Legislature recognition for Saint Mary’s University

Today the Nova Scotia Legislature heard two special resolutions recognizing the work of Saint Mary’s University.

The first recognition was for the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia (LISNS) and four Saint Mary’s students who built a digital prototype for them using open source software to support members of the public. 

They were recognized by the Minister of Justice, Diana Whalen, for innovation in promoting access to justice for Nova Scotians.

• Ollando Brown – Bachelor of Commerce
• Tapiwa Munyanyi – Bachelor of Commerce
• Gilroy Gordon – Master of Science, Computing and Data Analytics
• Dominic Collie – Bachelor of Arts

The project came about thanks to a partnership initiated by the Co-Curricular Record and Career Services.

The second recognition was for the Sobey School of Business’s important role as an asset to the academic and business communities, in particular for the leadership and initiative shown by being the first business school to undergo the Business School Impact System. The conclusions of this analysis are highlighted in the recently released Creating an Impact with Purpose, Sobey School of Business’ First Impact Report.

The Minister of Business, Mark Furey, acknowledged Dean Patricia Bradshaw and congratulated the Sobey School of Business on its successes.

Saint Mary’s shoots up rankings in Canadian Research Universities report

Dr. Kevin Vessey

‌‌Saint Mary's University has shot up in the rankings of the well-regarded Research Universities of the Year (RUY) report by Toronto-based consultants Research Infosource.

The 2016 report, released October 27, shows Saint Mary's has leapt nine positions to 35th place from last year’s 44th ranking.

The RUY ranking method takes into account financial input (sponsored research income) and research output at Canadian universities. It also considers the impact and quality of that research output as reflected by the number of publications, publication intensity (research income per full-time faculty) and publication impacts (citations in peer-reviewed literature).

“I like this ranking system because it is a measure of return on investment of research dollars,” says Dr. Kevin Vessey (pictured), Associate Vice-President Research and Dean of Graduate Studies at Saint Mary’s.  “The increase in our standing in the RUY ranking shows that the extraordinary impact of our research is being well recognized by others.”

Learn more about the Research Infosource reports.

New Scholarship Opportunity for students from Antigua & Barbuda at Saint Mary’s University

Saint Mary’s University is pleased to announce a new partnership with Henley and Partners in support of the Halo Hero Scholarship. 

An official signing of the new scholarship will be hosted by the Governor General, Sir Rodney Williams, and his wife, Lady Williams at Government House in Antigua on October 20, 2016 at 11:00 am. The Halo Foundation was founded by the Governor General and Lady Williams.

"The Halo Foundation is pleased to join with Henley & Partners and Saint Mary's University in offering this annual award to deserving students in Antigua and Barbuda, who have contributed to the well-being of their communities,” said Lady Williams. “We commend the courage of all the present and future recipients of this scholarship and humanitarian medal, as they strive to make this world a more charitable and compassionate place in which we all can live ".

The scholarship is exclusive to Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (Lady Williams’ Alma mater), and the recipient of the scholarship will have all of their annual costs covered. Henley and Partners commits to $25,000 per year per recipient to a maximum of $100,000 per student. Saint Mary’s University commits to a further $5,000 per year per student to a maximum of $20,000 per student.

“This award is a tribute to the long-standing and excellent relationship between Saint Mary’s University and the people of Antigua & Barbuda,” said Saint Mary’s President, Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray.  “We are pleased one of our alumni felt so strongly about encouraging education and community service she not only worked with us on developing this scholarship, but also identified a like-minded sponsor in Henley & Company, to make this happen.”

The scholarship is part of ongoing efforts to create opportunities for the development and empowerment of young people in Antigua and Barbuda.

The Halo Hero Award seeks to identify students in their last year of secondary and tertiary institutions who deserves recognition for their exceptional acts of bravery and kindness, and their involvement in humanitarian efforts.

In January 2016, Marie Braswell, the Director of Admissions and Recruitment from Saint Mary’s University, had the opportunity to meet with Lady Williams in Antigua.  “From the first moment I met Lady Williams and heard about her experiences at Saint Mary’s, I could see she was determined to help other strong students from Antigua and Barbuda have the same opportunity,” said Braswell.   We’ve worked closely together over the past 6 months to develop the Halo Hero Scholarship, and I continue to admire her kindness and dedication to helping others.”

