February 3, 2017

A message to Education students

The situation we find ourselves in is a very difficult one all around. Emotions are running high; stressors are significant – things are very charged. With the uncertainty surrounding your practicum right now, we know that this is a very difficult time for you and we sympathize sincerely.

The five Presidents of the NS universities with Education programs are writing their students to share some additional context regarding the news of our current legal action in support of your practicums.

First of all, we want to make clear that we deeply respect all of our Education graduates and Nova Scotia’s teachers. We understand Nova Scotia teachers’ commitment to doing what’s in the best interest of their students. And we hope that they’ll understand that we hold the same commitment to you.

Our second-year BEd students are at risk of not graduating and not completing the required number of practicum weeks for teacher certification. While we are prepared to change our degree requirements to help these students, we have no authority to change the number of weeks required for teacher certification – in Nova Scotia, in other provinces and internationally. We also appreciate that some of you have employment options both here in Nova Scotia and in other jurisdictions, which you are worrying about.

We know Nova Scotia’s current teachers play an important part in helping educate future teachers, and we sincerely value that contribution. Section 31 of the Education Act reflects and protects the value of this important experience. Unfortunately, the current directive by the NSTU to not accept student teachers is in violation of that law. In short, we are specifically challenging one directive of the work-to-rule action in support of you, our Education students whose careers are at stake.

We were asked by the NSTU to submit contingency plans and report on what has transpired in other jurisdictions on this particular directive. We answered the request for contingency plans on January 9th and received no response. When we explored other jurisdictions – like Ontario, where work-to-rule was in place for many months – we found that student practicums proceeded under work-to-rule action. The Deans/Directors of Education and Presidents at the five affected universities have made many attempts to meet with the union (starting in early December), but we have not yet been granted a meeting. We don’t like corresponding through the media – an exchange of press releases
is far less effective than a direct dialogue.

We’ve been asked to consider alternate approaches to placements. On the surface, private school and out-of-province placements sound like easy and obvious solutions. But they are not. Six hundred Education students across Nova Scotia are affected by this situation. There are not nearly enough local private school placements to accommodate this many students. And sending students to other provinces is far more complicated than it sounds. First of all, there are university Education programs in those provinces and student teachers already in many of those classrooms. As well, there are curriculum and external supervisory requirements that would have to be met. Furthermore, students forced from Nova Scotia to other provinces would experience financial hardship and have family situations disrupted – some of our students are parents with children in school here, many are in apartment leases, and dozens have part-time employment that they cannot abandon. As it stands, some of our students will have to scramble to find a place to live if their practicums run past April – for many their lease terms end on April 30.

We respect the collective bargaining rights of the NSTU and indeed all unions, including those representing our own faculty and staff. We are simply seeking a change of course on one work-to-rule directive, and taking the only means remaining to us. Legal action was our last resort.

We value our students past and present. And we appreciate entirely the difficult times Nova Scotia teachers find themselves in and we hope for a positive resolution soon. We also hope that their future colleagues (our current Education students) can avoid having lives disrupted (financially and beyond) by being allowed to stand alongside your future union colleagues in the classroom as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kent MacDonald
President and Vice Chancellor

StFX honours physics students Michael Kinach and Thomas Faour took three of the prizes at the Science Atlantic Undergraduate Physics and Astronomy Conference held Feb. 3-5, 2017 at the University of Prince Edward Island.  

Thomas Faour won the ACENET prize for computational physics applied to the study of materials.

Michael Kinach won both the Students' Choice Award and the Tindall-Steinitz Best Paper Award, which was presented to him by StFX physics professor Dr. Michael Steinitz.

The Best Paper Award is named after David Tindall of Dalhousie University and Dr. Steinitz of StFX for their longstanding contributions to the physics community of Atlantic Canada.

Dr. Steinitz also presented the Science Atlantic Communications Award, which is sponsored by the Canadian Journal of Physics (of which he is the editor) and Canadian Science Publishing, which publishes the Canadian Journal of Physics.

Chinese New Year celebrations at StFX were a huge success as over 150 people came together on Jan. 28 for a fun evening at Bloomfield Centre organized by the StFX Chinese Student Association.

The cultural event, celebrating the Year of the Rooster, drew a good mix of StFX students, faculty and staff and community members, and featured entertainment and door prizes.

Members of the StFX Chinese Association also cooked seven different dishes for the crowd to sample. As well, a student demonstrated how to make dumplings, and a video played during the evening explained the Chinese Zodiac.

The evening’s sponsors included Staples, Sodexo and Little Asia.

Chinese New Year 2017 2.jpg

Due to weather conditions, please be advised that StFX University will delay opening until 12:00 PM (noon) today, Wednesday, February 8th. 

Essential services will remain open (Morrison Hall, security, snow removal).

