Social Justice, Diversity, Inclusion, Activism and Entrepreneurship: Introducing Saint Mary’s RBC Talent Hub Team

April Howe EMBA'18, the new RBC Talent Hub Entrepreneur-In-Residence at the Saint Mary's University's Entrepreneurship Centre (SMUEC)

Social justice, diversity, inclusion, activism and entrepreneurship. Powerful words that offer a peek into the hearts of the amazing women joining Saint Mary's University's RBC Talent Hub team.

"I am so proud to return to Saint Mary's University and give back to the next generation of amazing Canadian entrepreneurs," says April Howe EMBA'18, the new RBC Talent Hub Entrepreneur-In-Residence at the Saint Mary's University's Entrepreneurship Centre (SMUEC). "My intent is to provide mentorship, guidance and advice to students that was instrumental to me in my entrepreneurial journey, and I can't wait to start."

Howe has been an active voice for diversity and inclusion in Nova Scotia for many years. Her consultancy, Crayon Strategies Inc., works extensively with clients across Canada and the US from various sectors, including pharmacare, health care, finance engineering, tech, not-for-profit, and the start-up sector. Howe is the provincial Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Previously she held senior government roles of Senior Executive Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Justice. Before that, she was the Executive Director of People and Culture at the Public Service Commission and led the provincial Diversity and Inclusion strategy development. April was a Partner with Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette for 16 years leading their Career Transition practice. As a community volunteer, she served on the boards of the United Way, the IWK Foundation, the Halifax Partnership, the Black Business Initiative, and the North End Community Health Center. As a proud descendant, she was a founding board director and went on to be Board Chair of the Africville Heritage Trust.

“The RBC Talent Hub is very fortunate to have April Howe joining as the new Entrepreneur-In-Residence,” says Kellie Sauriol, RBC’s Regional Vice President, Business Financial Services, Atlantic Canada. “It is incredibly rare to have someone with such a rich background in both the private and public sectors available to guide and foster young entrepreneurs. Also, it speaks to the high quality of the Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre itself that they continue to successfully bring in accomplished people like April to this role. I know the students will benefit greatly from her leadership.”

"Any time you can have someone with the experience of April join your team and work with students, it is an amazing win for your program," says Michael Sanderson, Director, SMUEC. "We are ecstatic to have April joining us and bring her wealth of experience across a variety of sectors to her work at Saint Mary's."

The Saint Mary's University RBC Talent Hub is an expansive initiative designed to support students on their entrepreneurial journey. Through co-operative education, internship placements, training, Entrepreneurial Mindset Success Certificate, and mentorship, the RBC Talent Hub provides an exceptional opportunity to students for additional hands-on learning opportunities. The skills developed through this program aim to give students an edge in beginning their careers and help them to excel in the workplace post-graduation. The program is made possible with support from RBC Foundation and is entering its fourth year.

"The success of our past Entrepreneurs-in-Residence: Gregg Curwin, Shannon Susko, and Leah Skerry have reinforced how important it is to have experienced individuals available to coach and mentor students as they develop their skills and create a plan for their future," says Sanderson. "To support their work, we brought in other experts to assist students through training and coaching, such as recent alumni, local professionals, and faculty. These additional supports alongside a seasoned entrepreneur proved so successful that we are expanding the RBC Talent Hub to include these new roles on a more permanent basis."  

Kaitlyn Touesnard BComm'13, Alumni-In-Residence at SMUEC.

Joining the RBC Talent Hub team at Saint Mary's in the newly created Alumni-In-Residence roles will be Kaitlyn Touesnard BComm'13 and Sehmat Suri BComm'19. 

Kaitlyn Touesnard has been managing the Atlantic Canadian Chapter of Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) since Spring of 2020. She works closely with the over 80 entrepreneurs that make up EO's Membership to help them reach their full potential. Previous to her role at EO, she was the President and Founder of Crescendo Events. From a few small events to events with over 1,000 attendees, she grew the business for five years. Kaitlyn was named Planner of the Year for Atlantic Canada in 2019 by Meeting Professionals International. In 2012, Kaitlyn was named HSBC Woman Leader of Tomorrow for Atlantic Canada for her work with the Saint Mary's University Enactus Team.

