Saint Mary’s ranked top primarily undergraduate research university in Atlantic provinces

Saint Mary’s University is the top primarily undergraduate research university in the Atlantic provinces, according to the latest Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities rankings.

Released annually by Research Infosource Inc., the rankings assess the research income and intensity of Canadian universities in four categories: medical, comprehensive, undergraduate and specialized. This year, Saint Mary’s placed 16th nationally in the undergraduate university category.

Saint Mary’s was also ranked 5th in Canada for undergraduate universities that saw the most growth in not-for-profit research funding, thanks to a remarkable increase of 208% between 2018 and 2022.

Research Infosource measured how well universities fared at winning funding from national granting councils, specifically Canada's Tri-Agencies.

Saint Mary’s placed 5th among undergraduate universities in two categories: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) research income as a percentage of total research income (10.2 %); and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) research income as a percentage of total research income (17.6%).

Additionally, Saint Mary’s was ranked 4th for Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) research income as a percentage of total University Research Income (5.8%).

“We’re pleased that Saint Mary’s is increasingly recognized as an undergraduate university that maintains a strong commitment to supporting high-calibre research,” says Dr. Adam Sarty, Associate Vice-President, Research and Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. “Our rankings this year reflect both the strength and consistent success of our faculty in securing external funding, and to the concerted effort from the university and our Deans to support the research of as many faculty possible.”

In 2022-2023, a total of 97 faculty members at Saint Mary’s received $12.58 million in funding, representing an intensity of $43,800 per professor and $16,300 per graduate student.

Sarty also noted that the university prioritizes building trusting relationships with community partners and has a “high record of success” connecting professors to partners in the private and public sectors that need specific research expertise.

A distinctive position

Student Kyle Morton BComm’23 (at right) worked with economics professor Dr.Yigit Aydede on a ground-breaking study on the spread of COVID.

Saint Mary’s enjoys a unique position in the post-secondary research environment; a mid-size, undergraduate university that secures high-profile research partnership contracts,  conducts world-leading fundamental research (e.g. astrophysicists with leading roles in international space and astronomy projects such as the James Webb Space Telescope and XRISM satellite) and is a leader in community-based research projects. The university also provides unparalleled research opportunities undergraduate students.

For more information on Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities list, visit Research Infosource.

Researching links between animal abuse and gender-based violence

Sue O’Neill

Graduate student Sue O'Neill is combining her passions for work and public education at Saint Mary’s, with research investigating the connections between gender-based violence and animal abuse. During her first year in the Women and Gender Studies program, O’Neill is working as a teaching assistant with the Sexual Violence Support Centre on campus while also focusing on her career as the Manager of Programs with HUMANE Canada's ACT (Awareness, Collaboration, Tools) Project.

Funded through Women and Gender Equality Canada, the project aims to address systemic barriers to health-seeking, safety planning and support services for survivors experiencing gender-based violence and their animals (companion, farm and service animals).

The project has launched the ACT To Keep Families Safe Online Learning Centre, a culmination of engagement with 42 partners and collaborators across the country, including the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia. The web hub provides free educational modules with certificates upon completion, which Saint Mary's students can add to their Experience Record through the university's Career360° platform. Topics cover such areas as service animals and disability rights; supporting GBV survivors in rural, remote and farming communities; and self-care and compassion fatigue. Other digital tools available are information sheets, awareness and advocacy resources, case studies, templates, survivor stories and a quarterly newsletter.

O’Neill is among the speakers participating in the Listen, Learn, Act panel event on Thursday, March 28—a conversation led by community activists, academics, government and students to discuss how we can prevent and respond to violence while working towards safer and more empowered communities for all.

Q&A with Sue O’Neill

How did the ACT Project come about?
Our vision at Humane Canada is to have a humane Canada—to make positive, progressive change to end animal cruelty. But as Humane Canada was doing this work, we realized to make things better for animals, we have to make things better for humans because our fates are really intertwined. Humane Canada has been focused on a one-welfare approach to reach our goals of improving animal welfare.

Can you discuss the link between violence against animals and violence against humans?
We know that in circumstances where a pet is in a home where domestic violence is happening, higher reports of animal abuse are also occurring. We also know that the aggressors often use those animals as a method of control, either threatening to harm or actually harming the animal in order to control the survivor’s actions. Survivors don’t want to leave their animals behind, or won’t leave them behind, or will return to a violent situation because of their animals.  