The StFX Department of Athletics honoured its 2015-16 U SPORTS Academic All-Canadians on Feb. 9 at its annual celebratory breakfast. This year saw a record high 73 Academic All-Canadians, those student-athletes who have achieved an 80 per cent average or above while consuming a year of eligibility competing for a varsity team. The number was an increase from the 61 Academic All-Canadians in 2014-15.

“It is important that we pause to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of our student-athletes,” says StFX Director of Athletics & Recreation Leo MacPherson.

“These Academic All-Canadians have mastered the ability to balance a demanding varsity sport commitment, their tremendous community outreach activities, and achieve excellence in their academic endeavors. Their achievements are remarkable.”

Out of the possible 292 eligible student-athletes who consumed U SPORTS eligibility by participating on a varsity team at StFX during the 2015-16 season, 25 per cent achieved CIS Academic All-Canadian status, including 34 male and 39 female student-athletes.

There were 37 first-time Academic All-Canadians, 20 student-athletes who received the honour for the second time in their career, and 13 student-athletes who were three-time Academic All-Canadians. Recent X-Men graduates Cole Grbavac (hockey), Trevor Kwan (soccer) and Lee Wesselius (cross country) earned the distinction of being the only three StFX student-athletes who were four-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadians.

This year marked the inaugural presentation of the Athletics Director’s awards for academic achievement, presented to the top StFX male and female academic student-athletes. The 2015-16 recipients were Hana Marmura from the X-Women cross country team and Eric Locke from the X-Men hockey team.

The 2015-16 Academic All-Canadians were honoured at a celebratory breakfast at the McKenna Centre where they received a certificate from U SPORTS along with a gift from the Department of Athletics. All student-athletes were encouraged to invite a faculty member to accompany them to the breakfast. The breakfast was held in conjunction with StFX Athletics Faculty Appreciation Week.

The complete list of 2015-16 StFX Academic All-Canadians is as follows:

Gabby Bergh, Soccer      
Bridget Brennan, Track & Field
Chloe Brennan, Soccer                  
Elise Brennan, Soccer
Joanne Callow, Rugby                    
Schyler Campbell, Hockey
Nathan Chiarlitti, Hockey
Michael Clarke, Hockey
James Comeau, Football
Alex Cyr, Cross Country
Pascale Daigle, Hockey 
Taylor Dale, Hockey
Calvin DeWolfe, Cross Country  
Jasmine DeZeeuw, Cross Country
Jagger Dirk, Hockey                        
Scott Donald, Cross Country
Lisa Downey, Hockey                    
Craig Duininck, Hockey
Liam Elbourne, Soccer                   
Kelsey Ellis, Soccer
Nick Favero, Cross Country         
Warren Ferguson, Track & Field
Sam Gan, Football                           
Claire Gibbons, Soccer
Nic Gillen, Soccer                            
Alex Gosse, Soccer
Cole Grbavac, Hockey                   
Nicole Halladay, Hockey
Shannon Hatch, Basketball          
Jon Heidebrecht, Football
Ben Herringer, Soccer                   
Matt Jemmett, Football
Kristoff Kontos, Hockey                
Trevor Kwan, Soccer
Natalie Lesco, Rugby                      
Lindsay Lessard, Basketball
Eric Locke, Hockey                          
Heidi MacDonald, Cross Country
Olivia MacDonald, Cross Country    
Mary MacDonald, Soccer
Nicole MacDonald, Soccer           
Catharine MacKeigan, Rugby
Hana Marmura, Cross Country  
Bronson Maschmeyer, Hockey
Jake McKenna, Track & Field      
Ariana Orasanin, Hockey
Brittany Parks, Soccer                    
Hayden Peters, Football
Jenna Pitts, Hockey                        
Hailey Pollock, Track & Field
Hannah Pollock, Track & Field    
Kara Power, Hockey
Angus Rawling, Cross Country    
Tristen Ross, Basketball
Amy Rowe, Soccer                          
Victoria Sandre, Cross Country
Cole Suart, Soccer                           
Alex Taylor, Soccer
Kim Taylor, Basketball                   
Natneal Tecle, Soccer
Colin Thompson, Track & Field   
Mary Catherine Thompson, Track & Field
Heather Tillsley, Hockey               
Kevyn Timmons, Soccer
Mark Tremaine, Hockey               
Jordan Tyrrell, Track & Field
Erin Visser, Soccer                          
Katie Walsh, Soccer
Jayme Ward, Rugby                       
Jessica Warrener, Track & Field
Ryan Washburn, Track & Field   
Lee Wesselius, Cross Country
Marco Zanchetta, Soccer

Please be advised that StFX University will delay opening until 12:00 PM (noon) today, Friday, February 10th.

Essential services will remain open (Morrison Hall, security, snow removal).

