Dr. Madine VanderPlaat Appointed Interim Vice-President, Academic and Research

Dr. Madine VanderPlaat

Saint Mary’s University is pleased to announce that Dr. Madine VanderPlaat has been appointed as Interim Vice-President, Academic and Research.

“Dr. VanderPlaat brings considerable experience and institutional knowledge and is a strong voice for teaching excellence and research accomplishment,” says Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, President and Vice Chancellor. “Her understanding of the university and the trust and confidence she engenders in the university community will be definite assets in the conduct of her duties. I have no doubt that Dr. VanderPlaat will succeed in this new role.”

Madine VanderPlaat is a Professor of Sociology whose research focus is on marginalized populations, citizen participation, social inclusion and community resilience. She has extensive experience working in multidisciplinary, inter-sectoral research environments at both the national and international level. Dr. VanderPlaat has served on a wide range of university and Senate committees including the University Appointments, Review and Budget Committees and the Senate Curriculum, Regulations, Academic Integrity and Academic Planning Committees.  Her administrative experience at Saint Mary’s includes Chair of Sociology & Criminology, Associate Dean of Arts, Acting Dean of Arts, Associate Vice-President, Academic and Enrolment Management and Acting Vice-President, Academic and Research.  She was the Chair of Senate 2017-2019 and is currently the Academic Discipline Officer.

Dr. VanderPlaat’s mandate is to focus on enrolment growth, curricular and teaching innovation, and supporting the strengthening of the university’s research capacities. She began her two-year term on September 7, 2022.

Fostering opportunities with Black Student Advisor Bria Symonds

Fostering opportunities with Black Student Advisor Bria Symonds 

Meet Bria Symonds, a new face on campus and Saint Mary’s University’s new Black Student Advisor*. Appointed to her role in July 2022, Symonds comes to SMU with experience and education in social work, community engagement and activism, and will bring these strengths to her new position. 

As Black Student Advisor, Symonds will provide support to African Nova Scotian and Black students and the Saint Mary’s community. 

“Black Students need to be heard, seen and reflected on campus, and within the institution,” says Symonds. “I see the gaps for Black students and what they may experience. I am excited to close those gaps and create a stronger community for all.” 

Symonds hails from Cherry Brook/Lake Loon, a historical Black community in the Preston Township of Nova Scotia and identifies as an Indigenous/Black female. She hopes to connect her greater community to the Saint Mary’s community, allowing Black students to have a better sense of home, to thrive at Saint Mary’s and to develop careers in Nova Scotia. 

Roles such as the Black Student Advisor and the Indigenous Student Advisor at Saint Mary’s are important because they provide culturally relevant services to specific student populations, says Deborah Brothers-Scott, Director, Diversity Inclusion and Wellness. These two roles can also benefit from working collaboratively together when and where possible, she says, but the responsibility for supporting the academic success of Black students extends beyond these advisors. 

“You can be invited into a space and still not feel welcome,” says Brothers-Scott of Black students within a university environment. “Bria will need the support of all members of the SMU community to come together and provide that inclusive space of belonging for Black students. We all have a role to play.” 

Current student Itai Kuwodza agrees Symonds will need the support of Saint Mary’s community members to enact change. 

“The greatest asset will be the people ready to meet with her and meaningfully support her ideas and perspectives,” she says. 

Symonds’ role also brings necessary representation in the room where decisions are being made, says Kuwodza, placing an advocate for the rights and experiences of students of colour such as herself at the table. “Bria is opening doors and starting needed conversations and challenging the institution to make the university experience a satisfying journey for all enrolled.” 

Symonds, who aims to share the stories of Black faculty within the community and successfully bring Black students the support they need, looks forward to connecting with the Saint Mary’s community.  

“I want Black students to have as many opportunities, connections and good experiences as possible,” says Symonds. “I am eager to be the support system they need, be accessible for them, and help amplify their voices.” 

Learn more about support on campus for African Descended/Black students: smu.ca/blackstudent 

*February 2023 update: The Black Student Advisor position is currently vacant and is actively being recruited for. In the interim, Student Affairs and Services has a wide variety of supports and services available to all students.

Celebrating excellence: Dr. Danika van Proosdij elected as a new Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada

Dr. Danika van Proosdij

Saint Mary’s University is proud to share that Dr. Danika van Proosdij has been elected as one of the new Fellows by The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) and its members.  