Who can benefit from the online learning centre?
Some of the resources are for survivors, some are for professionals and we also have a lot of stuff for the general public. For students too, it’s a great way of informing people at the beginning of their careers, so they go into their careers with this knowledge.

What are you working on currently?
As we launched the ACT project, we realized that as much as we want to support survivors and animals in getting the help they need, we want to prevent the violence from happening. So, we’ve got a new 30-month project coming up, the Promising Practices Project. It’s going to highlight humane education and gender-based violence education programs that are specifically geared towards boys and men as allies in the prevention of violence.  

How did you get involved in this area of work and research?
I’m a survivor of violence myself and it changed my career path. I always thought I would work in education but I ended up working as a children’s counsellor initially at a gender-based violence shelter. I ended up working in management at the shelter and that’s when I created an offsite animal safekeeping program for survivors of violence.  

What is your master’s research about?
I’m not straying far from my work! What I’m focusing on in my thesis is looking at the relationship between survivors of GBV and their animals, specifically farm animals, working animals or larger companion animals. Through the ACT project, we realized there isn’t a lot of research for survivors who have horses or cows or llamas or 17 sled dogs, so it seemed like a huge gap. What do you do with 300 cows when you’re fleeing violence?

Why did you choose Saint Mary’s?
I was living in Vancouver finishing up my first master’s degree, my MEd, and I had done a little bit of research on Saint Mary’s. The campus looked breathtakingly beautiful. I connected with Michele Byers to find out more about the Women and Gender Studies program, and it sounded flexible yet supportive. She connected me with some other students and they just loved Saint Mary’s so much, so then I had to go. I really love it here…it’s got a community feel, which a lot of the bigger universities don’t have.

What is the best part of your work and your research?  
I’m very grateful to get to do this work. Especially as a survivor, it just feels so meaningful to work on projects that can help other survivors.  

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Further reading

• Visit the ACT To Keep Families Safe Online Learning Centre

• Visit the Sexual Violence Support Centre at SMU

• Learn about our graduate program in Women and Gender Studies

• Explore the Minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies

President’s Award for Excellence in Research: Dr. Luigi Gallo

Dr. Luigi Gallo with Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray at Winter Convocation

Dr. Luigi Gallo was honoured at Winter Convocation with the President’s Award for Excellence in Research for his contributions to astrophysics.

As an astrophysicist in high-profile international research projects, Dr. Luigi Gallo has been involved in major missions with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA, and the Canadian Space Agency, and has received more than $10-million in funding for projects such as the Astro-H Metrology System.

Dr. Luigi Gallo

Dr. Gallo’s research interests include supermassive black holes, or active galactic nuclei, and X-rays emitted from the innermost regions of black hole environments; accretion-powered systems of all scales (e.g. cataclysmic variables, X-ray binaries, AGN); and the definition and realization of future X-ray missions. His work has led to discoveries that have altered scientists’ understanding of black holes, their formation, growth, behaviour and their influence on the evolution of galaxies.

After a stint in industry, Dr. Gallo returned to academia and completed his PhD at the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, and then joined JAXA before becoming a faculty member at Saint Mary’s University in 2007.

A prolific publisher, Dr. Gallo is credited with more than 80 successful observing proposals and more than 150 refereed publications written as part of his research on black holes and instrumentation, work with peers, and as a supervisor to many of his students and postdocs. He has also published work with large collaborations, including papers by the Hitomi Collaboration, which he made significant contributions to, as well as other publications on future missions.

As a professor, Dr. Gallo is focused on supporting the next generation of researchers, co-writing papers with undergraduate and graduate students who have gone on to higher-level studies and research of their own. He contributes significant time and knowledge to the advancement of his field through committee work and outreach initiatives and as a member of the Canadian Astronomical Society.

The President's Award for Excellence in Research honours continued exceptional contributions to research and scholarship conducted by a full-time Saint Mary's University faculty member. More information can be found at smu.ca/fgsr/presidents-award.

Congratulations Dr. Luigi Gallo!

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Recordings of the convocation ceremonies and a PDF of the convocation program are available at smu.ca/graduation. See the photo album on the SMU Halifax Facebook page.

History professor joins International Science Council Fellowship

Dr. Karly Kehoe

The International Science Council has appointed Dr. Karly Kehoe as an ISC Fellow, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to promoting science as a global public good.

Based in Paris, the ISC is the largest international scientific organization and the Fellowship is the highest honour it confers on individuals. Dr. Kehoe is among 100 new ISC Fellows appointed from around the world, and just one of four Canadians who recently joined the esteemed group.