Environment Canada has issued a blizzard warning for Antigonish and surrounding areas with a projected snowfall of 35 - 50 centimetres falling between Monday and Tuesday mornings. 
Please be advised that StFX University will be closed as of 6:00 AM, Monday, February 13th, reopening at 6:00 AM, Tuesday, February 14th. 

Essential services will remain open (Morrison Hall, security, cleaning, and snow removal).

For the latest from StFX University regarding the storm, please subscribe to the StFX Alerts Notification System (link below) and/or check www.stfx.ca, StFXUniversity on Facebook, or @stfxuniversity on Twitter for updates.

Click here to sign up for StFX Alerts.

Due to the continuing poor weather conditions, please be advised that StFX University will remain closed today, Tuesday, February 14th, and will reopen at 6:00 AM, Wednesday, February 15th. 

Essential services will remain open (Morrison Hall, security, cleaning, and snow removal).

For the latest from StFX University regarding the storm, please subscribe to the StFX Alerts Notification System (link below) and/or check www.stfx.ca, StFXUniversity on Facebook, or @stfxuniversity on Twitter for updates.

Click here to sign up for StFX Alerts

A famous hockey player who garnered attention for combating child sexual abuse will be visiting the Antigonish area with a message.

Former NHL All-Star Theo Fleury will be speaking with StFX students and local high school students on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at StFX Schwartz Auditorium. His talk ‘Don’t Quit Before the Miracle’ is intended to inspire and encourage strength and personal growth.

Mr. Fleury is a Stanley Cup winner and Olympic Gold medalist. He has been awarded the Canadian Humanitarian Award and The Queen’s Jubilee Medallion. He is an Honorary Chief and recipient of the Aboriginal Indspire Award.

In 2014, Mr. Fleury was awarded with an honorary doctorate in science from University of Guelph-Humber for outstanding contributions to the mental health of Canadians. Most recently he was bestowed with a second honorary doctorate in laws from Brandon University in recognition for his contributions combating child sexual abuse and for his outstanding efforts to promote healing and recovery.

The event is presented by Antigonish RCMP and Naomi Society, and sponsored by StFX, Government of Nova Scotia and 98.9 Nothing But Hits.

On February 9th, StFX and the Department of Sociology hosted the 7th annual African Heritage Lecture, named in honour of retired StFX professor, Dr. Agnes Calliste. This lecture series was established to continue Dr. Calliste’s work of bringing esteemed speakers to campus during African Heritage Month to speak on issues of race and racism.

The lecture was given by Robert Wright, a court expert on “cultural assessment,” an approach to dealing with people who face the courts that takes into account their social, familial, and institutional experiences to best serve the broader interests of justice and rehabilitation. Mr. Wright lectured on his involvement in the case of a young Nova Scotia teen (R v X). That landmark case recognized the importance of cultural assessment in the Canadian court system.

Mr. Wright also delivered a lecture to StFX’s Deviance and Social Control class taught by Dr. Riley Chisholm and attended dinner with Dr. Calliste and other members of the university and community.

The evening began with African drumming by the Antigonish Cultural and Academic Enrichment Program Drummers lead by StFX graduate Morgan Gero. Three students of African descent were awarded Black Leaders bursaries before the lecture. Bursary recipeints are Dorothy Pinkham, Chantal Desmond and June Beals.  As well, a new bursary was announced in memory of Shanna Borden-Desmond (Class of 2016). Those interested in contributing to this scholarship may contact Lynn O’Donnell in the StFX Advancement Office.

Members of the Department of Sociology say they are grateful for the continued support for the Calliste Lecture from the Deans of Arts, Science, Business, and Education, as well as the Office of the AVP, and the Office for Students of African Descent. 

In what has become a StFX tradtiion during the university reading week, a number of faculty members gathered Feb. 20-24 to participate in the 5th annual Writing Retreat, which provides dedicated time to focus on scholarship.

This year, modern languages professor Dr. Wojciech Tokarz, with the support of StFX VP Research & Graduate Studies Dr. Richard Isnor, organized the retreat for faculty members interested in writing and doing research together. At the same time, Dr. Mark Leeming from the Writing Centre organized a Writing Retreat for senior students working on their thesis.

“Writing retreats are a popular mode of professional development that provide protected time during which participants must engage in writing in a sustained way. The first retreat at StFX was organized in 2012 by Dr. Rachel Hurst who was inspired by Barbara Grant’s article “Writing in the Company of Others,” Dr. Tokarz says.

“This is the second time I have had the pleasure to organize the Writing Retreat, and the third time I am a participant. It is a wonderful opportunity not only to have some research done, but also to connect professionally with my colleagues from around the campus, and learn about their newest research projects,” he says.

“I look forward to the writing retreat all winter,” agrees English professor Dr. Kailin Wright.

