Nova Scotia's Education Advantage

Recently I sat at dinner beside a gentleman who told me he had attended the Mount’s Convocation for the first time this May. When I asked him why, he told me that he and his wife have a housekeeper who for many years has been working part-time in the evenings to complete her degree. She’s the first in her family to attend university, and they were there to celebrate her success. This story offered a powerful reminder of the dedication and hard work that goes into earning a university degree, and the pride our graduates – and their supporters – take in their accomplishments.

Nova Scotia is home to ten excellent universities, each boasting thousands of similar success stories every year. As the Mount graduates talented students in fields such as communications, modern languages, applied nutrition, family studies, public policy, economics and more, so too do our counterparts in their areas of focus. These efforts arm our province with a highly educated, highly skilled, competitive workforce and each graduate is a testament to the role we play in elevating our region as a whole. But our contributions extend far beyond annual convocations.

Our new international students visit Peggy's Cove

According to a 2013 report by the Council of Nova Scotia University Presidents, our province’s universities produce a combined economic output of $2 billion, $220 million in tax revenues, $840 million in annual export revenues, and over 8,000 jobs. Our strategic value for the province is substantial. We can attract international immigrants, we can contribute research and innovation to all sectors, and we can ready our younger students to stay and work right here – all this with the second lowest provincial funding per student in the country.

As a major port city in Eastern Canada, Halifax is at a crossroads. The Nova Scotia government, in partnership with the federal government, appreciates the value of internationalization and has made it a priority to increase immigration in the province, particularly Canadian-trained international graduates. Our universities have a key role to play in this process.

Organizations such as EduNova are working hard to grow the number of international students in Nova Scotia’s universities, colleges, and schools. In 2012-13, over 6,000 international students (13.8 % of the total student body) chose to study in Nova Scotia’s universities. These students generate over $230 million for Nova Scotia’s economy, and hundreds of jobs right across the province. Many of these students choose to stay in Nova Scotia after graduation, bringing valuable international skills and experiences, global networks, and new perspectives to our communities.

Meng Zhao, BPR '10

Currently, the Mount’s student body of just over 4,000 includes 590 international students from over 50 countries. Apart from the strong economic case for international education, these students greatly enrich our campus, many becoming leaders in both academics and community service. PR graduate and Dakai Magazine founder Meng Zhao sets a strong example as she builds ties between the local community and Chinese culture. It’s clear that the ongoing accomplishments of our international students will only continue to enhance our region.

As we welcome students from across the country and around the world for another year, let’s remember the importance of what we do and why we do it here in Nova Scotia. Our work as universities has tremendous benefits on an individual basis as seen by our students, their classmates, and their employers, and on a broader scale as seen through our contributions and innovations across all sectors. Just as our province offers a strong environment for post-secondary education, we in turn continue to strengthen Nova Scotia’s global appeal.

Welcome

September at the Mount is one of my favourite months, as we greet new students, welcome returning students and begin a new academic year with our faculty and staff colleagues.

This year the Mount celebrates its 140^th anniversary, marking a distinguished history of fostering academic excellence, community building and social justice.  Our new Strategic Plan, Mount 2017: Making a Difference, will guide us in shaping an equally distinguished future for our University, and I invite you to play a role in this important work.

The construction of the Margaret Norrie McCain Centre of Teaching, Learning and Research, as you’ll have noticed, is making big changes on our campus.  While some of these changes – new routes to travel across campus or different parking spots to be found – may try our patience from time to time, we’ll see the rewards when the building is complete.  The first academic building constructed at the Mount in over 40 years, the McCain Centre will not only provide long-awaited space for key programs and departments, but, in keeping with our mission, it will also honour and tell the stories of women throughout.

I had the opportunity to tour the construction site this summer and was delighted with the progress I saw; we’re on target toward our goal of opening in December of next year.  I invite you to keep updated on the building by visiting the construction website.

