M A G A Z I N E

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Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40065040

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Alumni Office Dalhousie University Halifax NS B3H 3J5

a toast to maritimehealth

BestJetEN ROUTE TO

get ready for ‘gen y’

that’s annwith an E

If this were a hockey team, they’d all be forwards.

LEFT TO RIGHT, FRONT ROW: Rhonda Harrington, Director of Advancement, Faculty of Medicine; Ann Vessey, Planned Giving Officer; Suzanne Huett, Director, Advancement Strategy; Linda Crockett, Director, Global Gifts; Dawn Ferris, Administrative Assistant; Sharon Gosse, Administrative Assistant.

LEFT TO RIGHT, BACK ROW: Rosemary Bulley, Development Officer, Engineering & Computer Science; Mary Lou Crowley, Development Officer, Health Professions; John MacDonald, Director, External Relations, Faculty of Management; Chris Steeves, Development Officer, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences; Diane Chisholm, Development Officer, Law; Jennifer Laurette, Development Officer, Dentistry.Not Pictured: Wendy McGuinness, Director, Planned Giving; Ron Mitton, Sr. Advisor, Corporations & Foundations; Debbie Bright, Adminstrative Assistant

Meet the Dalhousie fundraising team. Play makers. Team players. Leaders.

An eclectic group of dedicated professionals with one goal – a stronger Dalhousie.

If you haven’t met them yet, you will. Relationship building is forefront on their agenda,

every day. For more information or to schedule lunch, give them a call at 1.800.565.9969.

Dalhousie

On our coverAloft is Sean Durfy, President and

CEO of WestJet, who was a gracious

host to our photographer and

writer during their visit to corporate

headquarters in Calgary.

(Danny Abriel Photo)

D E P A R T M E N T S

FROM THE EDITOR 2

CONVOCATION 4

UPFRONT ON CAMPUS 6

DALUMNI 28

CLASS NOTES 34

THE BACK STORY 40

M A G A Z I N E

10Culture club

Kidding aside, they’ve got to be about the most cheerful employees around. Sean Durfy, WestJet’s President and CEO, was responsible for the “because owners care” advertising campaign. He more than lives up to it — he embodies it. Perhaps that’s why their nickname is “BestJet.” by Marilyn Smulders

22Improving the health of our Maritime community Understanding sleep disorders, hearing problems and patient safety. Extending the reach of specialists through a bedside robot. Volunteering in a developing country with inter-professional health care teams. We’re pleased to share some highlights from Dalhousie Medicine 2007. Edited by Betsy Chambers

18 The ‘millennials’ are coming to an office near you

The millennial generation is beginning to graduate and is heading out into the labour market in quantities unheard of since the baby boom. Instead of fighting for jobs, as in years past, there’s a stronger possibility that the jobs will be fighting for them.by Ryan McNutt

14 Reading between the lines

For a hundred years, readers have loved author Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic Anne of Green Gables. Now, children’s writer Budge Wilson has written the prequel Before Green Gables

and historian Elizabeth Epperly has described

the creative process in Imagining

Anne. What’s been a secret between bosom

buddies until now is that these writers share the Dalhousie experience.by Marilyn Smulders

FromtheEditorD

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DalhousieEDITOR

Amanda Pelham

ASSISTANT EDITOR/ADVERTISING MANAGERKeri Irwin

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Marilyn Smulders

ART DIRECTORFran Ornstein

CLASS NOTES/ DALUMNI/ IN MEMORIAMFor submissions, contact: Joanne Ward-Jerrett

alumni.records@dal.ca

ADDRESS CHANGES Tel: (902) 494-6855 1 (800) 565-9969

Email: alumni.records@dal.ca

Alumni Records, Macdonald Building Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3J5

PRODUCED BY Dalhousie University

Communications and Marketing

CONTRIBUTORS

Temporarily in charge of a WestJet 737, at least in their dreams, are “pilot” Marilyn Smulders and “co-pilot” Danny Abriel. As well as writing the profile of Sean Durfy for this issue,

Marilyn discovered the strange connection between Budge Wilson and Lucy Maud Montgomery.

At 25, Ryan McNutt is the youngest member of the Communications and Marketing team but an older member of the millennial generation. He’s called upon to speak for his generation regularly enough that he figured he’d best do some research before answering with any authority. His article exploring ‘Gen Y’ was aided greatly by Don Christie of Dalhousie’s Career Services Centre, who provided countless contacts and background research.

Improving the health of our Maritime community, which contains capsules of selected articles in the current issue of Dalhousie Medicine, was prepared in consultation with Dalhousie Medicine’s editor, Betsy Chambers, from stories by Melanie Jollymore and Betsy Chambers.

Brian Harrison, a partner with Halifax-based Trivium Design, continues to guide the evolution of our new design.

Welcome to Debora Jewitt who has joined Creative Services and handles photography arrangements. Thanks to Jane Lombard for production coordination and Marla Cranston for answering proofreading requests.

Billy Comeau hails from Clare, N.S. He seems to be enjoying his internship with Communications and Marketing, following his program in Public Relations at the Nova Scotia Community College. Billy contributed a number of stories for different sections of the magazine.

DALHOUSIE MAGAZINEappears three times a year.

Editorial deadline for the next issue is August 6, 2008.

M A G A Z I N E

Here’s looking at you, kid

When she first got the invitation to be our cover

model, Karen Beazley tried to beg off.

You can’t blame her, really. She was in her office

— in the Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building — sporting a

massive shiner.

During a trip overseas, she’d fainted at her London hotel,

bumping her head on a porcelain bathtub. Waking up seconds

later, she felt the bump already growing. She’d been home just

long enough for the bruising to spread and become multi-hued.

Creative director Fran Ornstein was merciless about the photo, but offered some

compassion. “We’ll bring makeup,” she promised, dispatching photographer Nick Pearce.

Designer Brian Harrison featured the image on his multi-layered cover to illustrate Marie

Weeren’s story “Big Picture Thinking.”

We were working on a new format under prompting from our boss Jim

Vibert, an advocate of creative risk taking. This cover was an Atlantic Journalism

Award finalist, offering a chance to celebrate the hands and hearts and minds

that shape the magazine. This same edition — the first expanded and

redesigned university magazine — earned a national gold Prix d’Excellence

award from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education.

It all comes back to seeing and hearing from you. This time, we profile the high-

flying Sean Durfy, who leads WestJet and cheers his university on from Calgary.

(See “Culture Club”, Page 11). We’ll pursue a literary thread uniting alumnae Lucy

Maud Montgomery, Budge Wilson and Elizabeth Epperly. (See “Reading between

the lines,” Page 15). Our focus on research continues with the Dalhousie Faculty of

Medicine. (See “Improving the Health of our Maritime Community,”Page 22). It’s a

pleasure to recognize our 2,800 newest alumni. (See “Facing the future,” Page 4).

The ‘millennial’ generation faces the brightest career prospects in decades. (See

“Turning Ideals into Reality,” Page 18). Thanks to all who are willing to share

their lives with us and who, one by one, are telling the Dalhousie story.

After all, it’s unanimous that Karen Beazley is a particularly

good sport. And in the end, what matters most is how her

qualities of scholarship and leadership shine.

