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Campus News
Saint Mary’s Rises to Third in the Nation
Our investments in students, faculty and programming have propelled Saint Mary’s to third in Canada for the 2023 Maclean’s University Rankings undergraduate category. For the second successive year, we’ve remained the top-ranked primarily undergraduate university in Nova Scotia.
“At Saint Mary’s, community is at the heart of all that we do,” says President Robert Summerby-Murray. “We know success requires our entire community’s time, talent, passion and commitment. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our Santamarian community—our students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors. We continue to rise and achieve excellence through your support and efforts.”
Sobeys Inspiration Hub Update
The newest addition to campus opens in Fall ’23. Watch for a behind-the-scenes tour of this inspiring building in progress.
Saint Mary’s Welcomes Indigenous and Black Student Advisors
Brady Paul BA'16
Bria Symonds
Saint Mary’s alumnus Brady Paul BA’16 is back on campus—this time to offer community, advocacy and support for Indigenous students.
As Indigenous Student Advisor, Paul wants to create inclusive spaces for students and advocate for change. The cycle ends, Paul says, “by having a voice, having someone advocate for you.”
Paul believes Saint Mary’s is the right size to amplify diverse voices and advance Indigenous-led supports. “One of the beauties of this institution is that it’s not too big,” shares Paul. “It provides an opportunity where we can try this—and how the small team we’re trying to build can have a big impact.”
Bria Symonds joined Saint Mary’s University as Black Student Advisor in July 2022. She comes to SMU with experience and education in social work, community engagement and activism, and will bring these strengths to her new position. 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.”
The roles are important because they provide culturally relevant services to specific student populations, says Deborah Brothers-Scott, Director, Diversity Inclusion and Wellness. “You can be invited into a space and still not feel welcome,” says Brothers-Scott of Black students within a university environment. “Bria and Brady will both need the support of all members of the SMU community to come together and provide that inclusive space of belonging... We all have a role to play.”
2022 Report to the Community Highlights Another Year of Great Achievements
Tiffany Field BSc’17 MSc’19 and Dr. Vincent Hénault-Brunet
Saint Mary’s launched the latest edition of the Report to the Community in November with a special event on campus.
Now in its fourth year, the report is an award-winning initiative that captures student, faculty and alumni successes and helps build on the reputation and profile of Saint Mary’s.
Its goal? To spread the word that Saint Mary’s is conducting research that matters, engaging with community and supporting students to success, and to spark pride within the Saint Mary’s community and beyond.
Some of the stories:
- Building more inclusive workspaces
- Celestial celebrations: 50 years of research, education and outreach
- Researching microbial terroir and its impact on wine flavour
- Telling unheard stories: decolonizing museum collections
- Helping the North Atlantic right whale rebound
- Creating opportunities for Indigenous girls in sport
- Unearthing the story of Italy's Indigenous communities
- Recent grad making a splash in the world of entrepreneurship
Sobey School of Business Gains EQUIS Accreditation
The Sobey School of Business joins the top business schools in the world with EQUIS accreditation by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Global. Less than two percent of business schools worldwide hold this prestigious accreditation. The Sobey School of Business is also AACSB accredited, and only one percent of business schools worldwide are both AACSB and EQUIS accredited. The EQUIS accreditation benchmarks the Sobey School against international standards in terms of governance, programs, students, faculty, research, internationalization, ethics, responsibility and sustainability, as well as its engagement with the world of practice.
“We are very excited and extremely proud to be a part of the EQUIS community. Achieving EQUIS accreditation endorses our school’s vision which is to lead in discovery and learning for global impact,” says Dr. Harjeet Bhabra, Dean of the Sobey School of Business. “EQUIS will provide us with the mechanism for international benchmarking with the best, grow our international partnerships, and keep us focused on achieving the highest quality in everything we do.”
Celebrating 45 Years of Shared Learning
A unique partnership between Saint Mary’s University and Halifax Public Libraries reached a milestone anniversary this fall, with 45 years of shared learning through the ‘University Classes for Everyone’ program.
“It is remarkable, as we understand it, that there is no other partnership quite like this between a university and a library or library system in Canada,” Robert Summerby-Murray, Saint Mary’s President and Vice-Chancellor, said in his remarks at the event.
The program has delivered 158 courses since 1977, mostly in the past and present Spring Garden Road library locations. Saint Mary’s students take the courses for credits toward their degrees, while sharing the experience alongside members of the public who are able to attend the classes for free.
People of all ages enjoy the courses for “pure curiosity, and that is a beautiful thing,” said Åsa Kachan, Chief Librarian and CEO for Halifax Public Libraries, adding that the downtown library location has also given many university students from around the world a sense of connection to where they live.
Dan MacLennan Memorial Lecture in Astronomy Featuring Dr. Louise Edwards
This year’s signature Faculty of Science event featured alumna Dr. Louise Edwards MSc’02, a physics professor at California Polytechnic State University.
Dr. Edwards is one of a few observers in the world with access to preview data from the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. This observatory will ultimately create a motion picture of the cosmos thanks to its digital camera, the largest ever built. She shared preview data plus stunning images from the James Webb Space Telescope with a capacity crowd at the McNally Theatre during the late-November event.
The Dan MacLennan Memorial Lecture in Astronomy is presented thanks to an endowment from the family of Dan MacLennan. A life-long learner, he would have been proud of this annual event, now in its eighth year, which brings in world-renowned speakers to promote astronomy to the community.
As a student in 2002, Dr. Edwards was pictured on a Canadian stamp with the Burke-Gaffney Observatory.