Sehmat Suri BComm'19, Alumni-In-Residence at SMUEC.

Sehmat Suri BComm'19 is a digital media specialist, model, blogger, actor, and tv host. She moved to Halifax from India in 2014 and pursued a BA in Psychology and a BComm in Marketing at Saint Mary's. She has represented the university at national and international conferences and ran a local business for a year which led her to start modelling and growing her Instagram presence in 2017. She has since worked for companies like Sport Chek, Kent, Tic Tac, Tresemme and Tourism Nova Scotia and is one of the hosts of the travel show "Ocean Playground" on Eastlink. Sehmat currently works at m5 Marketing Communications and is expanding her online presence in the lifestyle, comedy, and social justice fields.

This latest expansion is just the beginning of new support for Saint Mary's University students through SMUEC. Later this year, more new volunteer positions are set to join the RBC Talent Hub. Their focus will be to provide students with more access to professionals such as lawyers, accountants, human resources, bankers and more. SMUEC also plans to increase integration with the world-leading experts amongst Saint Mary's faculty by adding dedicated faculty members to the RBC Talent Hub team.

Showcasing Student Business Excellence with Style: The Saint Mary’s University March Madness Pitch Competition

Do you hear that sound? It is the sound of thousands of people clicking the link to watch the 2022 Saint Mary’s University March Madness Pitch Competition.

The competition showcases post-secondary student pitchers throughout March. Modelled after the NCAA March Madness basketball competition, 64 student entrepreneurs from across Canada will be selected to compete head-to-head in brackets as they strive to have their pitch idea declared the best in the country.

This national competition is a destination for Canada's top student entrepreneurs. It features twenty-four universities from coast to coast, from as far west as the University of Victoria and the University of Alberta, to participants from central Canada such as the University of Waterloo, Carleton University, and Western University. Eastern Canada is also well represented with many participants, including HEC Montreal, Mount Allison University, Saint Mary's University and the Memorial University of Newfoundland, to name but a few.

“The best of the best face each other in this tournament, where the student team with the best business pitch can win $10,000 to support their start-up,” says Michael Sanderson, Director, Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre (SMUEC). “That said, there isn’t only one team that wins as the finalists receive support for business leaders and experts to hone their pitches while the third and fourth place teams walk away with $1000 and second place leaves with $5000—all to support their business ideas.” 

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. For SMUEC, a pandemic wouldn’t stop them from providing an avenue for a diverse group of student entrepreneurs to apply the skills they learned in the classroom to a competitive business environment. Enter the first Saint Mary’s University March Madness Pitch competition in 2021, all online.

“We are always looking for new ways to engage students, and last year we recognized the challenges for in-person gatherings, so we began to look beyond solutions and seek opportunities,” says Michael Sanderson, Director, SMUEC. “We took inspiration from the March Madness NCAA basketball tournament and realized the opportunity to do a similar tournament but for business pitches. The online environment allowed us to bypass traditional logistical challenges like location, venue, travel availability for judges to name a few. It brought a whole new dimension to what was possible for a large-scale pitch competition.”

As last year’s tournament progressed, thousands of viewers from around the world tuned in to support their favourites and follow the action. To keep up to date on all the latest teams, pitches and results, visit https://smuec.ca/march_madness/ or www.facebook.com/smuec.ca for the live streams.

Message from the President in support of Ukraine

Speaking on behalf of Saint Mary’s University, I want to express my deep concern with the hostile incursion taking place in Ukraine and its impact on the Ukrainian people. As a university with strong international ties, and as scientists, humanists and scholars, we unite with the international community in calling for peace and an immediate end to the invasion. Saint Mary’s University stands with the people of Ukraine and the many members of the Ukrainian Community here in Canada.

We recognize that students, faculty, and staff may be affected by the conflict and want to remind our community that the university has a range of resources in place:

Students can access mental health supports including free confidential 1-1 counselling, through the Saint Mary’s University Counselling Centre. International students can also access supports through the International Student Centre.

Students seeking phone- or text-based mental health support services can contact Good2Talk by calling 1-833-292-3698 or texting Good2TalkNS to 686868.

Staff may access the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP).

Faculty and Professional Librarians should contact the Union Office at unionoffice@smufu.org or 902 496 8090 to determine options available for counselling.