“It is a very productive event that enables me to work on my research and connect with other colleagues from different departments. This week, I am revising an article on popular yet political theatre audiences, forthcoming in "Theatre Journal," the top journal in theatre studies, this June. I am also working on a new paper on slavery and pregnancy loss, which I will be presenting at a conference at the University of Dublin in April. In short, I am very appreciative of this writing retreat, of Wojciech for organizing this event, and of StFX for funding it.”

The rules of a writing retreat are very simple, Dr. Tokarz says. During the event, participants do not engage in course prep, marking, or administrative/service responsibilities, and focus solely on research and grant application writing.

“We have a rather strict schedule from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a break for lunch, which also gives us the opportunity to share our research progress, frustrations, observations, and hopes with the rest of the group.”

This year, the retreat had 11 participants registered representing faculty from across the campus: Jaqueline Van Wijlen (Nursing), Dr. Melanie Lam (Human Kinetics), Dr. Clare Fawcett (Anthropology), Dr. Erin Austen (Psychology), Dr. Laura Gougeon (Human Nutrition), Dr. Lisa Pasolli (History), Dr. Charlene Weaving (Human Kinetics), Dr. Ronald Charles (Religious Studies), Dr. Kailin Wright (English), Dr. Nancy Forestell (Women’s and Gender Studies), and Dr. Tokarz (Modern Languages), as well as six students interested in working on their thesis. Both groups worked in Immaculata Hall. 

Faith and sport will be the topic of discussion at this year’s Christian Culture Lecture Series at StFX.

Dr. Jim Parry, an internationally known professor of the philosophy of sport, and currently Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, will give the 2016-17 Christian Culture Lectures at StFX on March 2 and 3, 2017.

The Christian Culture Lecture Series at StFX is an annual set of lectures by internationally-known scholars of religion, scripture, church history, and ethics. Invited speakers provide a minimum of two public lectures on topics related to their scholarly expertise and their current research.

Dr. Parry will give two lectures, open to the public, in the Schwartz School of Business. The first will take place on Thursday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 156 and the second on Friday, March 3 at 3:30 p.m. in Room 205.

In the Thursday evening lecture, entitled “The Ethical and Spiritual Dimensions of Sport,” Dr. Parry will talk about what sport is and discuss its defining and foundational virtues.

On Friday afternoon, in “Olympism and Sport as Religion,” he will build on the understanding of sport, and show how ethics and politics, as well as religiosity and spirituality, are presented in the philosophy of Olympism.

Dr. Parry was the chair of the British Philosophy of Sport Association (2011-13), International Professor of Olympic Studies at Autonomous University of Barcelona (2003), International Professor and Olympic Chair at the University of Ghent (2009), founding director of the British Olympic Academy (1986), and former chair of the British Universities Physical Education Association (1983-85). He received the International Association for Philosophy of Sport Distinguished Scholar Award (2010-11), and is the co-author of “The Olympic Games Explained” (2005), and “Sport and Spirituality” (2007).

Dr. William Sweet, chair of the Christian Culture Lecture Series Committee, says that Dr. Parry brings a remarkable unification of scholarship and experience to his research, and that StFX is fortunate to be able to host a person of his stature in this year’s Christian Culture Lecture Series.

“Professor Parry’s work expresses a deep commitment to understanding the joyful sport experience and its relation to spirituality. He is an exceptional example of a scholar capable of drawing upon both research and practical involvement in the discussion of issues relating to the spiritual significance of sport.”

An innovative gas sensor technology invented at StFX is moving towards commercialization

StFX has signed a technology collaboration agreement with Altus Group for the exclusive worldwide commercialization usage rights of StFX’s vehicle-based Emissions Attribution via Computational Techniques (“ExACT”) gas leak detection technology.

Altus Group’s Geomatics division will offer StFX’s ExACT technology as a service for energy providers and regulators.

The patented ExACT technology allows for detecting and mapping the emission of ground-sourced greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The ExACT sensor is mounted on a vehicle and collects near-ground geochemical readings that are uploaded to a cloud-based database and allows for real-time analysis.

The ExACT survey technology is capable of covering a large region at a very fine scale which provides operators with the detailed data and analytics they require to detect leaks before they become a regulatory issue. The ability to identify emissions in an efficient and cost effective manner allows producers to minimize the economic cost of lost commodities and maximize environmental protection.

StFX earth sciences professor and university project lead Dr. Dave Risk says the industry is moving towards greener, cleaner and lower risk operations, and Altus Group will play an important role in that transition. 

“Altus Group is perfectly positioned to make the most of this technology, given its expertise in big data and analytics, and its great people across the country,” he says.

“We’re pleased to have the exclusive rights to commercialize this leading-edge best-in-class technology,” said Dave Gurnsey, President of Altus Geomatics, Altus Group, who was on campus for two days of meetings last week. “This new service will add value to our clients by providing greater visibility into emissions and will complement our geospatial data management solutions.”