This past weekend I attended orientation events for new students and was struck once again by the diversity of those who come to study at the Mount – some joining us from high school, others coming to our community as mature adults, and many arriving from around the world.  I’m excited about the year ahead as we welcome these students and strive to meet and exceed their expectations. 

At our annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning held last week, we focused on the topic of diversity.  In addition to excellent sessions led by members of our faculty, we heard a panel of students speak about their academic experience.  They were honest in telling us not only what has worked for them in their Mount education, but where we can make changes that will improve their learning.  A number of faculty and staff in attendance spoke to me of their desire to keep hearing these student voices, and we’ll seek opportunities to continue the conversation throughout the year.

My colleague Elizabeth Church, VP Academic, delivered closing remarks at the workshop, drawing a parallel between foreign travel and university.  She challenged us, faculty and staff, to be guides to our students, who are travellers in strange and unfamiliar territory—to help them remain open to others and able to learn from their experiences.  We can all benefit by thinking of ourselves as travellers in our own university, with much to learn and gain from our time together.

Enjoy your fall term and I look forward to travelling the road with you.

Ramona 

Dr. E. Margaret Fulton's Lasting Legacy

Another Convocation season has come and gone – a bittersweet time of year for us at the Mount.

Everything we do is for our students and while we proudly celebrate as they cross the stage, we must also say goodbye as they set out to make their own mark on the world.  I invite our 620 new Mount graduates to join me in celebrating the mentors, teachers, and peers who have helped prepare them for what’s to come.

Last month, we had the privilege of sharing our Spring Convocation with a number of outstanding women. Poet Lorna Crozier, sociologist Arlie Hochschild, and soprano Suzie LeBlanc (pictured left) received honorary doctorate degrees and offered graduates compelling insights on compassion, ambition, risk-taking and strength. Dr. LeBlanc, reflecting on the Mount’s founding by the Sisters of Charity, noted that “finding your strength, finding ways to make something happen that you really believe in, is the way this university was begun.”

I hope our graduates take these words to heart as they consider not only how the Mount came to be, but how it has remained true to the Sisters’ original intent over the past 140 years. For an example of how our history has been shaped by strength, creativity, and belief, we need look no further than former Mount President E. Margaret Fulton.

While she wasn’t able to join us in person, I am delighted that Dr. Fulton was recognized at our Spring Convocation in her new role as President Emerita, in tribute to her outstanding contributions as the leader of this institution from 1978 to 1986, and as a trusted friend ever since.

Dr. Fulton broke new ground from day one at the Mount, serving as our first President who was not a Sister of a religious order, as well as the only woman President of a Canadian university at that time. In a 1999 interview she recalled how shared priorities with the institution turned an unconventional pairing into the perfect fit:

“The goals and the statement fitted perfectly where I was at that time: my commitment to the changes in the women’s movement, and the development of a feminist perspective, and a desire to provide more opportunities for women to get an advanced education.”

It was her passion for women’s education that drove Dr. Fulton to usher in an era of great innovation at our university. While she’s quick to credit her success to others, it was under her leadership that the Mount made education more accessible by becoming the first university in Atlantic Canada to offer televised courses. Further, it was through her work with our dear Ruth Goldbloom that the Mount’s first major capital campaign raised $3.5 million to fund the Rosaria Student Centre, the creation of the first Chair of Women’s Studies in Canada, and the first Co-operative Education program in the Maritimes.

And just this year, it was a gift from Dr. Fulton that pushed Project TWENTY12 past the $12 million mark, proving that even at age 90, she hasn’t quite finished shaping the future of the Mount for generations of students yet to come.

In my conversations with Dr. Fulton, what always strikes me is the wonderful curiosity and excitement she continues to feel about everything to do with the Mount. She believes in us, she still expects a lot from us, and it is our ongoing privilege to continue building upon her remarkable legacy.

Congratulations, Margaret, and thank you.