Rob Summerby-Murray
President and Vice-Chancellor

University Remembers Former President, Kenneth Ozmon OC

Dr. Kenneth Ozmon

Dr. Kenneth Ozmon Installed as President, 1979

Dr. Kenneth Ozmon Visits Bermuda, 1981

Dr. Kenneth Ozmon and Terry Donahoe During National Universities Week, 1983

Dr. Kenneth Ozmon With Astronaut Roberta Bondar, 1992

Dr. Kenneth Ozmon and Jack Keith, 1993

Dr. Kenneth Ozmon and Friends Breaking the Sod for The Tower, 1986

Breaking the Sod at Site of Future Sobey Building, ca. 1996

Saint Mary's Huskies Team Photo with Dr. Ken Ozmon, 1998

The Saint Mary’s University community honours the memory of and recalls with fondness former university president Kenneth (Ken) Ozmon OC, who passed away 23 February 2022. Born in 1931, he taught at various U.S. and Canadian universities before coming to Saint Mary’s. Kenneth Ozmon became president in 1979, serving for 21 years until 2000 and leading the university through a period of great change and progress. Dr. Ozmon was president during a time of considerable growth in enrolment and several capital campaigns; he was proud to break ground on the Sobey Building with Dr. David Sobey and then Premier John Savage in 1996 and celebrate the building opening in 1998. He is also known for his strong interest in assisting youth with disabilities and in creating more inclusive models for university participation. His advocacy made a lasting impact on Saint Mary’s University and other universities in the region, and this was recognized with him being made an Officer in the Order of Canada in 1998 for his “outstanding contribution to education.”

“Ken Ozmon’s leadership contributed directly to the growing stature of Saint Mary’s University throughout the 1980s and 90s. The international outreach that took shape under his presidency and his strong belief, which he translated to the institution, in the right for everyone to have unobstructed access to post-secondary education were key drivers of the university’s vision and mission,” says President and Vice-Chancellor Robert Summerby-Murray. “His firm stamp is evident in the Saint Mary’s we know today.” Ken remained connected to the institution and was a familiar and faithful presence at varsity games cheering on the SMU Huskies. He made a special trip to campus in October 2021 when he toured The Dauphinee Centre and the site of the new Sobeys Inspiration Hub. Ken was delighted to see the progress underway and expressed his ongoing great pride in the institution he served for so long.

The university is flying flags at half-mast in recognition of his legacy and in sympathy with his family at his passing.

The CFA Ethics Challenge: an opportunity for professional growth

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In early February, five students from the Sobey School of Business’s Master of Finance (MFin) program competed in the CFA Societies Canada Ethics Competition. This competition, run by the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Societies Canada, aims to prepare students for the ethical decision-making that comes with their future careers. In between a tight academic schedule of assignments and midterms, the team was tasked with analyzing and presenting a case study given to them by the local CFA society, CFA Society Atlantic Canada.  

“A lot of work goes into competing in the CFA Ethics Competition,” says Ross Hallett, faculty advisor for the competition and Academic Co-Director of the Sobey School of Business’s IMPACT fund. “Once the team is set up, they have 2 weeks from the time they’re given the case to prepare their presentation. There is a fixed number of hours that I’m allowed to mentor them, so a lot of their preparation is self-directed.”  

At the end of their preparation window, teams present their analysis of the case and their recommendations to a panel of judges. “Every team is allocated 10 minutes to present the case, which is then followed by 10 minutes of questions by the judging panel,” explains Student Team Coordinator Souvik Sinha. “We researched a real case study which had multiple ethical issues, and as a team, we identified these violations and shared our recommendations.” 

The CFA Ethics Challenge is a significant undertaking. Students are not only tasked with studying the case given to them; they must also demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the CFA Ethics curriculum and be able to present their findings within a short time limit.  

Despite the amount of work that went into preparing for the CFA Ethics Challenge, the team stressed that it was a highly beneficial experience for them. “The challenge was a fantastic learning experience that instilled in me a great deal of confidence,” says competitor Behnam Hajimomenian. “We were able to greatly develop our teamwork and presentation skills.” 