Over the years, as many as 15 to 20 StFX students have played an important role working to refine the technique, Dr. Risk says. “Most importantly, they have been our front face, managing often high pressure and very important relationships with outside organizations on behalf of the lab.” Some of the biggest contributors, he says, include StFX students and grads Liz O’Connell, Emmy Atherton, Jen Baillie, Alex Marshall, Katlyn MacKay, Warren Laybolt, Chelsea Fougere, and James Williams.

Dr. Risk says students in the FluxLab are gaining experience in technology development, data management, environmental protection and finding solutions to manage greenhouse gas emissions. In the process, they’re also finding jobs in the industry, research opportunities and real world experience.

Dr. Risk adds a significant aspect of this agreement is that students working in his lab will have many opportunities to undertake research work of importance to Altus Geomatics and get hands-on, relevant experience.

“Our research collaboration agreement with Altus Geomatics really is ideal for all,” says StFX Industry Liaison Office Manager Andrew Kendall.

“Under the agreement, Dr. Risk is formally named as the Altus Group Chair in Emissions Research, meaning that his research into how to identify small emissions of greenhouse gases from primarily industrial settings will directly help Altus Geomatics provide important and innovative environmental services to the oil and gas industry, and as the research work develops, to other greenhouse gas emitting industries as well.”

Mr. Kendall says StFX and Dr. Risk have a long history in this area of industry focused research and technology development, and have been well supported by various research funding agencies.    

The movement of the ExACT technology from Dr. Disk’s lab to commercial uses by Altus Geomatics has been made possible by support from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) through its Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF).

“I've had the chance to visit Dr. Risk and his team to learn about this project and believe it is precisely the kind of innovative work we hope to encourage here in Atlantic Canada. Innovation is about making things better in ways that benefit everyone. It’s about better jobs, better opportunities, a better environment, and a better future for our children and grandchildren,” says Sean Fraser, Member of Parliament for Central Nova, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. “Canadian universities and colleges, such as StFX, play a critical role in providing people with the skills and experience to innovate. Canadian talent and innovation are creating world-class research and economic opportunities, good quality jobs for the middle class, and improving the standard of living for all Canadians.”

Mr. Kendall says Altus Geomatics will commercialize the ExACT technology, and it is expected that the large amount of data management and processing it requires will be done in Nova Scotia at the local Altus offices in Dartmouth.

What can StFX do as a community to be more aware of and to better serve students of African descent?

That was one of the questions posed at StFX’s 5th President’s Colloquium, an evening focused on “Living the Legacy: Social Justice from the African Heritage Perspective.” The event held in ‘the Pit’ at Lane Hall on Feb. 28 was highlighted by animated, important and passionate discussion.

Speakers included Augy Jones, African Nova Scotia activist and StFX women’s basketball coach; LaMeia Reddick, founder of Kinnected Leadership and community engagement specialist; and Tendai Handahu, specialist in global Afrikan history, Afrikan revolutionary theory and Afrikan centred education.

The evening was facilitated by Michael Fisher, StFX Coordinator for African Descent Student Affairs.

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L-r, StFX President Dr. Kent MacDonald, moderator Michael Fisher, and panelists LaMeia Reddick, Tendai Handahu, and Augy Jones. 

“There’s a lot of history we need to know more about. These discussions allow us to do that,” StFX President Dr. Kent MacDonald said as he set the framework for why students, staff and faculty and community members gathered for the discussion in the middle of a residence.

“The reason for that is that a residence…it’s part of the academic community. We need to remind ourselves of that every once in awhile and to hold discussions on important topics in the middle of a residence,” he said.

“The purpose of a university is to have uncomfortable conversations on things. If you can’t have them at a university where can you have them?”

Panel members fielded a variety of questions throughout the evening, from the facilitator and later audience members.

Discussion ranged from how to deal when people see you differently to how do we address the disconnect between the discourse we are having and the reality of life, to what supports can be provided for students when they come on campus.

Panelists spoke about the influences in their lives, including the legacy of their ancestors, as well as ways to help empower people. They spoke about real historical context that explains where the anger comes from, and how being “an other” in someone else’s culture is not easy.

“These conversations are meant for people to hear,” Mr. Jones said.

It’s heartwarming, he said, to have people listening, to bring a narrative or story for what it’s like to live as a Black person in Canada.

“When I think of social justice…it’s synonymous with fairness. I think social justice is civil rights,” he said.

People have differences, he said, be it race, gender or even physical ability, but underlying that is a lot of sameness. If you close off and think your culture is the only one you have to think about, it separates us, he said.

“When you get beyond that, there is a sameness. The reason we don’t get to the sameness is we don’t listen to people when they tell their narrative.”

We have to appreciate people’s differences, and be willing to be uncomfortable, to listen to people tell their authentic stories.

He adviced that activism start from an internal place, being able to get rid of those lines of otherness through love. “We have to get to the point of loving people who don’t look like us.”