Along with 123 previous appointments, the new ISC Fellows will “support the Council in its mission at a critical moment for science and sustainability as we enter the UN’s International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development in 2024,” said the December 19 announcement.

Kehoe is a Professor of History at Saint Mary’s University, and the Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Communities.

“I was so pleased to have been nominated by the National Research Council—and then delighted to be one of four Canadians appointed,” she says. “It’s significant for me because it demonstrates the value the international science community is placing on the humanities; on the perspectives we provide. The ISC recognizes that interdisciplinarity is a necessity.”

The ISC Fellowship was created in 2022 to recognize eminent social and natural scientists, engineers and thought leaders who have made impactful contributions to science and society.

“Saint Mary’s is proud to have Dr. Kehoe as one of our Canada Research Chairs, devoted to Atlantic Canada studies while at the same time making such a large global impact. It shows the true strength of her scholarly work to engage communities and inform policymakers,” says Dr. Adam Sarty, the university’s Associate Vice-President of Research and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.

As a historian, Kehoe has long been an advocate of science diplomacy. She serves as a member of the ISC’s Freedom and Responsibility in Science Standing Committee and sits on the InterAcademy Partnership’s (IAP) Policy Advice Development Committee, and the Science in Exile’s steering committee (a partnership of UNESCO-TWAS, ISC and IAP).

As an ISC Fellow, “my main focus will continue to be science diplomacy through research and advocacy,” she says. “The benefits of research need to be made available to everyone, and the scientific community has a responsibility to be honest brokers in enabling access. This is my priority—it’s the only way to rebuild and retain trust in science.”

Among many other achievements, Kehoe was president of the Royal Society of Canada’s (RSC) College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists (2020-2022) and is the founder and lead of the RSC’s At-Risk and Displaced Academics and Artists (ARDAA) program. She also co-founded the At-Risk and Academic Refugee Membership programme (Young Academy of Scotland) and the At-Risk Scholar Initiative (Global Young Academy).

"The ISC Fellowship recognizes individuals who are ambassadors and advocates working tirelessly for science internationally and for the vital importance of evidence-informed policymaking,” Professor Terrence Forrester, Chair of the ISC Fellowship Council, said in the announcement. “ISC Fellows hail from wide-ranging geographies, sectors, disciplines and career stages, and we look forward to working with them all in multiple capacities in the coming months and years."

In her research at Saint Mary’s, Kehoe explores settler colonialism and how religious minority migrants acquired and exercised colonial privilege in the north Atlantic world between 1750 and 1850. She also examines the complex links between Catholic colonialism in the Caribbean and what would become Atlantic Canada. Her most recent book is Empire and Emancipation: Scottish and Irish Catholics at the Atlantic Fringe (University of Toronto Press, 2022).

Kehoe has also held research fellowships at Trinity College Dublin, Durham University, Middle Tennessee State University, Yale University, and the University of Guelph. She is the Convenor of the Scottish Historical Review Trust and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She is the board chairperson and academic lead of the Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canada Studies.

Related links:

• Read the International Science Council’s announcement

• Learn more about Dr. Karly Kehoe’s research and advocacy work

• See Dr. Kehoe’s research bio.

Sobey School globally recognized for supporting UN initiative

The Sobey School of Business has been named PRME Champions for 2024-2025. This is the third time the school has been reaffirmed as one of the world’s leading business schools, supporting the United Nations initiative - Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). 

“Once again, we are proud to be recognized as PRME Champions,” says Interim Dean, Mark Raymond. “The recognition places the Sobey School in a select group of business schools across the globe who are committed to sustainability and to educating the business leaders of tomorrow to make a positive impact on the world.”

As PRME Champions, the Sobey School is integrating the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across curriculum, research, and partnerships. Currently, the school’s research agenda is aligned to support the SDGs as faculty generate insights on issues such as corporate social responsibility, poverty-climate change nexus, social entrepreneurship, and the role of gender in venture capital funding. The research intensity associated with the SDGs is a strong point of distinction for the school. Nearly 50% of the faculty have contributed to the portfolio of research aligned with the SDGs with 65% of all research-active faculty engaged in SDG-related research.