An additional benefit to participating in the CFA Ethics Challenge is that it prepares MFin students for the ethical portion of the CFA Exam, which all MFin students must take at the end of their program. When asked if they would recommend future MFin students participate in the CFA Ethics Challenge, the team’s answer was a resounding ‘yes’.  

“It is a challenge that will give you the opportunity for experiential learning as you analyze and present a case,” shares competitor Manuel García Ramírez when asked for details. “You have the opportunity to develop your presentation skills, work as a team, and build your network by meeting experts in the financial industry.” 

Honouring the Landscape of Grand Pré: Students reflect on research connections

Born and raised in the Annapolis Valley, Adeena Fox BA’20 didn’t fully appreciate Grand-Pré’s global significance until she got a chance to do archaeology field research there as a Saint Mary’s University student.

“I grew up about 20 minutes away. I didn’t realize how much history we have in our province, let alone in a place so close by,” says Fox, an Honours Anthropology graduate now completing her master’s degree in Atlantic Canada Studies.  

Aerial shot of Grand-Pré

Nova Scotia Heritage Day on February 21 honours the Landscape of Grand Pré, which marks its 10th anniversary this year as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of just 20 in Canada. It’s an iconic place of memory due to the Acadian deportation of 1755, a human history that echoes throughout 1,300 hectares of tidal marshes, historic dykes and farmland along the Minas Basin.

“It’s a special place,” Dr. Jonathan Fowler says in a new documentary by the Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse. “It is an example of human ingenuity over centuries because it's a place where humans have tested their wits against nature's great forces of the Fundy tides.”

An historical archaeologist, Fowler has been researching early colonial “Acadie” for nearly 30 years, and teaching the Grand-Pré Archaeological Field School course at Saint Mary’s since 2001. His modern archaeology toolkit goes far beyond excavation, emphasizing terrestrial and aerial remote sensing technologies such as ground-penetrating radar, electromagnetic induction, LiDAR and digital texture mapping technologies.

For Fox, a field school highlight was searching for evidence of a mysterious stone house that played a key role in the 1747 Battle of Grand-Pré. “It’s one thing to read about archaeological sites but to be right there, putting that knowledge to use, it’s truly indescribable,” she says.

Artifact found at Grand-Pré

Grand-Pré’s broader landscape has been a constant source of inspiration for Wesley Weatherbee BA’17, first as an undergraduate student and research volunteer, then in several field courses, and now as the central focus of his master’s thesis.

“It is a beautiful place to investigate,” says Weatherbee, who graduates in May. He’s intrigued by the depth of natural and cultural history combined, beginning with the Mi’kmaq long before the French, British, Scottish or Dutch settlers arrived. See these 3D models he created of a historic pipe and the Grand Pré excavation site where it was found.

“Any visitors to the coast have the opportunity to see ancient fossils in the Triassic sandstone underlying the sandflats, Pleistocene wave-cut terraces rising above the modern shorelines, 4,000-year-old ancient forests still rooted on the flats, eroding remnants of Acadian farm infrastructure, and much more,” he says.

Spencer Ryder BA’22 of Hampton, New Brunswick graduated in January with a major in Anthropology and a minor in Classics. This fall he heads to Italy’s University of Padua, to begin a Master of Applied Sciences to Cultural Heritage Materials and Sites program.

“I knew I wanted to be an archaeologist since middle school, but really had no idea how you become one,” he says. “The courses I took at Saint Mary’s, especially ones where we were able to work in the field, get our hands dirty and find artifacts, made me fall in love with history even more.”

Grand-Pré’s landscape is fertile ground for exploring such timely topics as colonialism, settlement, conflict and displacement, he adds. A favourite project was at an Indigenous site near Starr’s Point, just west of Grand-Pré. Ryder and classmate Emily Madinsky BA’20 helped to plot and excavate trenches, collect materials and conduct research, then co-wrote a report with Fowler for the provincial Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage.  

“Being able to work on a project from start to finish showed me how future projects may go when I am employed professionally in the field of archaeology,” Ryder says.

Find information about Saint Mary’s anthropology programs, news and events here. Learn more about Grand-Pré by following Dr. Fowler’s research updates on Twitter at @ArchInAcadie, and on Facebook at Archaeology at Grand-Pré and Archaeology in Acadie.