Mr. Handahu brought a differing point of view, countering that love is not the answer because those things have not changed.

Mr. Fisher said having conversations like this is important as this is how we get to hear other people’s point of views. “You have to hear them as much as they have to hear you.”  

Panelists also spoke about the importance of education, the importance of engagement, of the responsibility of young people to show up to work towards change, and the importance of having pride in themselves and their heritage.

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Ms. Reddick spoke about bringing that message of love, peace, compassion to her life and the workplace. “That’s what we have to do and how we will move forward.”

The panelists encouraged the audience to think about changes they can make.

Ms. Reddick also encouraged students to be creative, to try to make their courses and university experience richer. “Push your university to make changes you need, bring that voice to the university, there is power to shift and move it.”

Creating a space where students feel safe is important for students to live out their full potential. If they feel safe, it allows that creativity to come out, she said.

Self-confidence and self-love are important for academic success and beyond, Mr. Jones said.

“Success is not easy when you don’t feel good about yourself, when you feel like you don’t belong,” he said.

“If we want to make active change, we have to be engaged with Black youth in the Black community so they have a vision and a dream that they can make it. We need to welcome those communities and make this a live vision.”

St. Francis Xavier University has recently received a substantial in-kind donation of advanced geoscience software.

Schlumberger, the leading oilfield services company in the world, is donating to StFX a state-of-the-art geology software package with a $10 million U.S. market value over the next three years. The company’s suite of software includes Petrel* E&P software platform, which geoscientists can use to combine surface and subsurface data to build sophisticated graphics and models of the geology beneath our feet.

“The use of sophisticated software is now a critical skill for all students to have in order to compete for jobs in the geosciences,” said Matthew Schumacher, an environmental science instructor in the Department of Earth Sciences and the driving force behind StFX’s new collaboration with Schlumberger. “It is also my hope that the addition of this software can bring new and exciting industry research opportunities to our department,” he said.

Mr. Schumacher says he approached Schlumberger about a software donation as he wanted students to have access to the latest resources and tools available, helping in both their education and in making them more competitive and prepared for future careers.

StFX researchers will now be able to compile and explain information in three and four dimensions providing new and exciting interpretations that were not available before. The goal is to have the software fully up and running for faculty and students to use as part of their studies by September.

“I will now be able to not only locate potential reservoirs of groundwater by using this software, but estimate how much water is in them, as part of my own personal research initiatives. I also look forward to being able to provide more innovative technical research methods to environmental science students through the use of this software,” Mr. Schumacher added.

Dr. James Braid, an assistant professor in the department, plans on using the software both in the classroom and for research. “My students get hands on experience using the latest advanced technology allowing them to work with and interpret multiple and sophisticated data sets. Faculty and senior students can use the Petrel platform in diverse research applications from groundwater modelling to 3-D interpretation of complex geologic systems.”

The steps to becoming a greener campus can be as simple as shifting your computer screen settings to 50 per cent or turning out lights when you’re not in the room. Small changes can have big impacts.

That was one of the messages shared on March 1 as the campus community gathered, many with reusable coffee mugs in hand, to launch StFX Sustainability, a new university-wide campaign that’s boosting StFX’s commitment to build an environmentally-friendly campus community.

The launch, held in the foyer of the Physical Sciences Centre, also included the sharing of good news in StFX’s efforts to reduce its environmental footprint.

StFX Vice President, Finance and Administration Andrew Beckett told those gathered that from 2008-16, StFX has reduced energy use intensity (the amount of energy used when adjusted for outside temperature) across campus by 27.5 per cent.

In that same period, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by almost 22 per cent. “That’s equivalent to 1,500 mid-size vehicles off the road,” he said.

“We’re well on our way in terms of contributing."

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But there is more to do, he said. StFX is currently replacing a number of mechanical, operational and lighting systems on campus, a $12 million investment over 18 months that is expected to result in more than $800,000 of energy savings each year and is anticipated to reduce StFX’s energy consumption by a further 20 per cent.

As well, all new buildings, including the construction of Mulroney Hall, and renovation projects will continue to be designed with the highest environmental standards in mind.

Mr. Beckett also used the launch to reinforce the message that individual users can have an impact.

“The key message is that individuals can all make a difference. Everyone can get involved. We can play our own small part.”

“We can cut our energy by 10-15 per cent.”

“It is up to all of us to figure out a way to have an impact,” StFX President Dr. Kent MacDonald reiterated.

“Speaking of where we’re going in the future, it’s also good to remind ourselves this is a university that has done good things in this space,” Dr. MacDonald said.

Both he and Mr. Beckett talked about the many active students on campus promoting sustainability practices, the faculty members, particularly from the Department of Earth Sciences, who contribute from a research and teaching point of view, and dedicated staff, including those from Facilities Management, who are working to make the campus more sustainable.  