The school has also adapted its curriculum to meet PRME objectives and in response to student demand. Professor Miguel Morales notes, “Over the past three years, we have strategically adapted the Bachelor of Commerce curriculum to embed sustainability as a core component. The renewed Program Learning Outcomes place a strong emphasis on sustainability, and in Winter 2024, we are introducing two dedicated sustainability courses. These core courses serve as pillars for developing a deep-rooted awareness of sustainable business practices early in students' academic journeys.” As a result, Sobey School students graduate with a distinct advantage; they are prepared for the new world of business, one that requires responsible leaders to rise to global challenges in new, integrated ways.

For the 2024-2025 PRME programme cycle, the Sobey School has committed to the refreshed Seven PRME Principles and, in keeping with the new principle on Practice to “adopt responsible and accountable management principles in our own governance and operations”, is championing the university’s completion of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

Sobey is one of only four business schools from Canada to be considered a Champion of PRME. There are 46 other business schools from around the world to be named Champion. The Sobey School is the oldest and the most accredited business school in Atlantic Canada offering the largest portfolio of disciplines and programs graduate programs east of Quebec.  

Psychology professor studies the silent epidemic of burnout in healthcare

Healthcare workers are stressed and overworked—the pandemic only made it worse. Dr. Debra Gilin and her team study the effects of burnout in healthcare.

Dr. Debra Gilin works with Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley and a team of psychology graduate students to research burnout in healthcare workers.

Within the sanitized halls of hospitals and clinics, a silent epidemic is wreaking havoc among the very caregivers we depend on.

Burnout within the medical field has become an alarming concern across the globe, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, where uncertainty and growing hospitalization numbers impacted the well-being of healthcare professionals who worked tirelessly to slow the spread of the virus.

According to Dr. Debra Gilin, professor of psychology and graduate program coordinator for the Department of Psychology at Saint Mary's University, burnout among healthcare workers has been going on long before the pandemic.

“Doctors and nurses were already burnt out from the normal structure of the healthcare system, and then you added COVID, where people were dying,” she explained. “So, the stakes were really high, and they experienced what they described as a ‘moral distress,’ because they couldn’t help the person the way they should be able to under medical oath.”

Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley

Together with her colleague, Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley, and a team of graduate students specializing in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Dr. Gilin and her team decided to study the effects of burnout in healthcare workers. The 2020 study—funded through a collaboration with the Nova Scotia Health Research Coalition/ Research Nova Scotia— focused specifically on burnout during COVID and how the pandemic compounded the existing crisis that healthcare workers are experiencing. 

“We wanted to use the knowledge we gained [through the study] to create some intervention courses that could actually help leaders and the people that they lead in healthcare, not get as burned out during the pandemic,” she said.

How do you measure burnout?

Burnout is more than just being tired. It’s a complex and multifaceted condition that includes emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment.

But how does one measure these emotions?

Using homecare nurses, nursing leaders, and medical faculty leaders as participants, Dr. Gilin and her team embarked on a seemingly Sisyphean mission.

“We couldn't change that people were being re-deployed to other health units, we couldn't change that they weren't always getting good communication or didn't always have PPE,” she said. “But we could help leaders realize that sometimes what they need to do is just be honestly validating and supportive, and that's materially useful, not only to themselves but to the people that they lead.”

The study groups had to take a six-week course over Zoom, where they learned about supportive leadership skills, the science of a brain under stress, how to recover from burnout, and leadership skills around conflict and empathy. Funds from the Research Coalition/Research Nova Scotia, and partner organizations, helped further refine their study.

“With the funding, we were able to give them a Fitbit, and we tracked their self-reported burnout, their health behaviors and their stress response, as measured by their resting heart rate during sleep,” Dr. Gilin explained.

The participants were broken into two groups: those who started the course earlier and those who took it later and served as a control group. The team saw that those waiting for the course had escalated resting heart rates as they tried to navigate the stress of the pandemic and avoid catching the disease. Once they started the course, their resting heart rates would level off and then start to come down.

“This is being recorded during sleep, so there’s nothing you can do to fake that,” said Dr. Gilin. “And the self-report surveys they were answering gave the same story… we had biological data and survey data that corroborated one another, so we felt like we were onto something.”

Systemic challenges and the way forward

While burnout is a personal experience, its root causes are deeply intertwined with systemic challenges within the healthcare industry.

Excessive workload, long on-call shifts, inadequate staffing levels, unfair policies and unpredictability in the workplace, are a few of the factors that healthcare workers have to deal with daily.

