Featured Articles

Sticking with it

By Joanie Veitch | spring 2020

For Lori Francis, Dean of Science (Acting) at Saint Mary’s University, watching the young players on Team 4 of the Atom C division of the Halifax Hawks Minor Hockey Association lace up their skates to play hockey on home ice made her feel even more connected to Saint Mary’s. 

James Curleigh: The Rock Star CEO

By Gail Lethbridge | spring 2020

When James Curleigh walks into the room, you don’t automatically think “CEO.” The long curly hair, sunglasses, leather jacket and “Make Rock, Not War” T-shirt are all more rock star than Chief Executive Officer. And then there is the Levi’s armour: no suit and tie here. No sir.  

“It’s a community service”

By Erin Elaine Casey | spring 2020

Picture a sunny auditorium filled with about 50 bright young faces. It looks like a typical university class, but these particular Computer Science students are about to embark on a very important real-world assignment: developing a customizable app to help young adults with autism navigate the complexities of email.  

SMU Athletics & Recreation Department: Staying Connected during the Pandemic

By Maroon & White | spring 2020

You may think that the traditional role of a coach may have been altered during the COVID-19 crisis, but it’s business as usual—or unusual—for our team of coaches. With the recent announcement of AUS cancelling the Fall season, coaches will continue to prepare for 2020 and beyond, recruiting, staying connected with their…

“Our job is exposing people to what can be and what’s possible”

By Erin Elaine Casey | fall 2019

Saint Mary’s University has been in the business of entrepreneurship education and scholarship for more than 25 years — much longer than the vast majority of Canadian institutions. And the Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre (SMUEC) is the beating heart of entrepreneurship, on campus and off.

“Entrepreneurship has a long history at Saint Mary’s University,” says…

Everything’s Coming Up Jennifer!

By Elizabeth Peirce | fall 2019

What does a master chef like to eat when they’re not the one doing the cooking?

If that chef is Jennifer Crawford MA’07, winner of CTV’s 2019 MasterChef Canada amateur chef competition, the answer is simple.

“Treat cereal and Three-Cheese Pizza Pops. These were special occasion foods when I was a child.”

Crawford—who is non-binary and uses they/their…

SMU Professor Wins Prestigious O. Henry Prize for Short Fiction

By Elizabeth Peirce | fall 2019

I’ve been travelling by rabbit a lot this year!” laughs Alexander MacLeod. The professor of English and Atlantic Canada Studies has reason for mirth: his story “Lagomorph,” featuring a pet rabbit as a main character, was chosen as the 2019 winner of the internationally-recognized O. Henry Prize for short fiction.

Dr. MacLeod got the news last November while driving to Cape Breton…

A New Building For An Old Tradition

By Gail Lethbridge | fall 2019

hen you first see the Dauphinee Centre on the campus of Saint Mary’s University, you might think you are looking at a business school or a newly-minted administration centre.

It is modern, angular, shining, sophisticated, with lines that are very twenty-first century.

That is a long way away from the old-school rinks of yesterday.

But when you walk inside, there is…

“They became a cadre of people who were full of confidence”

By Erin Elaine Casey | spring 2019

In 1995, a small group of people had a big idea: a university extension program that would grant degrees in the tiny West African country of The Gambia. About twice the size of greater Halifax, and almost entirely surrounded by Senegal except for a small strip of Atlantic coastline, the Republic of The Gambia had no university of its own. What it did have was a hunger for education and a need to…

Elevating the Sobey School of Business Through Transformational Philanthropy

By Kate Elliot | spring 2019

On March 21, more than 500 people in the McNally Auditorium burst into applause when they heard David Sobey announce the largest philanthropic gift ever made to Saint Mary’s University. There were audible gasps and a full standing ovation when he confirmed the amount of the gift: 18 million dollars. It was truly a day for the history books.

Since the announcement, campus has been buzzing…