Mikaela Henderson, president of the Environmental Society, spoke about prior work that has been done, including the installation of solar panels in Bloomfield Centre and plans for more solar panels on campus.

“We’re thrilled to be involved in some of the great things the university is doing in sustainability,” she said.

She also encouraged everyone to think about why they’re here at the launch and what sustainability means to them.

The launch kicked off a five-week campaign that will help make sustainability more visible on campus.

Several exciting events are planned, including members of the Environmental Society who will be circulating information and be involved in special events. There will also be a photo contest, social media promotions, and Facilities Management will have student sustainability officers available to do quick office energy audits.

As part of this work, Mr. Beckett said the university is reforming its campus sustainability committee, and faculty, staff and students interested in becoming involved are encouraged to get in touch. The university has also created an email account, sustainability@stfx.ca to receive feedback.

To see more on sustainability efforts, please see: http://www.stfx.ca/sustainability

A team of StFX engineering students has excelled on the national stage, taking home second place in the Canadian Engineering Competition held March 2-5, 2017 in Calgary, AB.

The StFX team—which included Cecil Ash of Cranbrook, BC and Amy Czuczman of Brooklin, ON, both second year industrial engineering students, and first year engineering students Emma Fudge of St. George, NB, and Ross Walker of Ottawa, ON—were given eight hours to come up with a 12-page engineering report and produce a 20-minute powerpoint presentation on a problem they received only that morning.

The StFX team proved more than able for the task, claiming second place in the consulting category of the national competition.

“It was a cool experience to represent StFX on a national scale. It was a great experience to stand up and talk to the judges,” says Ms. Czuczman on the annual competition, which brings together 150 of the most innovative and creative engineering undergraduate students from across the country to compete against each other in one of six categories.

Each competition category challenges participants to expand their frame of reference and identify solutions to problems experienced by the profession. The judges are drawn from related industry fields or academia.

Teams must quality for the national competition by achieving a top performance at their respective regional competitions. The StFX team won first place at the Atlantic championships in Moncton in February.  

The StFX team members say they enjoyed competing in a pressure situation like the national competition.

“I found it was really rewarding to have something to look at, at the end of the day,” Mr. Walker says on the work they produced.

Ms. Fudge says the hands-on applied aspect of the competition was a great learning experience. “The experience will encourage us to participate in more competitions like that.”

For the national competition, Mr. Walker says teams are given a general idea of their topic—this year, the Olympics Games—before the competition. But teams don’t receive the actual problem until the competition starts.

Along with producing a report and powerpoint, teams must make a 20-minute presentation to a panel of judges as well as a 10-minute question and answer session.

In the consulting category, teams were tasked with providing a report on the technological integration and logistics using the scenario of a successful 2026 Calgary Winter Games Olympic bid.

Mr. Walker says their report provided an updated projection for the Olympics Games, including enhancements that ensure Calgary builds on the current infrastructure as well as focuses on the fan experience through new digital technologies, recommendations to ensure that Calgary host a successful games and benefit from the long-term effects of becoming a Smart City. 

Once again, StFX engineering students have put their skills to use for a good cause.

Second year engineering students at StFX were again participants in Canstruction Nova Scotia, an annual competition that has teams build structures out of canned food. When the competition concludes, Feed Nova Scotia distributes the food and donations to member food banks and meal programs across the province.

Until March 11, the StFX and Antigonish community are invited to come by the lobby of the Physical Science Centre to view the finished structures. Visitors also have opportunity to vote for their favourite structure for the People’s Choice award. Voters are encouraged to donate $2 to support the work being done by Feed Nova Scotia.

Altogether, 4,394 cans of food went into building the three structures, a 23 per cent increase over the number used last year, at a cost of over $6,200. “That is a lot of food for those in need in our communities. We thank StFX, local businesses, and individual donors for their generous support of our students in their fundraising effort,” says engineering professor Dr. Emeka Oguejiofor.

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Team Time to End Hunger designed and built the “Halican Clock Tower;” Team Lunar-tics called their NASA Space Shuttle canstructure “Houston, We Have to Destroy Hunger;” while the N64 Cantrollers replicated the Nintendo 64 controller and  named their canstructure “Getting a Handle on Hunger… or Three.”

From highlighting their greenhouse garden initiative that produced 800 lbs of vegetables for the Student Food Resource Centre, to X Den, a consignment shop of used goods for university students, 11 StFX students—members of Enactus StFX—will be in Halifax March 16-17 pitching their entrepreneurial projects at a regional competition.

They join Enactus students from across Atlantic Canada who will present in four team-based competitions (financial education, environmental sustainability, youth empowerment and entrepreneurship) at the Enactus Canada Regional Exposition. Students pitch their projects, showcasing how they identified a problem and helped provide a solution.  

Regional champions in each category move on to compete nationally May 9-11 in Vancouver.