“We’re not so naïve as to assume that we’re able to change the healthcare system,” Dr. Gilin explained. “There are things about how funding happens and how people are trained that can lead to an unhealthy culture and unhealthy workload, but I think there’s been a shift in recognizing that working people so hard is counter-productive.”

The team is also working with web developers to create apps and offer the six-week course to health practitioners outside of Nova Scotia who are looking to manage their burnout as well.

“We plan to cut up the course into little videos and activities that people can complete every day,” said Dr. Gilin. “We have a mock-up ready and have the funding to continue moving these courses to a more accessible format for workplaces across Canada.” The team is currently conducting a research study on the effectiveness of the app-based course. Leaders who are interested in participating in the research will get access to the app for free. For more information contact phs@smu.ca, debra.gilin@smu.ca, or DrDayna@impactme.app.

For those experiencing burnout— regardless of profession— Dr. Gilin advises to actively take the time to rest and find joy through hobbies, activities and other social interactions.

“Take some time to reflect on what are the more energizing and fulfilling aspects of the work that you do,” she said. “Try to find a creative way to shift the balance, so that what makes you show up every day becomes a reasonable part of your day.”

TransCoastal Adaptations helping coastal communities become resilient to climate change

Environment and Climate Change Minister Timothy Halman (second from right) with recipients of the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund. Kelly Umlah (center) represents the TransCoastal Adaptations Green Shores for Homes project.

Kelly Umlah BES’17, TransCoastal’s Education and Outreach Coordinator

Environment and Climate Change Minister Timothy Halman

Minister Halman speaks with representatives of the community-led projects which received funding from the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund

Signage at Mahone Bay Beach

TransCoastal Adaptations is building on the success of a program that helps homeowners in coastal communities protect and revitalize their shorelines, thanks to an injection of funding from the provincial government.

More than $2.45 million from the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund will support seven community-led projects that are helping Nova Scotians prepare for and respond to climate change impacts. One of those projects is the Green Shores for Homes program with TransCoastal Adaptations: Centre for Nature-Based Solutions at Saint Mary’s University.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Timothy Halman announced the funding at an event in Mahone Bay on November 23.

“This summer was a heartbreaking reminder of the destruction and loss that climate change is causing,” said Minister Halman. “It was also a reminder that all Nova Scotians must work together to protect each other, our homes, communities and natural areas from climate change. These projects–many of which involve best practices in using nature-based solutions–show exactly the kind of community-led, all-hands-on-deck action that is needed to make our communities and ecosystems more resilient to climate change and to protect all that we hold dear.”

With $238,098 from the fund, TransCoastal Adaptations (TCA) will be able to expand its Green Shores for Homes program, bringing it to coastal communities such as the municipalities of West Hants, Barrington and Pictou County. The new funds will also allow TransCoastal to provide free shoreline assessments for waterfront homeowners in those areas.

“We are thrilled to help increase our local communities’ coastal resilience through the Green Shores for Homes program thanks to this funding, which will ensure that Green Shores helps more vulnerable communities and trains homeowners with nature-based strategies to protect their shorelines in the face of climate change and sea level rise,” says Kelly Umlah BES’17, TransCoastal’s Education and Outreach Coordinator.

Umlah spoke at the funding announcement, thanking the provincial government and Federation of Nova Scotia Municipalities for supporting the project, “Building Community Coastal Resilience in Nova Scotia with Green Shores for Homes”.

British Columbia/Nova Scotia partnership

The Green Shores for Homes program originated with the Stewardship Centre for British Columbia, which partnered with TransCoastal Adaptations to broaden the program’s reach to the Maritime provinces.

Through the training, coastal property owners learn to use nature-based solutions to address issues such as shoreline erosion, sea level rise and climate change adaptation. With programs also created for local governments and commercial developers, the Green Shores initiatives promote sustainable maintenance, restoration and stewardship of healthy, resilient shorelines.

On December 7, all are welcome to learn more in a Green Shores webinar, “Practical strategies and lessons learned from nature-based project implementation in the Maritimes and British Columbia,” co-presented by TransCoastal and the Stewardship Centre for B.C.

Since the expansion of the Green Shores program to the Maritimes, TCA has trained over 150 municipal staff, contractors and members of the public in Green Shores Level 1, with many continuing their training with Level 2. Working with partners in government and NGOs, TCA has provided technical expertise on a few living shoreline projects that will soon be certified Green Shores for Shoreline Development sites. The new funding will allow more time for outreach to homeowners for smaller-scale projects on private properties in need of shoreline protection and habitat, Umlah said.

Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund

The provincial government created the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund to support community-led action and leadership, as part of the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act. Launched in November 2022, the fund helps municipalities, non-profit/community groups, post-secondary schools and Mi’kmaw communities respond to and prepare for climate change impacts, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

The projects announced last week were funded through the first round of the program; the call for projects for the second round closed on November 14. Funding was also announced last week for the Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation in Mahone Bay, Friends of the DesBrisay Museum in Bridgewater, Bonny Lea Farm in Chester, Waterfront Baddeck, Kingsburg Coastal Conservancy Association, and the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq Aquatic Resources and Fisheries Management.

“Communities across the province continue to experience the effects of climate change, such as extreme weather events,” Juanita Spencer, CEO of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities said at the announcement. “These projects will build resilience in communities and natural habitats, make community infrastructure energy efficient, give us carbon storage research and demonstrate the power and effectiveness of locally-led action on tackling climate change. We are pleased to support these homegrown solutions which will play a role in shaping a more sustainable future for all.”

Read more

• Learn more about Green Shores for Homes in the Maritimes.

• Register for the Green Shores webinar. (December 7, 1-2 p.m.)

• Read the provincial funding announcement from November 23, 2023.

History professor’s book sheds light on U.S. struggle for democracy

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A new book offering historical insight into the early and ongoing challenges of democracy in the United States launched on November 6, as Fall Reading Week began at Saint Mary’s University.

The American Liberty Pole: Popular Politics and the Struggle for Democracy in the Early Republic (University of Virginia Press, 2023) was written by Dr. Shira Lurie of the Department of History. Her Halifax book launch took place at the Glitter Bean Café and online, with a presentation and Q&A.

Lurie’s book launch at Glitter Bean Café in November

“It’s exciting to finally have it out there,” says Dr. Lurie, who began researching the topic nearly a decade ago. “I’ve been workshopping it among historians, so it will be nice to get some thoughts from people who aren’t in the field. You don’t have to be an expert on American history or politics to get something out of it.”

During the American Revolution and into the early republic, “liberty poles”—tall wooden poles bearing political flags and signs—were a central fixture as a form of political expression and public dissent, often leading to conflict and confrontation. Protesters raised liberty poles as a sign of resistance to government rule, while counter-protesters often tore them down.

The first comprehensive study of the liberty pole phenomenon, the book highlights the influence of ordinary citizens as U.S. political culture developed. Dr. Lurie demonstrates how, in raising and destroying liberty poles, Americans put into practice the types of popular participation they envisioned in the new republic. She also makes compelling links between past and present, demonstrating the long history of American debates over protest, monuments, elections and free speech.

“We can trace these questions and controversies all the way back to the beginning of the United States,” says Lurie. “The book also shows the Constitution didn’t come with an instruction manual on how to run a republic, how to become a citizen when you were once a subject, or what it means to vote in an election or protest a government comprised of your own elected representatives.”

Liberty pole arguments could get heated and even violent, as ordinary Americans tried to figure out their role in the new republic – and the republic’s role in the rest of the world.     

“They were walking an uncharted path and I try to help my students understand it wasn’t just about ‘will the American experiment succeed,’” says Lurie. “A lot of Americans wanted theirs to be the first in a series of revolutions that would topple monarchies around the world. They wanted to show that the best form of government is republicanism, self-government.”

It was a new concept and if they succeeded, it could trigger other revolutions beyond the U.S. “but if they failed, they feared that they would doom the world to the shackles of monarchy forever, so the stakes were incredibly high,” Lurie says.

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With the advent of the two-party system, liberty pole debates ultimately got channeled into the political parties. At first suspicious of these new institutions, Americans began trusting them and thus political change became more about getting the right people elected.  

“This governing system was designed to put a very small group of people in charge, and to make sure that their power was protected,” says Lurie, adding that the resulting “partisan pendulum locks America into a pretty narrow range of what’s possible to achieve politically.”

She hopes the new book can help to inspire deeper questions about structural and institutional reform.

“The way that American politics functions now is not the result of a kind of divine revelation, it’s the result of choices,” she says. “There’s nothing in that early period that said ‘This is the absolute way to do things,’ which is why there was so much contention then and why it continues today.”

As the U.S. continues to struggle with questions of democracy, protest and free speech, students in Lurie’s history classes are keen to make the connections between past and present.

