Dear students, faculty, and staff,

February is Black History Month across Canada and African Heritage Month in Nova Scotia. At Acadia, we are celebrating Black Joy! The theme recognizes and honours Black people's achievements at Acadia and worldwide.

Programming will start this Sunday with a Chapel Service and run through the entire month. I hope you will have the opportunity to participate in one of the many learning opportunities and celebrations planned! My sincere thanks to those of you who worked so hard to make these events happen.

Only by learning and working together can we create the inclusive and welcoming learning, living, and working environment that we all deserve.

For its part, through the work of the President's Anti-Racism Taskforce, Acadia is taking concrete steps to value the knowledge, strength, and contributions of Black students, faculty, and staff through a more comprehensive definition of institutional excellence.

Acadia is also committed to the Scarborough Charter and the National Dialogues and Action to address anti-Black racism and promote Black inclusion. And we are signatories to the Dimensions Charter, which addresses systemic barriers in research faced by women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minority and racialized groups, and members of LGBTQ2+ communities.

In addition to these institution-wide initiatives and the work they entail, we must also take the time to celebrate! After all, we can all use more joy on these cold winter days!

Sincerely,

Peter

Dr. Peter Ricketts
President and Vice-Chancellor