“I got lots of comments on that magazine cover,” says Dr. Beazley,

laughing. “I always ask, ‘Can you tell that I had a shiner?’ And nobody

knew! That’s what you guys can do when you all get together.”

W— in the Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building — sporting a

massive shiner.

bumping her head on a porcelain bathtub. Waking up seconds

later, she felt the bump already growing. She’d been home just

long enough for the bruising to spread and become multi-hued.

M A G A Z I N E

V O L . 2 4 | N O . 2 | F A L L | 2 0 0 7

research powerhouse for the region

fostering the will of the afghan people

halifax’s own mystery writer

thinkingBIG PICTURE

Guestview

It’s hard to believe four years have passed since I was a fresh-faced first-year, joining other

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed new students on what was perceived by some as exciting, by

others as a terrifying new adventure. Whatever our initial sentiments, most will agree (at

the risk of sounding cliché), that although we may be broke financially, we leave this experience

enriched with more than just a piece of paper.

Though I am a Haligonian, scholarship funds enabled me to stay in residence at first. This

allowed me to become more involved in student life both socially and academically and to enjoy

perks such as ‘bedhead chic’ from rolling out of bed 15 minutes before classes.

Despite feeling a little shell-shocked adjusting from a fairly slack high school career to what

I exaggerated as an endless onslaught of homework, I quickly adjusted to self-structuring. I will

admit more independent study led to a few coffee–fuelled all-nighters, but it was this flexibility

that I enjoyed most about university life.

Studying international development allowed me the freedom to explore history, philosophy,

environmental issues and economics. I was relieved by the ability to structure classes around

my interests, favourite profs

and schedule (spending hours

in search of the elusive three-

day weekend). I was also able

to combine the facilities and

selection of a large school with the intimacy of a small school by remaining an official King’s

student while taking all my classes at Dal.

With Dal’s financial and academic support, I attended UN Climate Change Conferences

in Kenya and Indonesia, reinforcing my belief in the value of education beyond the classroom.

I was able to apply what I learned in class to real-world situations. I appreciate that Dal

recognizes the importance of out-of-class education and personal development.

This recognition is apparent in the many study abroad programs at Dal. I used language

study as an opportunity to spend a summer in Spain on exchange. Immersing myself in

Spanish food, drink, culture and history only amplified my desire to study the language upon

my return.

Education outside the classroom didn’t just come through world travel. It also came from

attending Dal-sponsored lectures and getting involved in university events, societies and sports.

This involvement can beef up your resumé, expand your mind and social circle, and may even

score you a date for Friday night.

Whether grabbing a beer at the Grad House following a lecture, breaking a sweat at

Dalplex, or having a breakdown in the library, these past four years have been a wild ride and

I’m not ready to get off anytime soon.

The real world can wait. I’ve gotten used to the university lifestyle. Master’s here I come!

The best of both worlds

...a large school with the intimacy of a small school...

Jessica Wishart is graduating with the Class of 2008.

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Welcome

Fred Fountain has attended a few convocation ceremonies

over the years at Dalhousie—as a law grad in 1974 and an honorary degree recipient in 2000—and he’s about to attend many, many more. He made his debut as Dalhousie’s sixth chancellor at spring convocation in May, looking regal in a black brocade gown lavishly trimmed with gold braid and a velvet birretum. In his speech to the black-gowned sea at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Mr. Fountain urged graduates to enjoy being “a star for a day.” He also encouraged them to continue “to let Dal be a part of you,” by keeping Dalhousie and Nova Scotia in their hearts wherever their journeys take them. “If you take care of your roots, blossoms will follow,” said Mr. Fountain.

Looking on proudly were Mr. Fountain’s wife Elizabeth, two children Alexander and Katharine and his mother, Marjorie Fountain. He said he wished his father could have shared in the day: Sheldon Fountain passed away in late 2006 at the age of 92. Mr. Fountain inherited his love of learning from his late father. He recalled travelling as a boy with his father from their home in Wolfville, N.S. to Deer Island, N.B., where the elder Fountain taught primary through to Grade 12 in a one-room schoolhouse when he was just 17 years old. Sheldon Fountain went on to get his BA from Acadia University and his MBA from Boston University—one of the first people to acquire the degree. The “entrepreneurial educator” also had honorary degrees from Acadia and Dalhousie University. A dedicated volunteer, Mr. Fountain’s association with Dalhousie has been long and distinguished. He sat on the Board of Governors at Dalhousie from 1990 to 1999 and continues to serve as the chair of the advisory board to Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management and as a director of Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation. The residence wing, Fountain House, is named in appreciation of Fred and Elizabeth Fountain’s generous support of Dalhousie. “I am deeply honored to become your chancellor,” he said. “I’m passionate about this fine institution.”

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Convocation2008

New beginnings: Class of 2008 Graduate Studies

Global warming and climate change are top of mind for many but for Judith Lipp they are her life’s work. When she’s not examining how to transform the renewable energy market in Canada, she’s been building an off-grid, strawbale cottage near her hometown of Grafton, N.S. Ms. Lipp is completing an interdisciplinary doctoral degree in Environmental Science and Public Administration. Her research examines the policy needs for greater penetration of renewable electricity in Canada. She contrasts Canada’s developments with approaches used in other countries.

“Canada uses three times as much energy as European countries. If we are going to make an impact we need to change how we each use energy and we need to do it fast.” Ms. Lipp has investigated the role governments need to play in legislating green policies, by identifying the barriers to renewable energy development in Canada today. “Walk more, put on a sweater instead of turning up the heat, carpool, caulk around windows and doors, do an energy audit — these are small things that we all can do to reduce our energy footprint. When you’ve made the small but important changes, then look to the bigger solutions — solar energy, hot water heating systems or powering your home using wind turbines.” She has been consulted by the Nova Scotia Department of Energy, Pollution Probe and Oxford University. She assessed the full cost of Nova Scotia’s current energy mix, including environmental and social factors. Ms. Lipp’s next role will be as executive director with the Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative. Keri Irwin

College of Continuing EducationIt’s a family affair for Transition Year Program student, Carrie Lee. Ms. Lee is the third member of her family to complete the program at Dal. She follows in the footsteps of her mother and her sister (who is completing her degree in social work). Ms. Lee has enjoyed learning about the true history of her culture through the Native Studies program and the history of Indigenous Black Nova Scotians through the black studies course.