Uncovering new twists in the legal history of marriage and divorce in England

Humans have been falling in and out of love—and marriage—for many centuries. While the legalities of separation and divorce continue evolving today, it’s intriguing to look back and see how ordinary folks managed their breakups in England 300 to 500 years ago.  

“The subject is so large and I keep finding new things,” says Dr. Tim Stretton, a Saint Mary’s University professor whose work focuses on legal and social history, and women’s legal rights.  

While researching Marriage, Separation, and Divorce in England, 1500-1700 (Oxford University Press, 2022), he and co-author Dr. K. J. Kesselring of Dalhousie University found a treasure trove of surprising cases in secular court archives and private litigation records. 

Other historians have relied heavily on records from the church courts, which held the monopoly on marriage and separation in England during this time period. In the wake of the 16th century Reformation, England was the only Protestant jurisdiction that didn’t introduce full divorces allowing remarriage—an option that only became widely available after the passing of the Divorce Act in 1857. In theory, unhappy spouses’ only hope was a church court separation.  

“The single biggest surprise was finding private separation agreements,” says Stretton. “Hundreds of couples in miserable marriages should have gone to the church to get a separation. But that was expensive and shameful, potentially, and church officials often told them to get back together, which in the case of domestic violence was horrific.” 

With the help of lawyers trained in secular law, parting couples quietly made their own arrangements to resolve property matters, safety concerns and other differences. These private separations could be difficult to enforce but for exes who remained cordial, they seem to have provided peace of mind. These private agreements also helped spur the rise of alimony in the 17th century, another unexpected finding detailed in two chapters.  

This is Stretton’s second book with Kesselring. They co-edited Married Women and the Law: Coverture in England and the Common Law World (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013) following a conference at Saint Mary’s. Coverture—the term for married women’s rights under English common law—restricted a wife’s ability to control real estate, own movable property, enter into contracts or participate in litigation without the cooperation of her husband.  

A significant number of women in broken marriages defied these limitations in filing lawsuits against their husbands, the new book confirms, illustrating this with case studies and rich biographical detail found in the litigation records.  

“It’s hard to do this work and be sensitive to the memories of these people but at the same time, some aspects of the stories need to be told,” says Stretton. “The fierce independence of the women involved is what struck us throughout, often in surprising ways.”  

More new books from Saint Mary’s History professors:  

• The Town of Vichy and the Politics of Identity: Stigma, Victimhood and Decline (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022); by Dr. Kirrily Freeman, Professor of History  

• Empire and Emancipation: Scottish and Irish Catholics at the Atlantic Fringe, 1780–1850 (University of Toronto Press, 2022); by Dr. S. Karly Kehoe, Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Communities 

Diversity in the Entrepreneurial World

The Saint Mary's University Entrepreneurship Centre Ignition Program provides students with an opportunity to learn from a diverse panel of mentors in the entrepreneurial world, allowing students a chance to see themselves as successful entrepreneurs. The 10-week program also provides students with access to training, resources and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Starting February 14, the Ignition Program will host a series of Black and Indigenous entrepreneurship events in their 10-week program. These events will highlight six local entrepreneur panellists over two days to share their real stories, challenges, and successes with aspiring entrepreneurs.

"Seeing yourself through these entrepreneur speakers is so important for our students," says Adam Khamis BComm'21, SMUEC Project Manager. "Nova Scotia is rich in diversity, and so is Saint Mary's. It's only right that our speakers represent that."

The Ignition Program hosted over 50 speaker series to more than 1,300 post-secondary students this past year. Student feedback has shown that including diversity in speaker experiences and business growth stages when learning about entrepreneurship helps them visualize themselves as successful entrepreneurs.

"I have learned a great deal from the various sessions that I have attended, and it's amazing to see the many ways in which these lessons apply to our everyday lives," says Sidney Nuwahereza, Saint Mary's student.

The Ignition program has a rolling registration, and students are encouraged to drop into relevant topics.

Black Entrepreneurship Panel

February 14, 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. AST

Join SMUEC in hosting three incredible Black female entrepreneurs, Precious Octavious, Holly Adams and Tiffani Young. Listen to their unique entrepreneurial stories and how their resiliency and perseverance helped navigate a challenging career. Learn more.