Further information on the Halo Hero Award

Saint Mary’s retains 7th position in Maclean's university rankings

Saint Mary’s University is once again ranked as one of Canada’s top ten universities, as determined by Maclean’s magazine. Saint Mary’s is ranked seventh among primarily undergraduate universities, maintaining our overall ranking from last year.
 
Saint Mary’s Faculty continue to receive high marks, placing first in the Faculty Awards category and fourth in Social Science and Humanities Grants category, the highest of any of its regional peers in those areas.
 
Saint Mary’s ranked a strong fifth in the Student Awards category and sixth in the Scholarships and Bursaries category. Maclean’s places Saint Mary’s in the Primarily Undergraduate category along with 18 other institutions.
 
As Canada’s International University, we are very proud of our continued success. Saint Mary’s places a great importance on our commitment to academic excellence, community-engaged research, experiential learning, and support for teaching excellence.

Maclean's University Rankings

Partnership ready to help businesses respond to breast cancer in the workplace

Leaders of the Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer research project want to connect with small and large businesses to help them implement their action plan to create “bright spots,” or best practices for a healthy workplace response to breast cancer.

The Partnership is comprised of a system of individuals who touch the working lives of breast cancer survivors in some way: breast cancer survivors, themselves, professionals working in public policy, organized labour, labour law, health services, cancer advocacy groups, and students and research experts in psychosocial oncology, work psychology, disability management, and knowledge mobilization, among others. The Partnership will spend the day on Friday designing workplace interventions to create a healthy workplace response to breast cancer. They are also developing an action plan that day, and would like to talk to community organizations, managers, and large and small businesses to help them implement this action plan.

“Help us get it right,” says Dr. Catherine Loughlin, co-investigator with the project. “We need the engagement of businesses and community members who have experienced breast cancer in the workplace.”

The project began in April 2016 and is led by researcher and Saint Mary’s University professor, Dr. Lucie Kocum and co-investigators, Dr. Catherine Loughlin (Saint Mary’s University), and Dr. Lynne Robinson (Dalhousie University). The project is funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health research, Saint Mary's University and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and community partners.

“We are doing this research for women who deserve a healthier workplace response to their disease. For the 68 Canadian women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer today, and the 68 more who will be diagnosed tomorrow,” says Dr. Kocum.

Dr. Robinson agrees: “This is about women hit hard by a life-threatening illness, and the cure rate is increasing, so is the number of working aged women diagnosed.”

Currently breast cancer is the most common cancer among women aged 20-59.

The second Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer workshop will be held at Saint Mary’s new CLARI facility on Friday, October 28 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Website: workwellnesslab.com
Twitter: @WorkWellnessLab
Facebook: WorkWellnessLab

Contact

Nicole Webb
Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer
Project and Communications Manager
Cancer and Work Communications Coordinator
902-293-5857
Nicole.Webb@smu.ca

Welcome to Mi’kma’ki, the Territory of the Mi’kmaq

Saint Mary's University hosted an opening smudge, followed by singing, chanting and drumming led by Eastern Eagle, to welcome and honour its indigenous students. The event was open to all to celebrate.

Opening remarks were delivered by Grand Council of Mi’kmaq, Sɨkɨpne’katik (Shubenacadie) District and Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, President of Saint Mary’s University.

The event was hosted on campus in front of the Atrium and Burke buildings.

The event was organized by SMUSA Indigenous Student Society and Indigenous Education, Studio for Teaching and Learning.

Helping working women diagnosed with breast cancer

New research being conducted at Saint Mary’s University will help working women diagnosed with breast cancer. The Work Wellness Team led by Saint Mary’s professors Dr. Lucie Kocum and Dr. Catherine Loughlin and Dalhousie professor Dr. Lynne Robinson, is conducting workshops at Saint Mary’s this week to create interventions that will help women diagnosed with breast cancer in the workplace.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second deadliest cancer for women. Every day, 68 women in Canada are diagnosed with breast cancer most of whom are of working age.