“The program has shifted my thinking,” she says. “I’m exploring new perspectives and the professors and staff are extremely supportive.” In addition, she discovered a passion for writing through her English class and tutorial — a passion she will further explore through her advanced studies. Ms. Lee will be returning in the fall, enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program with a future career goal of working for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Keri Irwin

Farewell

Over his six years as Dalhousie chancellor, Richard Goldbloom estimates he’s been to 100 convocation ceremonies and sent 25,000 Dalhousie graduates out into the world. There have been many special moments. There was the time a graduate-cum-magician made Dr. Goldbloom’s toonie disappear, then pulled it from behind his ear. Or when his granddaughter, Ellen Goldbloom, graduated from Dalhousie Medical School and later became the family’s fourth generation pediatrician. He’s greeted international students in their own language—offering a “ni hao,” hello in Mandarin or “sabbah-el-khair,” good morning in Arabic—and been rewarded with surprised giggles. And then there was the time he noticed one older-than-average graduate on a cellphone while he waited for the dean to call his name. Dr. Goldbloom thought the man was rude until he realized that he was talking to his elderly mother in British Columbia who couldn’t be part of the ceremony. As the man knelt before him to be capped, Dr. Goldbloom asked if he could call the man’s 85-year-old mother and then proceeded to chat with her from centre stage. “As chancellor, you really write your own job description,” says Dr. Goldbloom, 83, who resolved to talk to each and every student who walked across the Rebecca Cohn stage. He asks about hometowns, future plans and the highs and lows of their time spent at Dalhousie. “I remember one young woman groaning when I asked what her plans were: ‘Oh don’t ask me that,’ she tells me, ‘I just got out of bed.’

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Community leaders join the celebrationsDalhousie recognized leadership and community contributions with honorary degrees for: Robert Gillespie, a senior executive in the global consumer goods industry; Stuart Hamilton, opera voice coach and broadcaster; Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, innovative and ‘green’ urban landscape architect; Richard Seewald, researcher focusing on child-friendly hearing aids; and Matthew Warren Spence, physician and internationally recognized health research visionary. Sable Island is her home Wild horses couldn’t drag Zoe Lucas away from Sable Island. But they certainly lured her to the remote, windswept isle for a fascinating lifetime of biological research and environmental monitoring. Following her first visit in 1971, Ms. Lucas landed a job with a seal research program in Dalhousie’s psychology department. By the mid-1980s, she moved permanently to Sable, located 160 kilometres off the province’s southeast coast. Now a research associate with the Nova Scotia Museum, Ms. Lucas continues to study the horses, seals and other wildlife in their unique habitat. She monitors the beaches for sea litter and oil-contaminated birds, and conducts environmental impact studies for the offshore energy industry. Her work has appeared in many scientific journals and she is well-known for public education. Marla Cranston

And, they’re healthy tooJohn Bragg understands the true nature of success. The President and Chairman of Oxford Frozen Foods developed his company from a local, family run business to nothing short of a global phenomenon. Oxford Frozen Foods has grown into an international industry leader, specializing in wild blueberries. Mr. Bragg’s business acumen has extended to other entrepreneurial pursuits, including the Eastlink communications and entertainment company. His entrepreneurial success is balanced with a strong commitment to community, higher education and philanthropic causes, particularly higher education. In recognition of his support, the Marion McCain Arts and Social Sciences Building includes a room named in honor of the Bragg family. Dawn Morrison

It all started here There’s a curious connection between Scotiabank and Dalhousie, both among the earliest organizations established in the province. Originally, Dalhousie College was situated downtown on Halifax’s grand parade. The Bank of Nova Scotia was looking for a central business location. Two rooms in the college were rented by the bank’s board for 50 pounds a year starting on May 31, 1832, states The Scotiabank Story, A History of the Bank of Nova Scotia, 1932-1982. Shortly afterward, the entire building was converted into a cholera hospital. By July, the bank rented a stone house at the corner of Granville and Duke streets. Now there’s another connection between Dalhousie and Scotiabank. Brian Porter, executive vice-president and chief risk officer of Scotiabank, is receiving an honorary degree from his alma mater. Amid a demanding career as one of Canada’s top banking executives, Mr. Porter always makes time for his community. His management experience brings leadership and wisdom to a variety of important causes and charities. A commerce grad, he is on the Faculty of Management Advisory Board.

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ceThe shape of things to come

Dalhousie is beginning a campus planning process to provide clear direction for the university’s physical development for years to come. “The university needs a clear, concise version of how the campus should grow to align with Dalhousie’s strategic goals,” says Jeff Lamb, assistant vice-president of Facilities Management. Those goals include enhanced academic and research excellence, an enriched student experience, an increase in enrolment, the development of excellent human resources, the advancement of fundraising support and continued financial stability. “If you break them down, most of the strategic goals translate at least in part into space needs,” says President Tom Traves.

The process begins with hiring a consulting team, setting up a steering committee and a planning team. Public consultation will be carried out with students, faculty, staff and neighbours. One of the tough issues that must be dealt with in developing a master plan is the issue of deferred maintenance—estimated at more than $200 million. One of the opportunities is that everything built on campus will have to be LEED-designed and certified. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.) Mr. Lamb hopes to have a master campus plan in place by fall 2009.Mary Somers

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Upfrontoncampus

Wishes come true

Courtney Larkin recalls her most

memorable moment at Dalhousie without

hesitation: Orientation

Week. “I was extremely

shy on my first day, and very scared,” admits the native of Cole Harbour,

Nova Scotia. “I got to meet a lot of people, and

I remember meeting the VP Student Life at the time

and thinking that would be the coolest job in the world.”

Four years later, Ms. Larkin held down that very job with the Dalhousie Student Union, organizing activities to increase student spirit on campus. The special events planner was responsible for organizing the James Bond-themed Orientation Week, and a Charity Ball that raised $4,000 for the Bide Awhile Animal Shelter. Students have promoted Ms. Larkin, electing her DSU president. It’s a fitting role for a student who declared herself a Dalhousian at a far younger age than most. “I remember shows or performances at the Rebecca Cohn, and thinking ‘I want to go here,’” she says. “I was probably 12.” A course in entrepreneurship inspired her to work toward a management degree. “I love my program,” she says. “We do group projects all the time and it’s a lot of creative stuff, which I really enjoy.”Ryan McNutt

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It’s been 37 years since Leonard Cohen stepped onstage at the Dalhousie Arts Centre — in May, 1971 — at one of the first convocations in the Cohn Auditorium. The campus was expanding and the groundwork was being established for the Dalhousie we recognize today. The university celebrated the new Dalhousie Arts Centre by awarding honorary degrees to prominent artists. The debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen had appeared to critical acclaim in 1967 featuring the still-popular songs Suzanne and Sisters of Mercy. The University News, in its first year of operation in 1971, captured the moment with the newly minted graduate: “Dr. Leonard Cohen, of Montreal: a poet, author and folk singer.” Flash forward to May 2008 and the foyer is again packed with fans. Tickets were snapped up so quickly that five performances were eventually scheduled for the Cohn Auditorium. Dr. Cohen is famous for declining interviews. But, perhaps the last word should still go to the “arch bard of miserablism” (as described by The Guardian in 2006) from his self-deprecating and humorous Tower of Song. “My friends are gone, my hair is grey, I ache in the places where I used to play. Now I bid you farewell, I don’t know when I’ll be back I told you when I came I was a stranger” Amanda Pelham

The wheels are turningMembers of a new Society for Bicycle Advocacy at Dalhousie say they want a revolution. The group is hoping to acquire a permanent space on campus where students can come to learn about cycle safety, find parts, get help with repairs and learn routes to and from school. The society is also lobbying for better cycling infrastructure on campus, such as bike paths and racks, and is also investigating a bicycle sharing program that would make bikes available for short trips between the three campuses. Students Neskie Manuel and Dave Bethune believe such measures would raise the comfort level and involvement of many would-be cyclists, whether they need a helping hand or handlebars. Jessica Wishart

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Weighing in on poutine

When Halifax’s Citadel High School banned junk food in favour of healthier cafeteria fare, some students crossed the road to get their fix. But it wasn’t a fast food restaurant that served them the fries, burgers and pop that they craved — it was a hospital cafeteria. This got Dr. Rob Stevenson thinking about the cafeteria’s poutine, a mélange of French fries and cheese curds, smothered in gravy. Why would a hospital serve poutine? Dr. Stevenson, a cardiology resident with Dalhousie Medical School, and a group of colleagues from the hospital crossed the same road to check out the high school’s healthy offerings. After local press coverage, the hospital responded there were healthy choices at the point of sale and there would be changes.