“Being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada is an incredible honour. It should come as no surprise to anyone who has had the pleasure of working with Danika that her outstanding contributions to her field of research are being recognized,” says Dr. Adam Sarty, Associate Vice-President, Research, and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at Saint Mary’s University. 

Dr. van Proosdij is the Director of TransCoastal Adaptations: Centre for Nature-Based Solutions and a professor with the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Saint Mary’s. Dr. van Proosdij is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and is studying how coastal systems respond to natural and human drivers of change and is leveraging this understanding to integrate nature-based adaptation options in the protection of coastal communities. She has over 25 years of applied ecosystem-based coastal adaptation projects and vulnerability assessments in Canada and abroad.  

One hundred and two new Fellows have been elected by their peers for their outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic achievements. Recognition by the RSC for career achievement is the highest honour an individual can achieve in the Arts, Social Sciences and Sciences. 

On Friday, November 25, 2022, the RSC will welcome the 2022 class of new Fellows and new Members of the RSC College and present awards for outstanding research and scholarly achievement. The ceremonies will be held in person in Calgary, Alberta.  

Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) comprises the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences and The College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. The RSC recognizes excellence, advises the government and the larger society, and promotes a culture of knowledge and innovation in Canada and with other national academies around the world. 

SMU Huskies Esports is taking shape

A student plays Rocket League in the new home of SMU Huskies Esports, the Esports Arena.

SMU Huskies Esports is taking shape at Saint Mary's University. Student-athletes are preparing, and identification camps will take place this month to establish the teams and Esports available for competition.   

"I think it's great," says Audrie Yue Min Au, a 3rd-year student majoring in Computing and Information Systems at Saint Mary's. "Esports, as an industry, has a level of organization and viewership that is comparable to that of traditional sports like football and basketball. So why not treat it like other sports? It also has the added bonus of being accessible to new players because anyone who has a laptop can play games online and join a community." 

Enterprise Information Technology and the Department of Athletics and Recreation are collaborating on Huskies Esports. There will be two streams available to students: recreational and competitive. The recreational stream will feature drop-in play sessions, tournaments, and other activities. The competitive stream is being established this fall. It will see our Huskies compete against other colleges and universities in games such as the vehicular-based, rocket-powered soccer game, Rocket League, and the team-based multiplayer online fantasy battle arena, League of Legends. For both streams, their home base on campus is the new Esports Arena at the heart of campus in the McNally East basement, ME009. 

"Esports offers students a unique opportunity to get involved, whether recreationally or competitively, within a growing industry and community," says Connor Miller BComm'16, Coach of the League of Legends competitive team. "Bringing Esports to campus is an excellent idea. I am excited to be a part of it, to give back to my university and help build a positive culture around Esports at Saint Mary's." 

Esports means competitive video games. It is sometimes referred to as 'competitive gaming', 'pro gaming', or 'egaming'. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, with athletes competing individually or as teams. This can be through structured leagues including varsity college, university associations, competitive circuits, or tournament play for the purpose of entertainment, prizes, or money. 

Esports has seen a considerable surge in popularity and professionalism in recent years and is a billion-dollar global industry. Over 23 million Canadians play video games, with an average player age of 34 years old. Canada’s video game industry has grown into one of the largest and most successful in the world, with more than 900 active video game studios. The video game industry adds $4.5 billion annually to Canada’s GDP. As a business and art form, the industry is an emerging academic study and research area.   

Identification camps take place this month for the competitive stream and are as follows:  

• Friday, Sept. 16 – League of Legends  

• Monday, Sept. 19 – Rocket League 

• Thursday, Sept. 22 . – Apex Legends 

• Tuesday, Sept. 27 – Valorant 

More details on the I.D. camps will come shortly.  

For those interested in getting involved as a student-athlete, coach or team staff and need more information, reach out via email at esports@smu.ca.  

Santamarian Ceremony 2022

Student signing the register

Students watching ceremony

President Rob Summerby-Murray speaking

SMUSA VP Advocacy, Kyle Cooke, speaking

SMUSA President, Isobel Tyler, speaking

SMU Alumni, Stéphanie Mrad, speaking

Student signing the register

President Summerby-Murray playing the piano

Student signing the register

All of the attendees

New students receiving a SMU t-shirt

Saint Mary’s University students kicked off Welcome Weeks with the annual Santamarian Ceremony on September 6. University members hosted the event for new students, an opportunity to share the core values of Saint Mary’s and those of a Santamarian: academic integrity, the pursuit of knowledge, responsiveness to community needs, openness to change, and concerns for a just and civil society. 