Indigenous Entrepreneurship Panel

February 16, 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. AST

Listen to the stories of Indigenous entrepreneurs Mariah Battiste and Elora Gehue, and the challenges and stigmas of entrepreneurship they’ve experienced throughout their careers. Learn more.

SMU Engineering students competing nationally after second Atlantic Engineering Competition win

Amy Kehoe and Andrew Ollerhead

Congratulations to Engineering students Amy Kehoe and Andrew Ollerhead for another win in their second Atlantic Engineering Competition in January.  

After winning the Junior Design competition last year, this year the pair competed in the Reengineering category, where the competitors from Atlantic universities are presented with an existing product and given the task of improving it. This category is open to individuals or teams of two students in any year of an engineering program.  

The Reengineering competition has two parts. Students have seven days to complete the first project; they receive the second assignment on the day of competition and are given just eight hours to complete it. The second case is the focus of the competition and is worth significantly more points than the first. 

The theme this year was modifying products to allow them to perform tasks beyond their original design. For case one, students took a standard hair dryer and redesigned it as a two-in-one product that could also be used to iron clothes.  

For the second assignment, students integrated a new mechanism into an existing medical rollator walker, enabling users to lift heavy items. This mechanism enables users with limited mobility to pick up objects from ground level to table height without having to bend over.   

At the end of the eight-hour design period, teams each submitted a PowerPoint presentation and a written report containing their solutions. They presented their solutions to a panel of five engineering industry judges and defended their designs during a question period.  

In March, Amy and Andrew will compete at the Canadian Engineering Competition, hosted by University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. The Atlantic event was hosted by Université de Moncton.  

Congratulations also go to SMU Engineering students Erin Burke and Allie Nicholson for placing second in the debate category. They have also earned a spot to compete in the Canadian Engineering Competition. 

Amy Kehoe a third-year student in the combined Diploma in Engineering and BSc program, plans to complete her Bachelor of Engineering in electrical engineering at Dalhousie. The Perth, Ont. native plans to enter the workforce and eventually take an MBA. She would like to focus her career on helping to improve the reliability of electricity in communities and to encourage growth in environmentally friendly power generation sectors.  

Andrew Ollerhead, originally from Sackville, NB, is a third-year student in the Diploma in Engineering and BSc combined program. He will graduate this spring and finish a Bachelor of Engineering in mechanical engineering at Dalhousie. He plans to follow his BEng with graduate studies focusing on aeronautical engineering. His career goals include working on improving aerodynamic efficiency of aircraft, with a particular focus on improving performance of nonrigid aircraft as would be found (for example) in kite-powered wind energy facilities.  

The Atlantic Engineering Competition (AEC) is an annual student-run initiative that began in 1983 and has grown to become one of the largest and highly anticipated engineering competitions in Canada, and the largest one in Atlantic Canada. This year l'Université de Moncton brought together more than 130 of the brightest student engineers from all 13 member societies across the Maritimes to compete in one of eight different competition categories. The top two team from AEC move on to nationals, the Canadian Engineering Competition. For more information, visit their website at: cag2022aec.com.

In her own words: An inspiring introduction to the Lynn Jones Collection

Dr. Lynn Jones

“You know that old saying … you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.”

— Dr. Lynn Jones, on collecting materials on more than 50 years of African Canadian and diasporic history

Dr. Lynn Jones was only eight years old when she began collecting news and artifacts reflecting Black life in Nova Scotia and beyond. Over the next half century, the community leader and historian built a vast archive of more than 10,000 articles, photos and documents. She generously donated the material in 2015 to Saint Mary’s University, where it’s available to students, researchers, educators and the community as The Lynn Jones African Canadian & Diaspora Heritage Collection.

The Collection is once again open to visitors. Also new is an online donation option for those who would like to support student research, community engagement and other work with the Collection. “I truly love when people ask me how the collection came to be,” Jones says of the unique resource, located in the University Archives on the third floor of the Patrick Power Library.

That’s the first story she shares in a new 30-minute video interview on the Collection’s website. She takes you back to her childhood home in Truro, where her family’s dining room table was often covered in her mother’s current events newspaper clippings and small artifacts destined for safekeeping. Jones started her own personal collection, which eventually expanded into 18 boxes of materials that form the basis of The Lynn Jones African Canadian & Diaspora Heritage Collection.