Next, he wrote a newspaper column about hospitals and junk food offerings that prompted discussions from Simon Fraser University to the University of New Brunswick. Toronto blogger and physician Yoni Freedhoff described him as “… an example of a young new doc, using his voice.” Dr. Stevenson says there has been amazing support at the QEII, with an open dialogue established with the administration as they work together to find a way forward. “Public Health and the Department of Health Promotion and Prevention have also been very helpful,” he says. “Change happens in an instant,” he adds. “Every day is the perfect day to stop serving fries and doughnuts.” Dawn Morrison

Upfrontoncampus

Perish, then

publish

It’s been a son’s dilemma that’s fascinated people worldwide: What should Dmitri Nabokov do with his father Vladimir Nabokov’s unfinished last novel, languishing these past 30 years in a Swiss bank vault? Should he burn the manuscript for The Original of Laura—as were his express deathbed instructions—or publish it? The controversy was recently taken up on the pages of The Times. Save it, argued novelist John Banville. Burn it, decreed Tom Stoppard. The editor of a new Dalhousie academic journal, Nabokov Online Journal, stepped right in the middle of the controversy when the journal obtained an exclusive interview with Dmitri in January and posed the burn-or-not-to-burn question. Just hours before the 2008 edition of the journal was to be deployed on April 23rd, Nabokov’s birthday, professor Yuri Leving was able to update the story with Dmitri’s definitive answer. “I have toyed with the idea … of being an obedient son and destroying the manuscript. On the other hand wouldn’t it be fun, before my time does run out, to have a last spin in a remaining Ferrari or in my fast boat?” responds the 73-year-old Nabokov, the Lolita author’s sole surviving heir. He continues: “All kidding aside … I shall publish.” Marilyn Smulders

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Chelsea Nisbett

Battling superbugs

Our greatest adversary may be a bug. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, or MRSA, is a superbug bacterium that killed more North Americans last year than HIV or AIDS. Now a Dalhousie professor is creating a battle plan. “Superbugs are opportunistic pathogens affecting people with weakened immune systems,” says David Jakeman, associate professor at the College of Pharmacy. Dr. Jakeman is researching natural compounds produced by Streptomyces venezuelae, a soil-based microbe, that appears effective against staph infections. This is promising research in discovering an antibiotic to battle MRSA. The unexpected discovery, during cancer research of the compounds was “serendipitous,” says Dr. Jakeman. “It’s important to evaluate natural compounds in a variety of different assays.” “Research into antibiotics isn’t considered new science because of the success in killing classic bugs,” says Dr. Jakeman, and although it’s far from a cure, he believes this work will bring greater research and focus to defeating superbugs. Billy Comeau

Zap, tuition is frozenWinter may officially be over, but that didn’t stop the Nova Scotia government from announcing a freeze that will benefit all university students in the province. At Province House, Dalhousie University President Tom Traves, representing the Council of Nova Scotia University Presidents, and Education Minister Karen Casey signed a new memorandum of understanding. The province pledges to spend $180 million more in direct funding to its 11 universities over the next three years and establish a $66 million Nova Scotia University Student Bursary Trust. For students, the increase in funding means an across-the-board tuition freeze until 2011. For the next three years, all Nova Scotia students studying in the province will receive a bursary to further reduce their tuition: a maximum per-student benefit of $761 in 2008-09, $1,022 in 2009-10 and $1,283 in 2010-11. The average tuition for these students is expected to reach the national average in 2010-11. While not eligible for the same reductions, out-of-province and international students will still benefit from the tuition freeze and will also receive a bursary of $261 in 2010-11. This is so the differential in tuition between students from Nova Scotia and those from elsewhere does not exceed $1,000. The three-year funding arrangement allows universities like Dalhousie a better opportunity to plan ahead and confront the challenges they face with greater assurance, says Dr. Traves. Ryan McNutt

Yellow Submarine

It floats like a bird. It looks like a plane. But don’t look up in the sky if you’re expecting to find these gliders – recast your gaze to the deep blue sea, where a Beatles-like “yellow submarine” can be found soaring beneath the waves. The Slocum Glider takes its nickname from Joshua Slocum, a Nova Scotian who was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. And like its namesake, the unmanned glider is amazingly independent. It can dive for days or even weeks before being recovered. It conserves energy by using ocean currents while it “glides” up and down through the water, reaching the surface to send data to researchers via satellite. And, best of all, it’s considerably cheaper and more energy-efficient than commissioning ships to canvas the ocean for days on end. No wonder Marlon Lewis calls gliders “the future of oceanography.” “You see much more detail than you would ever see in a ship,” explains the oceanography professor and founder of Satlantic Incorporated. “They can take measurements with higher resolution and can travel in far worse conditions. They’re pretty amazing.” Dr. Lewis and his fellow Dalhousie oceanographers John Cullen and Katja Fennel spent March and April this year checking their computers for daily updates from an RU15 Slocum Glider making its way through the Atlantic Ocean from New Jersey to Nova Scotia. Launched by a team of colleagues at Rutgers University — world leaders in working with these devices — the RU15 was embarking on its longest journey to date, pushing the boundaries of how far this technology can go. During its two-month journey, it survived a storm with eight-metre seas, got caught in a warm core ring, and had a close call with a Gulf Stream meander. It was recovered 30 nautical miles offshore of Halifax by a team from Dalhousie and Satlantic, after completing a voyage of 2,600 km, measuring over 2,150 vertical oceanographic profiles. Plans are for three similar gliders to be purchased and utilized as part of the Dalhousie-led Ocean Tracking Network. Ryan McNutt

clubclubCULTURE

by marilyn smulders

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The guy driving the baggage cart is whistling. The customer service representative click

clacks on high heels around the counter to

lift a heavy bag on the carousel for an elderly man.

The flight attendant cracks jokes on the trip

across the country: “Let me remind you this is a

nonsmoking flight, as are all WestJet flights,” she says

as the airplane lifts off. “If you’re caught smoking,

you’ll be asked to leave the aircraft immediately.”

And, at WestJet’s head office in Calgary, the front-desk

receptionist sings out a sunny “good morning!”

When comedian Rick Mercer investigated the

“hysterically happy WestJetters” phenomenon

on his TV show, he approached a smiling

ticket agent for the airline with some

frustration: “Has a memo gone out?”

Rest assured, says the Dal grad

in charge of the place, there’s no Kool-

Aid in the water coolers, no “don’t

worry, be happy” memo. But with a wry

smile, Sean Durfy professes to bleeding

corporate-coloured, teal blood.

