the firm’s growth from four lawyers to the fourth-largest firm in Atlantic Canada. Young has balanced the needs of a growing law firm with his commitment to community service and volunteerism throughout his career.

The honorary degree recipients will receive their degrees at convocation on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.

Honorary Degree: John A. Young, Q.C.

John A. Young, Q.C.
Community builder and legal advocate

John A. Young, Q.C.

Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, John Young’s interest in commerce and law would lead him to pursue post-secondary degrees in those fields in Halifax. He would later travel to England where he received a Master of Laws from the University of London. 

After graduating from law school at Dalhousie University, Young would spend the next four years working as a political aid on Parliament Hill. It was there that he first heard about three young lawyers starting a law firm in Halifax. After his time in Ottawa, and after he had completed his Master of Laws, he returned to Halifax and remembered what he had heard about that ambitious new firm. Young would choose the new firm, BOYNECLARKE, over a larger firm, becoming their fourth lawyer in the mid-1970s.

Young would be an essential part of the firm’s growth, as they focused on the specialization that allowed them to develop skills that set them apart from larger firms. During this growing period, the firm would go on to win a case in the Supreme Court of Canada over a much larger firm. They were the upstart in some respects, the only new firm in that period when most Halifax firms had been around for a while. Young was an important part of the firm’s growth from four lawyers to the fourth-largest firm in Atlantic Canada today.

Young was most recently Counsel at BOYNECLARKE LLP, having served as the firm Chair from 2012-2018. He acts on behalf of a wide variety of businesses, government agencies, institutions and not-for-profit organizations and advises their senior management in the creation, operation and expansion of their activities.

He is currently serving as a Chair of the Canadian Forces Liaison Council (NS), Chair of the Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation, Director of the Royal Nova Scotia Tattoo Society, and Trustee of St. Andrews United Church, Halifax. He recently completed a term as Director of the Nova Scotia Health Authority and has served on a wide variety of boards of Canadian corporations.

Young enjoys golf, politics and community service.

Honorary Degree: Gloria Borden

Gloria Borden
Trailblazer and champion for the arts

Gloria Borden

Gloria Borden grew up as one of 18 children in New Glasglow, Nova Scotia. From a young age, Borden grew to cherish music, community, sports and boxing. After years of success as a student-athlete, Borden would leave New Glasgow for Halifax. 

In 1958, she joined the staff at the Victoria General Hospital as an assistant lab technologist, a position she held while she raised two sons. She would become the first Black hematology specialist in Canada. During this time, she researched a series of tests related to lymphomas that could be used as indicators on patients in or out of remission. Under the direction of Dr. O.A. Hayne, she would go on to have an abstract article published in the New England Journal of Medicine 1987. 

With a successful career in healthcare, Borden also dedicated time to the sport she grew up loving, boxing. In 1970, she founded the Halifax Recreational Amateur Boxing Club. In 1971, Borden became the first female boxing promoter in Canada. She would go on to manage and help train 150 amateur boxers, four of which went on to participate in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. While she was a successful boxing promoter, it was Borden’s time as a student-athlete in New Glasgow that led to her induction into the Pictou County Sports Heritage Hall of Fame. 

Borden also excelled as a music producer. In 1989, she produced the acclaimed God’s Trombones. She founded the internationally-known Nova Scotia Mass Choir in 1991. Borden produced the first international gospel festival in North America in 1992. She went on to be the founder and President of the Kangee Production Society and the Managing Director of the Jongleur Intensive Performing Arts Academy, the Jeri Brown Touring Youth Choir and the Jeri Brown Theatre Company. She was also a board member for the Charles Taylor Hall Society in 2010. 

Borden is currently looking forward to the next project she plans to produce: a play telling the story of Black Nova Scotia from 1783 to 2010.