“Breast cancer is the cancer of the working woman,” says Dr. Kocum. “It can have devastating effects on working women that other forms of cancer just don’t seem to have. Women become unemployed after being diagnosed with breast cancer, more than any other cancer. Why is that?”

Thanks to funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Saint Mary's University and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation community partners from across Canada came together at Saint Mary’s this week for the first of many meetings to be held over the next two years to develop and test workplace interventions.

“Our research is unique as we will meet with union members, academics, breast cancer survivors, insurance companies and disability professionals, says Dr. Kocum. “Each brings a different perspective to the issue and allows us to brainstorm and test the best practices for employers and employees to implement to better cope with illness and promote health within the workplace.”

The first Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer meeting is being held at the Sobey School of Business Unilever Lounge on Wednesday, July 20 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Saint Mary’s team attends BioFuelNet’s Advanced Biofuels Symposium in Vancouver

(L-R) Emily Peters, Jingwen Zhao, Dr. Kevin Vessey  Dr. Zhongmin Dong and Dr. Houman Fei.

A five-member team from the Faculty of Science at Saint Mary’s University recently attended the BioFuelNet’s Advanced Biofuels Symposium in Vancouver. 

The BioFuelNet (BFN) is a network of biofuels research community members. Their mandate is to focus “on the challenges impeding the growth of an advanced biofuels industry,” says the organization. 

Drs. Dong and Vessey have been involved with BFN since 2012 as researchers and Dr. Vessey is a member of the group’s Research Management Committee and  leads a Task Force in the Network on Biomass Feedstocks. 

“Advanced biofuels are part of our green and clean energy future,” says Vessey.  “Advanced biofuels can be used as replacements for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. In their production, many other high-valued bioproducts can also be produced like precursors for biomaterials and pharmaceuticals.”

Vessey also explains that advanced biofuels are produced from biomass waste. Along with forestry and other agricultural residues and municipal waste, they may also be derived from high-yield, low-input species such as willow or hybrid poplar. 

“Our research at SMU looks at how we can efficiently produce these biomass crops in Nova Scotia by using plant growth prompting supplements like seaweed extracts and beneficial soil bacteria and fungi,” says Vessey. 

Master of Science student Emily Peters found the conference to be beneficial, explaining that one of the biggest obstacles to research in this field is the lack of communication between researchers and the community that will be impacted.

“The student workshop at the conference was focused on teaching students how to use the skills and knowledge that we have worked so hard to attain during our research to find a job in Canada’s bioeconomy,” says Peters. 

“I think sometimes it’s hard to transfer skills learned in academia into a non-academic sector, so having successful professionals telling us how to transfer our skills most effectively based on experience was a great opportunity,” she added. 

BFN says it is working to develop and apply novel and innovative science, engineering and socio-economic strategies that will enhance environmental sustainability for future generations.

Saint Mary’s joins consortium offering Masters in Applied Health Services Research

Saint Mary’s University has been approved by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission to join a consortium of Atlantic Canadian universities offering a Masters in Applied Health Services Research (MAHSR) program.

The interdisciplinary program is in collaboration with Memorial University, the University of Prince Edward Island and University of New Brunswick.

“I am extremely pleased and excited that Saint Mary’s have joined with UPEI, UNB and MUN in the Master of Applied Health Service Research program,” said Dr. Kevin Vessey, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at Saint Mary’s. “Saint Mary’s has excellent research being pursued in health care systems, patient outcomes, and social, cultural and environmental factors that affect the health of populations, but this is our first graduate program where health is the main focus.”

The MAHSR program is completed over a two-year period and includes eight web-based courses, workshops, a residency and thesis research.

Dr. Lucie Kocum, Saint Mary’s Psychology Professor is the program coordinator at Saint Mary’s. She says through the program students are trained by scholars of diverse disciplines and will acquire the necessary skills to investigate complex health systems.

“The training prepares students for a variety of careers, including health policy research and administration,” she says.

The program is also the first academic program being hosted by one of Saint Mary’s research centres, specifically the CN Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.

Funded by the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and in partnership with Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit, the MAHSR program comes at an important time in Nova Scotia, where this type of research could lead to improvements in the services provided by a health care system that faces may challenges now and in the future.