“You either believe in the place or

you don’t; you’ll know pretty much within

the first six months of working here,” says

Mr. Durfy (BCom ’89), president and CEO

of WestJet. “It is really is about aligning the

interests of our people with the interests of

the company. It’s all about our culture.”

WestJet’s mission, vision and value

statements—the same ones mounted

and displayed in the lobby—hang from

the lanyard around his neck. The

mission is “to enrich the lives

of everyone in WestJet’s

world by providing safe, friendly and affordable

air travel.” The vision is to be one of the five most

successful international airlines in the world by 2016.

Top five in the world—isn’t that overreaching? Just

on the basis of its bottom line, WestJet has already

achieved its vision. With a 16 per cent operating margin,

WestJet ranks as the fourth most profitable airline in

the world, behind Ireland’s Ryanair, Panama’s Copa and

Malaysia’s AirAsia. It’s an amazing accomplishment,

given that the upstart company only took to the skies 12

years ago with three planes flying to five destinations.

Now having a market value at more than $2 billion, the

low-cost carrier has 74 Boeing next-generation 737s,

employs 7,000 people and has played host to 11.9 million

“guests,” in WestJet lingo.

The company recently underwent an expansion

with the launch of WestJet Vacations; it now flies to 27

destinations in Canada, 12 in the United States and seven

hotspots in the Caribbean, including Mazatlan, Mexico;

Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Nassau in the Bahamas.

WestJet’s carefully managed growth is all the more

impressive considering the turbulence that’s plagued the

airline business in recent years, including the security and

safety concerns raised in the wake of 9/11. Indeed, WestJet

has survived and thrived when many other low-cost

airlines—Greyhound Air, Roots Air, Royal, CanJet, Jetsgo

and Canada 3000—were grounded when profits never took

off. Even Air Canada was affected, filing for bankruptcy

protection in 2003 after suffering a string of heavy losses,

emerging as a leaner, more efficient airline. But now as the

skies clear over Canada, the turbulence continues south of

the border, with a downturn in the U.S. economy cutting into

travel demand. Delta, one of the biggest U.S. airlines, has just

cut back on its workforce. American Airlines recently had to

cancel more than 3,000 flights because of maintenance issues.

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continued on p.12

Airline Weekly, the trade paper for the airline industry, documented WestJet’s success

in March under the headline, “BestJet: What makes WestJet one of the world’s most

successful airlines?” With the salutation “Hello WestJetters,” Mr. Durfy forwarded the story

to every employee. He’s tickled about “BestJet” and likes to use it himself.

“For me, it’s never been about nice planes and comfortable leather seats,” says Mr.

Durfy, 42, a Calgarian by way of Corner Brook, Nfld. “I just get juiced by the people we’ve

got here and what we’re offering.”

He’s actually still settling into the place and the position—the corner office with

the sign in the hallway which simply says “Sean and Hugh.” (Hugh is Hugh Dunleavy,

executive vice-president for commercial distribution.) The windows, offering a scenic

view of the parking lot below, are lined with photographs: five-year-old daughter Kennedy

at the Calgary Stampede; Kennedy at a Calgary Flames game; 15-month-old son Reilly in

wife Tracy’s arms; Mr. Durfy and Mr. Mercer taken during the fellow Newfoundlander’s

WestJet “investigation”; and with friends at a Great Big Sea concert in Calgary. He has

another photo of himself that he keeps close by but tucked away in a desk drawer—he’s

10 years younger and 50 pounds heavier.

“I was 33 years old and I looked like I was 50. I was told at the Foothills Medical

Centre that I was bound for a heart attack unless I made some dramatic changes. So I try

very hard to keep a balance in my life,” he says. He runs most mornings before arriving at

work around 9 a.m. and returns home in time to give the kids their baths and read their

bedtime stories. During this interview, he sips vegetable juice from a rinsed roll-up-the-

rim cup.

Mr. Durfy arrived at WestJet four years ago on the invitation of the company’s

energetic founder Clive Beddoe, a real-estate developer and pilot who led the company

through a period of explosive growth. At the time, Mr. Durfy had spent 10 years in the

Alberta energy industry, where he was president and chief operating officer of ENMAX

Corporation, the energy utility for the City of Calgary. He and Tracy were looking for a

change; they had drawn up a business plan and were going to buy and operate a hotel in

the Caribbean when a friend called with a suggestion, “Why don’t you meet this guy Clive

Beddoe?”

A 20-minute meeting turned into two hours and by the end of it, Mr. Durfy wanted

to join WestJet’s executive team. He did in December 2004, as executive vice-president

for sales, marketing and airports. He became WestJet president in September 2006 and

added chief executive officer to his title last September, as Mr. Beddoe moved to become

chairman of the company’s board of directors.

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It really is about aligning the interests of our people with the interests of the company. It’s all about our culture. He winces as he admits it, but he didn’t really get

WestJet’s down-home corporate culture at first. Within

months of his arrival, he was ready to go ahead with

a $6-million, national advertising campaign dubbed

“WestJetiquette.” Described as witty and tongue-in-cheek,

the campaign included three TV spots outlining the dos

and don’ts of flying on WestJet. In one ad passengers

are told: “Do love WestJet’s leather seats, but don’t get

romantic with them.”

“Kind of at the last moment, we thought, ‘Let’s show

our folks,’ and we had a big meeting in the hangar,” recalls

Mr. Durfy. “The reaction was very strong—they thought

I was making fun (of them). I thought I was going to be

killed by the angry mob.”

He pulled the campaign the day before it was due

to air, and rolled up his sleeves to lead development on

a new one.

“It was a hard lesson. They were telling me, ‘You don’t

get us yet.’”

Within six weeks, the marketing team shaped the

highly successful “Because Owners Care” campaign, with

the now-familiar line, “Why do WestJetters care so much?

Because we’re also WestJet owners.” Folksy, fun, even a

little corny, the campaign reflects the pride employees

have in the company; more than 84 per cent of them

are WestJet shareholders. They can dedicate up to 20

continued on p.13

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per cent of their salary in share purchases, an amount

matched by the company. They’re also encouraged to offer

input on how the airline runs. One of the ads features a

flight attendant rocking a crying baby in the aisle; when

she returns the baby to arms of the exhausted parents,

everyone in the cabin is snoozing, too. Another ad—the

one mercilessly parodied on This Hour Has 22 Minutes

and the Rick Mercer Report—features the efficient flight

attendant who not only returns a passenger’s briefcase left

behind on the plane, she pumps up his power-point.

The ideas behind Because Owners Care have

led WestJet to top the annual list of Canada’s 10 most

admired corporate cultures three years in a row. Other

companies to receive the designation, from Waterstone

Human Capital, include Four Seasons Hotels, Boston

Pizza International and the Royal Bank of Canada. When

Mr. Durfy heard about the latest honour, he was in a

customer-service-rep’s uniform at the Calgary airport

pitching in during the holiday rush.

WestJet’s caring attitude is not for show, like the

best set of china that gets dusted off for company. It’s

something the airline’s employees believe in passionately.