“We’re really looking forward to it,” says Hannah Chisholm, a third year honours entrepreneurship student from Antigonish, NS, who along with fourth year nutrition student Maura Brennan, is co-president of the student society, part of Canada’s largest experiential learning platform for post-secondary students focused on improving people’s lives through entrepreneurial action.

Enactus StFX’s highlight project is its greenhouse initiative.

PERMANENT GARDENS

The project took shape after they identified a need to improve the existing on-campus garden. Enactus StFX developed a partnership with the Student Food Resource Center and gathered a group of volunteers eager to tackle this project. They secured a new location to build two permanent raised gardens.

Ms. Chisholm, the greenhouse project manager, was responsible for managing the garden through the summer. This past year was the most successful on campus garden in StFX history. Almost all supplies and plants needed were donated and recycled. They developed a great relationship with the local plant nursery, which provided seeds or plants they were not able to sell, she says.

“We managed to grow and store over 800 lbs of vegetables for the student food bank. Anything that matured over the summer and could not be stored was canned, pickled or frozen. Nothing goes to waste,” Ms. Chisholm said.

Before this, the garden had produced about 20-50 lbs of food each year.

Since Enactus had such a successful first year with this project, Ms. Chisholm decided to create a “Xaverian’s Guide to Gardening.” This guide provides information needed to operate the garden to maximize production. It outlines everything from when to start seeds, how to fertilize, as well as storage tips and pickling recipes. The guide will be given to the project manager, who will be living in Antigonish for the summer, so they will be able to take care of the garden even with no prior agriculture experience.

The last highlight of the project was the creation of a greenhouse for the garden to extend the growing season. The greenhouse is made from 100 per cent reused materials. The frame is a repurposed event tent donated by StFX. The plastic and re-enforcement was recycled and donated from the local nursery. Enactus also conducted fundraisers for this initiative and hope to build two more gardens in the upcoming year to double production.

COMPETING IN ALL CATEGORIES

Enactus StFX will be competing in all four competition categories.

They will also present on their projects including:

X Den, an on-campus consignment shop they run in the Student’s Union Building, which sells used items ranging from mini-fridges to décor to clothing. The shop allows students to both buy items at consignment rates and to make money selling their goods. Enactus StFX only keeps 20 per cent of sales to pay for a student coordinator to run the shop.

Enactus members are also involved in Michelin Consulting. Michelin Development has created a fund to invest in local entrepreneurs. If an entrepreneur has a great idea, but needs help putting together a business plan, the fund committee will connect the entrepreneur with the students who volunteer their help and expertise in putting together an application.

Perfect Cents is a project where Enactus students go to Paq'tnkek First Nation where they work with the GED program coordinator to present workshops based on participant needs, from workshops on scholarship applications to financial literacy.

Enactus StFX also usually runs three financial literacy projects for elementary, junior high and high school students. Although they were unable to run that project this year, the society is planning to hold a seed starting workshop for local youth, teaching them how to grow their own vegetable transplants and to understand where food comes from.

Enactus StFX is open to any student, across disciplines, and Ms. Chisholm says it’s a fun, rewarding experience.

“It’s very action involved. You’re out there in the community. It’s amazing to see the impact you have on people. You’re in the community and you get to see the impact.”

She says her involvement has given her a great appreciation for volunteering as well as the volunteer work that university students do. She says it’s also helped develop her public speaking and presentation skills.

StFX’s Service Learning program will be enhancing its course-based offering thanks to $65,000 in funding the program will receive over the next two years.

The money comes from the province’s Innovation Team and will be used to support Service Learning opportunities particularly with community-based health organizations in Antigonish area and beyond.

“This funding will enable more StFX students to benefit from course-based Service Learning opportunities across StFX faculties, specifically with health-based organizations in the new Bachelor of Arts and Science in Health,” says Service Learning Program Manager Megan Turner.

Since its inception in 1996, the Service Learning program has contributed to student academic engagement, student recruitment and retention, faculty research and development and university-community relations, she says.

“Students have a tremendous amount of knowledge to contribute,” says Kelly Regan, Minister of Labour and Advanced Education. “When we provide them with the opportunity to apply their classroom learning, they also build their leadership skills, their confidence and their connections with potential future employers.”

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Pictured (top photo), course-based Service Learning students in human nutrition present their projects to the community at a nutrition fair. Bottom photo, course-based students educate the public about 4-H at a local Halloween event. 

The program expansion coincides with the September launch of StFX’s new Bachelor of Arts and Science in Health, expected to integrate Service Learning throughout its courses and involve 40-50 new students at StFX. The new four-year degree takes an interdisciplinary approach to health and draws on scientific, social and humanistic knowledge.

Currently, about 25 per cent of StFX students participate in course-based Service Learning each year. Through these experiences, students spend on average 20 hours per semester working with local non-profit, community-based agencies while completing course assignments that help them draw connections between practical experience and theoretical learning.