“Students consume a lot of media so they want to talk about it. They have a natural curiosity and they ask really good questions,” says Lurie, whose fall courses include “Protest in the Early United States” and “American History, American Controversy”.

Further reading:

• Study History at Saint Mary’s University

• Author’s Corner blog, UVA Press; Author’s Corner with Shira Lurie

• Learn more about Dr. Lurie at www.shiralurie.com and follow her on Twitter/X at @ShiraLurie.

• “Johnson's speakership is bad for Democrats — but not for reasons you think," an op-ed piece by Dr. Lurie in The Toronto Star, November 4, 2023

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Reading Roundup for Fall Reading Week

Here’s a sample of other recent publications written or edited by faculty members at Saint Mary’s University. Click the covers below for more information.

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Student researcher has found 100—and counting—invasive crayfish in Three Mile Lake

Invasive species has potential to move well beyond one Halifax-area lake

Dr. Linda Campbell, graduate student researcher Madison Bond, and DFO Officer Sarah Kingsbury MSc’20 show evidence of crayfish at Three Mile Lake

As a master’s student at Saint Mary’s University, Madison Bond has a unique and exciting opportunity to conduct research that could play a pivotal role in the protection of Nova Scotia’s ecosystem.

For her thesis project, she has been studying the presence of Red Swamp Crayfish, an invasive species found in Three Mile Lake, in Waverley, N.S. This species has the potential to wreak havoc on this lake—with the potential to create damage on a much larger scale.

Red Swamp Crayfish, which look like tiny lobsters, are native to the southern United States. It’s not known yet how they arrived in the Maritimes, but Madison, along with supervising professor Dr. Linda Campbell and partners at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), have been investigating the impact that they have already had on the lake.

Madison Bond speaks with media about her research

Under a student contract with DFO, Madison caught the first live crayfish at the lake in 2022; approximately 100 have now been captured in traps. Her research work this academic year and next summer is to collect more crayfish and study how their lifecycle and habits differ compared to the crayfish living in their native habitats.

Because Nova Scotia temperatures are colder than their native freshwater habitats, crayfish may burrow deeper into shorelines. The temperature could also affect the number of offspring and the length of their lifecycle. Using frozen crayfish in the lab, Madison will also determine what they eat—leading to more answers about their impact on the local ecosystem.

As an invasive species in a lake, crayfish cause a variety of issues. Crayfish are known for burrowing into the shoreline, which can cause significant damage by changing the shoreline which leads to erosion. Along with the loss of habitat for native species, the aggressive crayfish also compete for food, space and calcium in the water.

Crayfish go through a wandering phase in their lifecycle, which means that they can travel significant distances on land, and potentially move to new bodies of water. The Shubenacadie Canal is within walking distance for a crayfish, meaning this invasive species problem has the potential to become exponentially larger. “Shubie” Canal is a 114-kilometre waterway that stretches from the Halifax Harbour to the Bay of Fundy, and is a well-used and loved recreation destination in Nova Scotia.

Crayfish aren’t the first invasive species in Nova Scotia. Dr. Linda Campbell’s Dynamic Environment and Ecosystem Health Research (DEEHR) lab at Saint Mary’s has also investigated the impact of two other invasive species, Chinese mystery snails and chain pickerel.

To protect the province’s native species, habitats and waterways, never introduce a plant, pet or other animal into the wild.

If you find a crayfish, please put it in a bag and note details such as location coordinates, time and date, and contact Madison Bond and the team at Saint Mary’s who will collect it from you. Please do not disturb the traps.

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Public Lecture

Dr. Linda Campbell will present a lecture titled “Overlooked no more: non-indigenous, invasive species in Nova Scotia lakes & rivers”

The unanticipated and unplanned appearance of non-indigenous species in freshwater ecosystems is a global issue. In regions lacking biosurveillance and awareness programs, the potential for unwanted species to establish in lakes is very high. Dr. Linda Campbell will present case studies for both fish and invertebrates in Nova Scotia, highlight progress made over the past decade, and discuss ongoing needs in order to limit the impact of unwanted species on Nova Scotia’s freshwater ecosystems.

Date: Monday, December 4, 2023
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: In person at Saint Mary’s University – Atrium 101 or via Zoom
Details: https://nsis1862.ca/public-lectures/

Celebrating excellence: Saint Mary’s faculty recognized for external research funding

At a recent celebration, researchers at Saint Mary’s University were recognized for their success in securing more than $12 million in external funding to engage in important work in their fields. The funding received was in the form of research contracts, Canada Research Chair positions and tri-council grants.