And, since Mr. Durfy “learned his lesson,” they believe in

him, too.

In the hangar, scene of his comeuppance,

maintenance workers checking over a 737 are

heckling their boss as he gets his photograph taken for

the magazine.

“This place is a lot different from other companies.

I mean, look at the guy,” says Duane “Potts” Potekal with

a glance in Mr. Durfy’s direction—he’s standing on the

wing of the plane. “You never see the bigwigs unless

they’re coming to say ‘We’re shutting you down.’ He knows

our names. He comes and talks to us.”

WestJetter Vern Guenther admits to some

apprehension when he heard the respected Mr. Beddoe

was stepping down.

“Sean had to learn the WestJet culture, but (Clive

Beddoe) taught him well,” he says. “That campaign

he showed us, oh it was funny and all that, it just

wasn’t us. But he nailed it on the head with the Owners

Care campaign.”

“If you’re going to work at an airline, you want

to work at WestJet,” adds Lorraine Stewart, from Cape

Breton, while cleaning the cockpit. “He sets the pace.

From us little old cleaners to the pilots, we all really like

being WestJetters.”

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As the kid from Corner Brook, Sean Durfy says coming to Dalhousie was the formative experience of his life. “It defined me as a person, I would say,” says Mr. Durfy, president and CEO of WestJet. He’s one of Dalhousie’s biggest boosters in Calgary, dressing his children in Dal sweatshirts and hosting functions for Alberta students who are deciding where to go after high school. While at Dalhousie, he enjoyed Halifax’s night-life and made a wide circle of friends. But he also learned to manage his time efficiently and pull off good marks. But not always—he got a failing grade on his first-year marketing class, a mark that only made him more determined. (“I was made to feel like a meathead,” he rails. “I thought, screw that, I’ll make marketing my major.”) He graduated in 1989 with a double major in marketing and finance and was the valedictorian of his class. Frederick G. Crane, now at Northeastern University in Boston, remembers being impressed with Mr. Durfy’s drive and entrepreneurial spirit. He has stayed in touch with his former student and features his leadership role at WestJet in his textbook, Marketing (McGraw-Hill Publishing). “I’ve taught him everything he knows,” he jokes. “But seriously,” he continues. “I believe he is a shining example of the type of education students receive at Dalhousie … Clearly, Sean’s energy and innovativeness have helped WestJet become a major brand in its category. A combination of his innate abilities and the education he received are the platform of his success.”

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In a guest editorial for the Dalhousie Gazette in 1939,

Lucy Maud Montgomery—by then beloved the world

over as the writer of the Anne and Emily books—

offered some advice for wannabe authors.

“Write, I beseech you, of things cheerful, of things

lovely, of things of good report,” she implored to a new

generation of Dalhousie students. “Don’t write about the

pigsties because they are ‘real.’ Rose gardens and pine

woods and mountain peaks towering to the stars are just

as real and just as plentiful.”

L.M. Montgomery followed her own advice, writing

of cherry trees “thickset with blossoms,” lakes of shining

waters and “tremulous grasses” in her debut novel, Anne

of Green Gables. Five publishers rejected it before the

Boston-based L.C. Page Co. published it in 1908. It was

embraced by readers a century ago and by generations

ever since. A year later, L.C. Page published Anne of

Avonlea, the first of seven Anne sequels.

But until now, there’s never been an Anne prequel.

Two years ago, with the Anne of Green Gables centenary

approaching, Nova Scotian author Budge Wilson got a

phone call from Helen Reeves, an editor at Penguin.

“Out of the blue she says, ‘We’d like you to do the

prequel to Anne of Green Gables. Will you do it?’” recounts

Mrs. Wilson (BA 1949, BEd 1953). Penguin was also planning a

100th anniversary collector’s edition, a lavishly illustrated tome

examining L.M. Montgomery’s scrapbooks by Elizabeth Rollins

Epperly (MA 1974).

B E T W E E N T H E L I N E S

by marilyn smulders

continued on p.15

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“I was dumbfounded. I think I said something

really milquetoast, like ‘I’d like to think about it.’”

Her instinct was to say no. She had another book

she wanted to write—a collection of poems touching on

the crash of Swissair Flight 111 ten years ago. The Anne

task was too intimidating and she wasn’t up to dealing

with the legions of ardent fans who regard the beguiling,

red-haired, freckle-faced Anne Shirley as sacrosanct. She

also worried that L.M. Montgomery might not want her

to do it.

But then she reread Anne of Green Gables, a book

she enjoyed at age nine and loved all the more at 79. The

lively book also contains some interesting clues about

the orphan girl’s early history in Nova Scotia, a dark

current of death, deprivation and hard labour. The “bald

facts,” according to Anne, include her parents’ deaths by

fever, being taken in by the housekeeper Mrs. Thomas

“though she was poor and had a drunken husband,” and

then handed over to another family, the Hammonds, to

help care for eight children under the age of five—two

wee ones plus “twins three times in succession.”

There are echoes of Anne’s history in L.M.

Montgomery’s own far-from-storybook life. Born in

1874 in Clifton, P.E.I., she had a lonely childhood. When

she was a baby of 21 months, her mother Clara died of

tuberculosis and her father left her behind to be raised

by strict grandparents. He moved on to Saskatchewan

and remarried.

As a young woman, L.M. Montgomery was flooded

with marriage proposals by more than a dozen suitors.

In her 30s, she finally accepted the proposal of Ewen

Macdonald, the Presbyterian clergyman who came to

Cavendish; writing in her journal, she wrote she felt like

a “hopeless prisoner” on her wedding day. Later, her

husband suffered long bouts of mental illness that she

tried to keep covered up so he could keep his job.

The pigsties in Lucy Maud’s life were real: “I read

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s journal and realized what

an exceedingly unhappy life she had,” says Mrs. Wilson,

now age 81. “Anne had endured a lot, too. Montgomery

herself gave hints of these things but she never pursued

them. I think she didn’t want to do it. It was just too sad.”

But there was enough tantalizing detail in what the

11-year-old Anne reveals to the spinster Marilla to build

a story and puzzle out how Anne came to be so feisty

and articulate. Mrs. Wilson, like Marilla, “was shrewd

enough to read between the lines of Anne’s history and

divine the truth.”

Once decided, Mrs. Wilson put pen to paper. She

wrote the 71 chapters of Before Green Gables in 71

days, finishing the draft on her 80th birthday. She wrote

in longhand with her arthritic hand—“sometimes I

would hear it scrunch” —from her perch on her bed,

mostly in the little fish house by the shore of her home

in Northwest Cove on St. Margaret’s Bay. As the pages

drifted one by one to the floor by the bed, she jotted

down questions for her historian husband, Alan Wilson:

How did people travel in 19th-century Nova Scotia? What

shoes did they wear in the winter? Had the egg beater

been invented yet?

She also creates a bleak picture of life for women,

who birthed and buried babies, scrubbed clothes, kept

house, tended livestock and tilled fields in backwoods

continued on p.16

Nova Scotia. Mrs. Wilson could relate to the sense of

profound isolation she creates on her pages; it wasn’t all

that different from when she and her husband moved

to the old house in Northwest Cove in the early 1950s.

