A historic investment in research
A $3-million gift from the Durland Learning Foundation and the Durland Family is the most significant investment in graduate student research in the university’s history.
“We wanted to invest in the future of research at Saint Mary’s—to help recruit great graduate students, to help support the work of our wonderful faculty members, and to encourage researchers from around the world to make Saint Mary’s their home,” says Chancellor Dr. Michael Durland BComm’87 DComm’10.
The Durland Scholarships in Graduate Research grant supplemental awards of $10,000 per year for graduate students and $15,000 per year for PhD students, as an addition to other awards and funding from the university.
Paving the way for female student-athletes
Named after the first female coach at Saint Mary’s, the newly established Kathy Mullane Fund for Varsity Women’s Sport supports female athletes committed to athletics and academics.
Kathy Mullane MBA’89 was recruited in the early ‘70s to grow a women’s sports program and remained until 2011. Despite advancements in gender equality, women’s teams still lack the opportunities and resources afforded to men’s teams. The new fund was established thanks to the generosity of alumnus Denis Huck BA’74 and his wife, Valli, with the hope that others will follow their lead and continue Mullane’s legacy.
Alum creates scholarships for aspiring writers of African Nova Scotian descent
Floyd Kane BA’92, the East Preston filmmaker who created the hit TV series Diggstown, established the Edna and Velma Thomas Kane Writers Award to support aspiring writers of African descent after graduation. The award is named for his mother, Edna, and his late aunt, Velma, who bought him his first typewriter in seventh grade.
“The first things I ever wrote were on that machine,” he says. “So I wanted to honour those two great Black Nova Scotian women who never had the opportunities I had.”
New scholarship celebrates diversity excellence
The Scott McCain and Leslie McLean Diversity Excellence Award was made possible by a $500,000 gift to support full-time undergraduate Indigenous and Black students with financial need.
“Leslie and I both recognize the importance a high-quality education can make in the lives of Canadians, and we want to help reduce barriers to post-secondary education,” says Scott McCain.
A place for everyone
Baden Mercer BA’22 has a simple message for students with diverse needs: “There’s a place for everyone” in post-secondary education.
“It’s important that all students have a chance to succeed, regardless of their individual barriers,” says Mercer, who is on the autism spectrum and credits much of his success to the Fred Smithers Centre for Student Accessibility, which is supported through the generosity of many donors, including Dr. Fred Smithers DComm’12. Mercer was valedictorian at his Faculty of Arts convocation and has returned to Saint Mary’s to begin a master’s degree in religious studies.
Did you know? In November of 2021, more than $27,000 was raised as part of Giving Tuesday. These funds were used for student support initiatives related to food insecurity and the distribution of wellness kits. Individual gifts were matched through the generosity of the J.W. Murphy Foundation and the SMU Alumni Association.