Research by Saint Mary’s faculty covers diverse topics such as policy changes to protect women migrants and refugees against violence and the examination of 2SLGBTQ+ poverty in Canada to improve livelihood and social well-being. Secured funding also supports research that examines the sustainable trade of goods, improves plant health and nutrition, investigates the effects of climate change on coastal ecosystems, assesses biodiversity conservation and Indigenous health and well-being.

A celebration to honour 97 researchers from faculties of Science, Arts, Sobey School of Business and two staff from the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre took place in the McNally Theatre Auditorium on October 6. The quality of research happening here at Saint Mary’s University is something that we should all be proud of, congratulations to all of those that have been recognized.

Researcher leads team in discovering galaxies with James Webb Space Telescope

This image shows the Webb Deep Field of Galaxies, the very first unveiled science image by JWST. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Post-stamps: Shannon MacFarland (SMU).

Dr. Gaël Noirot, a postdoctoral researcher at Saint Mary’s University, is playing a leading role in studying an image called “Webb’s Deep Field of Galaxies,” the extraordinary first image produced by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which contains at least 7,000 galaxies.

Along with Saint Mary’s professor and CRC Chair Dr. Marcin Sawicki, a team of Canadian astronomers have used the Canadian NIRISS instrument on board JWST to collect spectra from galaxies in the image. These spectra are a type of scientific data created by breaking down the light of an object to reveal additional information such as the object’s age or distance. 

The team has now measured the redshifts—a precise measurement of a galaxy’s distance based on the unique chemical signatures seen in its spectra—of nearly 200 galaxies whose distances from Earth were previously unknown.

“NIRISS is perfect for doing this because it can measure the redshifts of hundreds of galaxies at once,” said Dr. Noirot who is Principal Investigator of this observing program and lead author of the study published this month in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 

Read the full press release.

Saint Mary's biomedical lab is on the frontiers of collagen exploration

Dr. Veres and his students study in great depth the structural makeup of collagen within the body to identify the unknown

Dr. Sam Veres (left) works in a research lab with Master of Science in Applied Science student Amanda Lee

What comes to mind when people think of exploration is typically outer space, or the deep ocean. But within the human body, there are many structural and functional questions that remain unanswered. 

The structural makeup of collagen within the body, and how it develops and is comprised in injury and disease, is one area still under exploration. Dr. Sam Veres and his graduate students explore this topic with great depth in Biomedical Structure-Function labs. 

Sam Veres

“We think hard about identifying things that are unknown, problems that persist and how we might solve them,” says Dr. Veres, interim Dean of Science and Professor in the Division of Engineering at Saint Mary’s University. “A more complete understanding of the collagen in our bodies, how it develops and how it can become structurally compromised, could lead to development of new treatments to help reduce disabling soft tissue injuries like sprains, strains, and overuse tendinopathies.”

Research and collaboration

Collagen provides structural integrity to tissues in human and animal bodies, including the skin, bones, tendons and ligaments, articular cartilage, even discs in our backs. 

Dr. Veres and his lab specifically study collagen fibrils, which are tiny in size—roughly 1,000 times smaller than a human hair. The size of these fibrils is why many aspects of their development remain unknown, and why the multidisciplinary lab uses knowledge and techniques from engineering, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine to study them.

“These sorts of problems are inherently multidisciplinary, and you need to have collaborative teams that come together and work on these problems together,” says Dr. Veres.

Identifying unknowns

It’s a very exciting time in the lab, with four of its graduate students publishing results within the next year. 

Kelsey Gsell is a PhD student who Dr. Veres co-supervises with Dr. Laurent Kreplak through Dalhousie University’s School of Biomedical Engineering. Her research looks at how collagen in the body respond to enzymes that help control tissue repair and renewal.

Dr. Veres is also working with master’s student Ted Lownie, whose research has shown that the specialized collagen structure of highly loaded tendons like the Achilles extends back to the earliest stages of fetal development rather than being driven by mechanical loading after birth, as previously thought.

Dr. Veres is excited to see his students take part in this innovative, multidisciplinary research and continue asking questions, and exploring in the hopes of finding answers. 

“It’s really satisfying to see students go on to do other great things and take this background with them,” he says. “Seeing my students gain an appreciation for what is unknown and still to be discovered is really so wonderful.”

To learn more about Dr. Sam Veres and his graduate students’ research, visit their lab’s website at vereslab.com.