There was no electricity, no running water, no telephone.

Mrs. Wilson did the laundry in a galvanized tub using a

plunger with holes in it. “It was about eight years before

we had running water,” she remarks. “This stuff just

didn’t seem odd to me.”

But there is sunshine among the dark shadows

of Before Green Gables. Mrs. Wilson picks up on the

imaginary friends Anne mentions in Anne of Green

Gables—her reflection “Katie Maurice” in the “enchanted

bookcase” at the Thomas house and the echo she names

“Violetta” when she escapes for fleeting moments from

diaper duty at the Hammonds. She also creates new

characters and fleshes them out: Miss Henderson, the

schoolteacher who awakens her inquisitive mind; and

the reclusive Egg Man, who gives her five new words a

week in exchange for her company.

Mrs. Wilson came to love creating the book, even as

she was hurried through the editing process and “clung

on by my fingernails” to save it from drastic cuts. Then,

the draft went to pre-eminent Montgomery scholar

Elizabeth Rollins Epperly, who recalls opening the

package with trembling fingers.

“What if I hate it? What if she doesn’t have Anne?”

says Ms. Epperly, professor emerita and former president

of the University of Prince Edward Island. “Fifteen pages

in, I started to relax. I got really caught up in the story

… She had captured Anne and that was the task.”

The two authors (both Dal alumnae as was L.M.

Montgomery) met while Mrs. Wilson was doing a

reading in Charlottetown and conversed frequently on

the phone during the writing of Before Green Gables.

“After I finished it, spent, I ran to the phone, you

know with tears in my voice, saying ‘You did it, you did

it!’ I hear Budge on the other end of the line, ‘Um, who is

this?’”

Before Green Gables was launched at the Royal

Ontario Museum in Toronto last February and the

backlash Mrs. Wilson dreaded never came. Even

skeptical reviewers have mostly been won over, as have

the fans. “I did end up liking the book more than I

thought I would,” admits “AvFan4vr”, a sentiment that’s

repeated again and again on the Avonlea Message Board.

Yuka Kajihara, a member of Buttercups, the oldest and

largest Montgomery fan club in Japan, says she picked

up Before Green Gables fully prepared to hate it but

ended up with grudging admiration for Mrs. Wilson.

“Producing a biography of the early Anne must have

been difficult,” says Ms. Kajihara, who runs the blog

Yukazine, exploring all things Montgomery. “I appreciate

her gentle, warm eyes towards adult characters whose

lives appear amazingly harsh to modern readers. Like

Montgomery, Wilson peppers fairy tale essences which

nicely blend with realism in the story.”

Ms. Epperly believes readers of Before Green Gables

will dive right back into the pages of Anne of Green

Gables. “You just hope desperately she gets someplace

where she’s going to be loved. Of course you know

it’s going to happen, but it’s so wonderful to immerse

yourself in that world again and realize that it’s as

beautiful and as colourful as you’d like for Anne.”

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I got really caught up in the story...she had captured Anne...

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A room of their own

Lucy Maud Montgomery had the time of her life

studying English literature at what was then

Dalhousie College in 1895-96. Maud, as she

was called by her friends, saved her teacher’s salary

for an entire year to pay the tuition; she reveled

in the challenge of her studies, the intellectually

stimulating conversations and the proximity to

Point Pleasant Park where she loved to stroll.

It was a time when her talents as a writer

were first being recognized. In one week in 1896,

her short stories and poems were accepted in three

different publications: “$5 + $5 + $12!” she wrote.

“I really feel quite bloated by so much wealth.”

Her affection for Dalhousie comes through on the

pages of her scrapbooks, in the snips of black-and-gold

ribbon, newspaper clippings, convocation programs

and fin-de-siecle fashion illustrations of women

wearing satin gowns with glorious puffed sleeves.

Montgomery scholar Elizabeth Rollins Epperly,

a Dal alum herself (MA 1974), writes about the

scrapbooks and the profound influence they have on

L.M. Montgomery’s fiction, in Imagining Anne (Penguin

Canada). Like Budge Wilson’s Before Green Gables,

the beautiful book has been released to coincide with

the 100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables.

“She wrote about Dalhousie in her journals and it’s

there in her scrapbooks,” says Ms. Epperly—Betsy to her

friends. “She looks back on it so fondly. And, of course,

she fleshes out the experience in Anne of the Island,

calling Dalhousie ‘Redmond College.’ The year she spends

at Dalhousie turns into a full-fledged BA for Anne.”

While at Dalhousie College, L.M. Montgomery boarded

at the Halifax Ladies College, an imposing mansion that

used to stand on the south-end of Barrington Street. At

one point, after a bout of measles, she was moved out

of the infirmary to a tiny white room on a floor called

“third-and-a-half,” which included only five rooms.

Even after she recuperated, she asked to remain.

During the writing of Before Green Gables, Mrs.

Wilson and Ms. Epperly discussed the author’s stay at

the Halifax Ladies College. And it struck Mrs. Wilson:

she believes she stayed in the same room when she

was a student at the school half a century later.

“I actually feel shivery thinking of it,” says Mrs.

Wilson, whose parents transferred her to the school

because she was constantly sick while attending

what was then LeMarchant Street School. (Her Grade

2 class there had 66 children compared to the six

students at the ladies college.) “The room was very,

very white: a white bedspread, white chair, white

lamp. If Montgomery was in that room and didn’t

want to leave it, she was happy there. I was also so

fond of that room. It is still very vivid to me today.”

Mrs. Wilson surmises that when L.M. Montgomery

was imagining Anne’s room in Green Gables, she was

remembering the little room at the Ladies College.

Described at the beginning of the 1908 novel as “painfully

bare” and “of a rigidity not to be described in words,”

Anne comes to regard the room as a peaceful sanctuary,

where she would sit and daydream at the open window.

“I feel in my bones that it was the same room,”

says Mrs. Wilson.

Ms. Epperly finds the connection spooky. “I can’t

say definitively because I never saw that room. But

I think authors have intuition about these things.

And I would trust Budge’s instincts on that.”

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TURNING IDEALS INTO REALITYThe ‘millennials’ are coming to an office near you

by r

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They may be young, but they’re got drive and

enthusiasm to spare. They grew up juggling after-

school activities with busy social lives. They’ve

got iPods and cell phones locked to their hip. They’ve

been raised to achieve and are motivated to make an

impact on the world around them. And whether you’re

a “Boomer” nearing retirement or a “Gen Xer” making

your way up the corporate ladder, you’d best make room.

The millennials are coming to a workplace near you.

Born in the 1980s and early 1990s, the millennial

generation – or “generation Y” as it’s often called — is

making its way through universities and out into the

labour market in numbers unseen since the baby

boom came of age. Instead of fighting for jobs, as was

the experience of graduates in years past, there’s a

good chance that the jobs will be fighting for them.

“You have to take business cycles into account,

of course,” qualifies Jim McNiven, a retired professor

with the School of Public Administration. “But

over the long term — seven, eight, 10 years —

there will be real competition for these people,

which is totally different than in the past.”

The reason: a labour shortage that has significant

implications for Canada’s economy. Like most developed

countries, Canada’s birth rate is below replacement. “This

may be the first year where more people end up leaving

the workforce than entering it,” Dr. McNiven points out.