“The MAHSR is a great collaboration that will educate experts for leadership positions in health services careers, as well as contribute to fundamental and applied research that will improve health and health care delivery in Nova Scotia and beyond,” says Dr. Vessey.

Tom Brophy named Senior Director, Student Services

Tom Brophy

Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, President and Vice-Chancellor of Saint Mary’s University is pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Brophy the Senior Director, Student Services at Saint Mary’s.

“It is my pleasure to welcome Mr. Brophy to Saint Mary’s and his new position,” said Dr. Summerby-Murray. “With his expansive experience, Tom is well positioned to build upon and lead our strong Student Services team.”

Brophy comes to Saint Mary’s from Brandon University where he spent the last three years as Associate Vice-President, Student Services, Enrolment Management and University Registrar. While at Brandon he led the development of Brandon’s first-ever strategic plan for student services and registrarial services, oversaw the Indigenous People’s Centre and guided the development of the Success 1 Transition Year program to improve retention rates for academically at-risk students. He was also instrumental in an initiative that successfully engaged all universities, colleges and school boards in Manitoba to commit to an Indigenous Education Blueprint to improve Indigenous student experience and academic outcomes. 

Before coming to Brandon University Brophy spent 14 years working in student services at Memorial University. He holds a Master of Education degree from Memorial with a specialization in post-secondary education.  He also worked for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, serving as Executive Assistant to the Minister of Finance and a Policy Advisor to the Minister of Health and Community Services

Brophy will join the University Community effective September 26th.

Saint Mary's community mourns the passing of Archbishop James Martin Hayes

On behalf of Saint Mary's University, President Robert Summerby-Murray expresses  condolences on the passing of Archbishop Emeritus James Martin Hayes on August 2, 2016 at the age of 92.

Archbishop Hayes received a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Mary’s in 1943, in addition to honorary degrees from many universities. While serving as the ninth Archbishop of Halifax from 1967 to 1990, he also served as Chancellor of Saint Mary’s University.

The eldest child of Leonard James and Rita (Bates) Hayes, Fr. James was raised near Halifax in Herring Cove, Nova Scotia. He is remembered as a kind, well-respected leader and an effective advocate for the renewal of the whole Church. Ordained to the priesthood in 1947 at the age of 23, Archbishop Hayes was a guiding influence in the ecumenical movement. He helped create the Atlantic School of Theology in March 1971, where Catholics and Protestant denominations have studied together for more than four decades. This was the first time that three denominations united to form one educational institution in Canada. Today, Saint Mary’s University values its important relationship with the Atlantic School of Theology.

Archbishop Hayes retired as Archbishop of Halifax in 1990 and entered into full-time ministry caring for the sick and the dying, as Chaplain in Palliative Care at QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax until his retirement from this ministry in 2012.

Ceremony celebrates BNUZ relationship

Saint Mary's University has a long-standing relationship with Beijing Normal University – Zhuhai (BNUZ). For the past two years Saint Mary’s students have spent six weeks at Zhuhai during the summer months studying business, Chinese language and other programs.

Saint Mary’s is hosting a conference from July 16h - July 31st welcoming a delegation from BNUZ comprised of faculty and administrators for a 14-day summer institute focused on the intercultural exploration of strategies and best practices in university teaching and administration. This is the second year BNUZ has visited Saint Mary’s for this informative institute.
 
On Friday, Saint Mary’s held a tree ceremony to celebrate the university’s partnership with BNUZ.

Left to right: The Hon. Lena Diab, NS Minister of Immigration, Dr. Robert Summerby-Murrary, President of St. Mary’s University, MLA Joachim Stroink, Dr. Ailan Fu, Vice President & Provost, Beijing Normal University Zhuhai

Seven Sons Flower Tree

A member ofHoneysuckle family, this rare tree is endemic to China. It was discovered in 1907. Only nine populations are remain in the wild in Anhui and Zhejiang provinces and threatened by habitat loss but is now nationally protected. The tree grows up to 7m high and has white flowers with the fragrance of Jasmine. The nectar is appreciated by butterflies and moths. Purple-red fruits form in the autumn that have showy sepals.