Welcome to the first edition of our Campus e-news where we share highlights about our campus community. Enjoy!

Welcome to a New Year!

As we start a new decade and dig out from our latest snowfall, I want to extend a warm welcome to everyone returning from the Christmas and New Year holiday. I start the year with a feeling of gratitude for the privilege of living and working in this amazing place with you all. I sincerely hope you are rested and reinvigorated and ready for an exciting year ahead!

I want to send an especially warm welcome to any new students and employees who joined our community in January. I am delighted to welcome our new Director of the School of Education, Janet Dyment, who comes all the way from the University of Tasmania. Please join me in welcoming Janet and her family to Acadia and to Nova Scotia.

On a somber note, we now know that the crash of the Ukrainian Airlines plane in Iran has had tragic consequences for Canada, and especially for Canadian universities. While we are relieved that no Acadia students were on board, we learned yesterday that many of the victims were students returning to or starting their studies in Canada, and that ten universities across the country have lost community members. This includes two universities in Nova Scotia, Saint Mary’s and Dalhousie. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives and the families, loved ones, and friends who are dealing with enormous loss and grief.

I am sure I speak for everyone at Acadia when I say how saddened we are by this tragedy, and we send our deepest sympathies to all those affected, especially our sister university communities both in Nova Scotia and across Canada. For those members of the Acadia community who are Iranian or who have been affected in any way, I share in your sadness at this terrible event, and please know that your community is here to help you.

In that vein but closer to home, last Saturday we gathered to mourn the loss of an extraordinary alumnus and member of our Board of Governors, Bruce Phinney ('81). As was routinely demonstrated through his words and actions, there seemed to be no limit to Bruce’s love for Acadia. He will be greatly missed, but his spirit lives on and inspires us. Fittingly and to ensure his fondness for supporting our students continues, Bruce’s family has established a scholarship here at Acadia.

Sobering thoughts aside, we have much to be happy about and proud of at Acadia, and more great things to accomplish.

As the new term starts, I want to thank all of you who have supported our students -through teaching, guidance, financial support, or by making them feel welcome and comfortable on our campus. Our young scholars are at the heart of all we do, and they motivate us to be the best versions of ourselves we can be.

As we continue our work together for the collective good, I wish you peace, happiness and fulfillment as we enter Acadia’s 182nd year in 2020.

With warmest wishes,

Peter

Dr. Peter Ricketts
President and Vice-Chancellor

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Research

Acadia records Canada’s third-highest percent increase in corporate research income in its class

Acadia University, one of Canada’s top 50 Research Universities, ranks third among Canada’s primarily undergraduate universities when it comes to corporate research income as a percentage of its total research income, according to Research Infosource Inc.

Learn More.

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Scholarship

Meet Acadia's newest Irving Scholars

Acadia University master’s students from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario are the 2020 recipients of the Arthur Irving Academy Scholarships in Environmental Studies.

Learn More.

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Student Life

RBC, Acadia announce $100,000 donation to support student wellness

RBC funding will help enhance on-campus support services through the innovative Q-Life Resilience Experience.

The program addresses the suffering from intense stress and psychological imbalance many students are facing. It helps alleviate test anxiety, low academic self‐efficacy, and ineffective time management.

Learn More.

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VIDEO: Historic MOU Signing

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Events

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Campus Infrastructure

Project Acadia Colleague Enhancement (A.C.E.) Update

In 2019, Acadia acquired a new application and communication system called Slate with a goal to improve service to prospective students. We are also modernizing our current student information system. Colleague Student will provide students with improved planning tools, enhanced mobile access, and more. The improvements, which began in summer 2019 are expected to take 18-24 months to implement fully. Stay tuned to updates from Project A.C.E. (Acadia Colleague Enhancement) as we get closer to enabling this protocol at Acadia.

Learn More.