“This word, ‘Santamarian’, holds a much deeper significance than simply describing someone who attends Saint Mary’s,” says President Rob Summerby-Murray. “Instead, ‘Santamarian’ stands for a distinct way of being, acting and striving to embody a set of collective values.”  

The ceremony involves signing the register of students, which officially begins their journey of intellectual and personal growth at Saint Mary’s. The ceremony represents the university’s bold vision and commitment to the SMUcommunity, Halifax, Nova Scotia and the world.  

“We are known as student leaders. We are known as people who care about others and put it into action,” says SMUSA president Isobel Tyler. “We are known as global citizens. But you don’t have to wait to graduate to be known as a Santamarian. That starts today.” 

Pioneering N.S. filmmaker Margaret Perry focus of three-night event series with FIN, N.S. Archive

Margaret Perry

The career work of pioneering Nova Scotia filmmaker Margaret Perry is being showcased with a digital release, artist interventions, and three nights of events from the Atlantic International Film Festival, the Nova Scotia Archives and a team led by a Saint Mary's University researcher.

"Margaret Perry is one of the most influential yet unknown people in Nova Scotia in the 20th century. Her promotional films about the province offer us a glimpse into how Nova Scotia saw itself in the 40s, 50s and 60s, or at least how the government wanted others to see the province," says Saint Mary's University Associate Professor Dr. Jennifer VanderBurgh, and the lead organizer behind the events. "Although these are technically government films, they are also documentaries and artist-made works. Perry's influence can be felt in all her films. She was very interested in highlighting women's labour, cooperative labour, and how things were done or made. The films reflect her interests and understanding of Nova Scotia."

The event series, Activating an Archive: Margaret Perry and the Nova Scotia Film Bureau, mark the digital release of the career work of Margaret Perry, one of Canada's most important and least-known woman filmmakers and early film bureaucrats.

The events are:

• Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

  • A reception at the Public Archives of Nova Scotia.

• Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at 6:10 p.m.

  • A sample screening of Perry’s work in film and a Q&A at FIN, the Atlantic International Film Festival.

• Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, at 7 p.m.

  • A talk by Dr. Jennifer VanderBurgh at the Halifax Central Library, discussing the collection, the process of digitizing/activating it (and some related ethical complexities), and the discovery of materials that shed new light on Perry’s artistic development and filmmaking practice. 

Dr. Jennifer VanderBurgh

Starting out in New Brunswick as a wartime projectionist where she taught herself to make short films about everyday life, Perry went to Ottawa to work with John Grierson at the National Film Board of Canada. In 1945, Perry moved to Halifax to become Director of the Nova Scotia Film Bureau, where between 1945-1969 she made and oversaw the production of over fifty promotional films that depicted Nova Scotia as a tourist destination, an industrial and agricultural centre, and a complex site of cultural heritage.

"For a long time, this collection has been ignored, often without being seen, on charges of being boring government film,” says Dr. VanderBurgh. “In reframing and animating this collection as artist-made works, we're reconsidering the significance of these films, what they remember, and some of the ethical considerations and responsibilities of activating the collection in Nova Scotia today."

More information about Margaret Perry and the Nova Scotia Film Bureau Films and the research of Dr. Vanderburgh and her research team.

Huskies football season kicks off with a win

Student getting a husky paw print face painted

Football game in action

Two fans cheering on the huskies with a sign

Football game in action

Fans in the crowd with a sign supporting the huskies

Football game in action

Fans cheering on the huskies with a sign

Saint Mary’s Huskies football team defeated the Acadia Axemen 31-11 in a successful Home Opener on Friday night.  

We were excited to welcome fans back to Huskies Stadium and kick off the season. The Quad was alive with activity before the game: SMU Alumni hosted a Husky Cookout with live music, and SMUSA members were doling out all things Huskies spirit—face paint, noisemakers, and more—as fans got ready to cheer on their team. During the lively game, food and drinks were served at the Courtside Lounge, a beer garden and BBQ.   

It was great to come together to kick off the season, and cheer on our Huskies! Congratulations to the entire team who defeated the Acadia Axemen and thank you to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters for coming out. 

Stay tuned at smuhuskies.ca for more games this season.

Sobey School of Business launches Dean’s Annual Community Report

The Sobey School of Business has released its Dean’s Annual Community Report (PDF), a publication that highlights key projects, initiatives and events at the Sobey School of Business from January 2021 to April 2022.