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News item about a visit by Marcus Garvey.

The Collection’s oldest piece is a 1928 news item on the Halifax visit by Pan-African pioneer and leader Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who was born in Jamaica, emigrated to the United States and became famous for his Back to Africa Global Movement. Additional segments in the video touch on the ongoing issues of reparations, policing, and environmental racism, as well as community achievements and celebrations, and Indigenous and Black community connections, as reflected in the Collection. Jones also shares 1994 photos from her work in South Africa as an election observer during the first democratic elections there, which resulted in Nelson Mandela, a Black anti-Apartheid leader, becoming President.

“It’s a living collection,” says Dr. Val Marie Johnson of the Social Justice and Community Studies department at Saint Mary’s. “It’s not just about history, it’s about history that is so relevant today.”

The lead facilitator in bringing the Collection to the university, Johnson co-produced the new video along with Nova Scotian musician of international fame, Joel Plaskett. With his colleague, videographer Mike Hall, they filmed it in September 2020 at New Scotland Yard Studio in Dartmouth.

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Election materials for the Nelsen Mandela campaign.

“Joel is a friend of Lynn’s, and a huge supporter of all the mobilizing and activism she does. He and Lynn had been talking for a long time about getting her stories on video,” says Johnson. With funding from the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Research and the SMUworks program, the idea evolved into a video conversation about the Collection.

Master’s student Sawyer Carnegie provides the video’s heartfelt introduction and helped to structure its interview. Her family roots stem from the prominent Underground Railroad community of Dresden, Ontario. She first used the Collection in 2018, while working as a research assistant on a project about 19th century Black press in Canada.

“This Collection planted the seed of my keen interest of African Nova Scotian newspapers, which has become the focus of my thesis,” says Carnegie, a student in the Atlantic Canada Studies graduate program. “None of my recent work would be possible without this collection. It’s an incredibly valuable resource to anyone interested in a more complete understanding of Nova Scotian and Canadian history.”

Visit The Lynn Jones African Canadian & Diaspora Collection to watch the video, donate and learn more.

Erin Sargeant Greenwood begins second term as Vice-President, Advancement and External Affairs

Erin Sargeant Greenwood

Saint Mary’s University is pleased to announce the reappointment of Erin Sargeant Greenwood to a second five-year term as Vice-President, Advancement and External Affairs.  

“Erin is a transformative leader who plays a major role on Saint Mary’s executive team and the university community,” says Rob Summerby-Murray, President and Vice-Chancellor. “Her significant accomplishments, and those of her team, over the past five years reflect her work with donors, alumni, and the university’s many partners.  I look forward to her continued success.” 

““It’s a privilege to be a member of this university, an institution recognized for deep connections to community, commitment to our students and global reach.””

— Erin Sargeant Greenwood

“Erin Sargeant Greenwood joined us in 2017 to build a culture of philanthropy, enhance the university’s reputation and create the $100 million campaign for Saint Mary’s University,” says Larry Freeman, QC, chair of the Board of Governors. “The Board was pleased to accept the President’s recommendation on reappointment. We know Erin will continue to advance many strategic initiatives in support of the university’s mission.” 

In her new term, Erin Sargeant Greenwood will continue to develop the culture of philanthropy at Saint Mary’s University. She will continue to assemble the talented team at the Office of Advancement, and inspire external benefactors, the internal community, our alumni and many partners to join in realizing the university’s ambitious vision for the future. 

“I'm delighted to be part of building the future of Saint May’s University,” says Erin Sargeant Greenwood. “It's a privilege to be a member of this university, an institution recognized for deep connections to community, commitment to our students and global reach.” 

Erin and the Office of Advancement have been instrumental in the creation and opening of The Dauphinee Centre, construction of two new buildings on campus: the Sobeys Inspiration Hub and The Exchange, and the largest donation in the university’s history — the $18 million gift to Saint Mary’s from the Sobey family, Sobey Foundation and Sobeys Incorporated.  As well, Erin and her team have fostered strong connections with the university’s 53,000+ alumni — the second most engaged alumni in Canada, and, in 2021, launched a new university brand, enhancing the reputation of Saint Mary’s University and solidifying its position as one of the foremost primarily undergraduate universities in the country.  

Throughout 2020 and 2021, Erin and the university’s Executive Management Group developed and led a solid institutional response to the global pandemic. Erin Sargeant Greenwood’s second term extends from February 1, 2022, to February 1, 2027. 

Double-silver at VCIC: Students’ success highlights a unique entrepreneurial environment

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Graduate Team: Top row (l-r): Ossama Nasrallah, Subburaj Karupppasamy, Shubhra Singh. Bottom row (l-r): Sayeda Nahabub, Spencer Doue

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Undergraduate Team (l-r): Shashwat Duggal, Morgan Baker-Tucker, Reece Labbee, Nicholas Perrin, Dr. Ellen Farrell, Brett Himmelman

This past weekend, students from the Sobey School of Business made history. Competing in the New England division of the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) hosted by Boston University, the two teams of five, one at the undergraduate level and one at the graduate level, placed second in their respective divisions, beating out teams from top-tier American schools that included Cornell, Tufts, Babson and New York University. While the Sobey School of Business teams have placed high in past VCIC events, both teams winning the silver medals back-to-back is unprecedented.

“It was definitely a very emotional experience,” says Shashwat Duggal of the undergraduate team. “The whole team could not believe it when the results came out. We were really happy at the end that we came second, and we lost first place by a very narrow margin.”

VCIC is an international competition, hosting upwards of 50 individual events across four continents. While there is a Canadian competition, it is hosted at Saint Mary’s University thus our students compete south of the border to avoid conflicts of interest. Dr. Ellen Farrell, Professor of Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship and organizer of the VCIC teams, sees this as a benefit. SMU students are able to compete against top American universities, acting as venture capitalists investing in start-ups. Their choices and their reasoning are judged by a panel of experts.

“We prepared for three weeks,” shared Shubhra Singh, a graduate student in the Master of Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation (MTEI) program. “We worked non-stop for 36 hours [before the competition] to gather information about the start-ups that were given to us. The competition gave us opportunity to network with real venture capitalists, and their feedback was very critical and realistic.”

The graduate and undergraduate teams both taking home silver speaks not only to their hard work and dedication, but also to the wealth of knowledge they’ve gained as students of the Sobey Business School. Morgan Baker-Tucker of the undergraduate team highlighted how SMU’s unique programs have guided her path. “The Entrepreneurship program at Saint Mary’s University has a heavy focus on venture capital and start-ups. After taking one class with Dr. Farrell in my third year, I knew I had a lot more to learn about venture capital, and I was most certainly right.”

Dr. Farrell’s contribution to Entrepreneurship programs at the Sobey School of Business and to the success of students cannot be overstated. Dean Harjeet Bhabra summarized this sentiment in his congratulatory message to the teams. “In addition to recognizing the excellent performance of our students, I would like to sincerely congratulate and acknowledge the passionate leadership of Dr. Ellen Farrell, whose relationships and connections have successfully linked our academic programs to the venture capital entrepreneurial ecosystem, where she is a recognized figure.”

The Sobey School of Business is a leading Canadian business school and has an international reputation for excellence in Entrepreneurship programs. “I joined the Sobey School of Business in September 2021,” says Shubhra Singh, “and in just five months, it has given me opportunities to network with early-stage start-ups, participate in pitch presentations, and most importantly collaborate with venture capitalist organizations and understand how this entire ecosystem works. This a learning of a lifetime.”

Shashwat Duggal agrees with Singh. “The most impactful thing that’s come from studying [venture capitalism] has been the networking opportunities with venture capitalists and start-ups from the business community. As part of the [venture capital] course we regularly meet with venture capitalists from the industry, which has been really impactful for me.”

While VCIC was a unique, hands-on opportunity for students to act as venture capitalists investing in start-ups, this competition is a small facet of what is available to SMU students. “There are always opportunities in front of you, it's up to you to decide how you want to be a part of it,” counsels Sayeda Nabila Mahabub of the graduate team. “Either you are a spectator, or a participant. The Entrepreneurship program will throw many opportunities at you, I suggest you grab them and make the most of them. Opportunities won't wait for you.”

We would like to once again congratulate both the undergraduate and graduate teams on their success!