During the 16-month period of the report, the students, faculty, staff and alumni of the Sobey School of Business showed their commitment to a world without limits. Through their efforts, the school played and continues to play a key leadership role in the Atlantic business community. The report highlights activities and initiatives that reflect Elevating Impact, the 2020-2025 strategic plan of the Sobey School. Elevating Impact states the three key commitments of the school: to advance teaching and learning, foster an environment of intellectual discovery that inspires research excellence, and to engage with the broader community to address issues of local and global significance.

This year’s report touches on a wide variety of highlights. New academic programs were launched while old programs were revamped to address emerging education needs in the business world, while research initiatives that targeted our local communities in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada were undertaken. Events to support and uplift diverse communities were created, and Sobey students went above and beyond in their pursuit for academic excellence.

“The Sobey School of Business has a proud history of excellence in business education, and the outstanding work of our faculty, staff and students,” says Dean Harjeet S. Bhabra. “Reading through this publication, I am sure you will see how the Sobey School of Business is making an impact with purpose.”

46th Annual Alumni and Friends Golf Tournament Photo Gallery

Congratulations to Team Baker Tilly Nova Scotia Inc for winning this year's Tournament. Congratulations to Team Capital Paper and Team SMUSA on 2nd and 3rd places. Also, congratulations to the top 3 Net scoring teams - Molson, SMU President's Team, and TD Insurance.

Thanks to all our sponsors for their generous support of the tournament. With their involvement and your participation, we were able to provide 20 Golf Bursaries to hardworking Saint Mary's students.

Thank you for your continued support of our students, and we hope to see you back at our tournament next year.

Join Saint Mary's Young Alumni Committee

Great News - we are recruiting members for the Saint Mary's Young Alumni Committee(SMUYA) now!

Join SMUYA to celebrate young alumni and their achievements and attend events as a YA representative throughout the year.

We're looking for enthusiastic candidates who want to make an impact and give back to the SMU Community.

Learn more about SMUYA and submit your application today!

SMU Alumni: Volunteer to be an Honour Guard

Another academic year is coming to an end and we're excited to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2022 grads at Fall Convocation!

We look forward to having a strong showing of our alumni for Honour Guard this year to welcome all the new graduates into the alumni family.

Honour Guard members will walk ahead of the students during the procession and lead them out at the end, signifying their transition from student to alumni. This is a great opportunity for you to volunteer with the Alumni Office and to show the strength of our alumni network to both the new grads and their supporters!

Convocation Times:

• Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research – September 23, 7 p.m.

• Sobey School of Business (undergraduate) – September 24, 10 a.m.

• Faculty of Arts/ Faculty of Science (undergraduate) – September 24, 2 p.m.

Email Alumni@smu.ca to volunteer!

Atlantic School of Theology Students to Benefit from New Online Registration System

Atlantic School of Theology (AST) and Saint Mary’s University (SMU) are partnering on admissions and registration systems that will directly benefit students who register for courses and programs at AST. 

Using digital technology to streamline processes for students, the project team will access SMU’s well-established digital admissions and registration system to create a tailored solution for AST and its students.  

The project is an aspect of the Shared Vision initiative of the Council of Nova Scotia University Presidents (CONSUP).  The mission of the Shared Vision initiative is to make the university sector in Nova Scotia better for students, more competitive, and more efficient through collaborative action on solutions. 

“The project will benefit our students, faculty and administration by replacing the current outmoded information process with a system that is agile, digital and connected,” says Dr. Tim O’Neill, Interim President of Atlantic School of Theology. “Students who wish to register at AST will be able to choose their courses and program of studies from any location through internet access.” 

In the first year, the project will build a new online admission and registration portal for AST. In the second year, the project will expand so that AST students can more easily access financial services. 

Saint Mary’s University President, Robert Summerby-Murray says, “This project has received support from CONSUP, the organization that represents the presidents of the 10 degree-granting institutions in the province, because it aligns with our express desire to encourage the collaboration on service delivery, where it makes sense, among the province’s universities. For our part, Saint Mary’s University is pleased to find another significant project where we can partner with AST.” 

The two-year project is anticipated to cost $250,000.  Funding is being provided by the Government of Nova Scotia’s Department of Advanced Education.  

Since March 2002 Atlantic School of Theology has been affiliated with Saint Mary’s University. Both institutions are committed to achieving the operational efficiencies that will strengthen each institution.