He’s crunched the numbers and concludes Nova

Scotia will likely run out of available labour needed to

continue its current rate of economic growth in 2015, a

mere seven years away. This “zero point” varies across the

country — Quebec and Ontario will likely hit it sooner,

the Prairie provinces later — but it’s a national problem.

The possible solutions to this looming crisis

— which include encouraging immigration, raising

participation rates and increasing productivity —

don’t preclude the role millennials will play in the

changing economy. Employers desperate for talent will

be working hard to recruit millennials into key roles

alongside up to three other generations of workers.

This poses challenges for employers and

employees alike. Kirby Nickerson graduated two

years ago from Engineering and had the opportunity

to stay in Nova Scotia to work with Michelin.

While his various co-op experiences prepared him

well for his technician’s job, there was a learning

curve when it came to integrating with coworkers

significantly older and more experienced than him.

“As a young engineer coming in, it took a

fair amount of time to prove myself,” he says.

“I’m here to help and improve the company, sure,

but I also know that there’s a lot to be gained in

learning from my coworkers’ experience.”

Companies are working hard to figure out strategies

to best integrate millennials like Mr. Nickerson into their

workforces, explains Adwoa K. Buahene. She’s a managing

partner with n-gen, a performance consulting company,

and the co-author of the book Loyalty Unplugged:

How to Get, Keep & Grow All Four Generations (Xlibris

Corporation). Ms. Buahene expects that millennials will

“revolutionize” the way we work as organizations shift

their culture to meet new employees halfway.

TURNING IDEALS INTO REALITYThe ‘millennials’ are coming to an office near you

by r

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Employers desperate for talent will be working hard to recruit millennials into key roles alongside up to three other generations of workers.

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continued on p.20

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“We’re learning that they can afford to be choosy

about who they come on board with and who offers

them the best fit from a work-life balance perspective,”

says Gail Seipp, a Dalhousie graduate who now manages

on-campus recruiting for Frito Lay Canada. Her

company now offers a flexible work-life balance policy

that tries to find solutions benefiting both employee

and employer. “If an employee suggests an idea on how

Frito-Lay can improve his or her work-life balance, we

work to support the employee to make it happen.”

“Companies are looking at their people practices

and saying, ‘Do we really tap into the motivations,

behaviours and expectations of all four generations?’”

says Ms. Buahene. “They’re also changing their

recruitment and hiring practices accordingly.”

This competition for tomorrow’s talent

means the days of relying on a job ad alone

to attract students are numbered.

“It’s not enough,” says Laura Addicott,

director of Dalhousie’s Career Services Centre.

“It’s still very integral, but it’s just the mechanism

by which the final connection is made. The rest of

the process has to be relationship building.”

Facilitating relationships between students and

employers is increasingly central to the Career Services

Centre’s mandate. In her decade with the office formerly

known as the Student Employment Centre, Ms. Addicott

has seen dramatic changes in how companies and

organizations are working to recruit university students.

“We had to do a lot more work in those days to

encourage people to recruit students from Dalhousie,

and I’m sure my colleagues across the country would

say the same thing,” she says. “Today, their tactics are

changing. The quality of the production material and its

messaging is dramatically improving. They’re trying to

understand their audience, give them what they want, and

are working through units like ours to reach them better.”

In the 21st century, universities like Dalhousie

are a magnet for corporate, government and non-

profit recruitment. During this past academic year,

215 organizations presented at campus-wide career

fairs, 180 employers participated in other career

activities on campus and over 15,000 jobs were

Do we really tap into the motivations, behaviours and expectations of all four generations?

continued on p.21

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posted to the Career Services Centre’s website.

One of the most successful employer information

sessions this past year was organized by Health

Canada, attracting nearly 100 students to learn about

job opportunities for BSc graduates. Its hook: joining

senior management representatives were comedians

from the Second City comedy troupe, adding a lighter

touch to the government department’s pitch.

“Sending a bunch of 45- or 50-year-olds in

suits by themselves to talk to students is probably

not a winning approach in hiring new recruits,”

acknowledges Health Canada’s Cathy Peters, who

managed the national recruitment drive. “It’s a new

way of promoting ourselves that is a little more

natural, fun and upbeat, while still getting our message

across about what we do and why it matters.”

Priya Verma was one of the students hired in that

recruitment drive and she is moving to Ottawa to work

as a scientific regulator. Health Canada is a good fit for

her ambitions: she wants no less than to play a major

role in shaping national and international health policy

in the future. When talking to prospective employers,

she’s looking for a sense of what she can contribute and

how the organization can help her achieve her goals.

“I want to know that, as a new graduate, I’m not

going just to be getting someone’s coffee or being

somebody’s assistant, but actually be valued for my

information and my capacity to contribute,” she explains.

“I need to know what my opportunities are going to be.”

Interactions with employers aren’t limited

to job fairs and information sessions. For Tokes

Bakinson, who graduated this spring with her

MBA, the term “elevator pitch” took on a whole

new meaning when a casual conversation with a

recruiter traveling on the Rowe building elevator

made an impression. It led to her current job in

Calgary as a financial analyst with Imperial Oil.

“I was just casually chatting and he turned out to be

an employer!” she laughs as she recalls her conversation.

Ms. Bakinson, like many of her peers, has big

plans: she wants to travel and hopefully work for

an international non-profit organization. But she

sees her new position as an ideal launching point

for her career. “The thing about having a plan is

flexibility,” she says. “It’s actually written in sand,

and can even be washed away at times. But it helps

me focus, knowing that I have an outline.”

In many ways, Ms. Bakinson has mapped

out the ideal roadmap for the millennial

generation, one that balances between planning

ahead and embracing opportunity.

“There’s so much choice available today,” concludes

Ms. Addicott. “It’s not the struggle it may have been in the

past for some generations, and it isn’t the narrow path

that people may have taken or have seen

to take in the past. When there’s so

much choice, why not try to explore?

Graduates can turn their goals

into reality — the opportunity

is out there in today’s market.”

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Improving the health of our Maritime communityThe vision that energizes the Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine is a commitment to improve the health of our community, while educating the caring and competent physicians and researchers required nationally and internationally.continued on p.23

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And so to bed: To sleep, perchance to dream

While many of us take a refreshing night’s

sleep for granted, as many as one in four

Canadians suffer from some form of sleep

disorder: insomnia, night terrors, restless leg syndrome,

excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep apnea.

“Whatever the cause of sleep loss, it can have

serious consequences,” says Rachael Morehouse,

medical director at the Atlantic Health Sciences

Sleep Centre at the Saint John Regional Hospital.

Given the prevalence of sleep and light-

related disorders, Dr. Morehouse is on a mission

to educate medical students, family physicians

and other health professionals about sleep’s

critical role in mental and physical health.

“There’s a lack of capacity in the system to

handle sleep problems,” she says. “There are so many

different potential causes of insomnia, for instance,

that treatment needs to be tailored to the individual.”

To spread the word, she’s created an educational CD-

ROM and participates in monthly videoconference case

reviews with colleagues throughout the Maritimes.

“Sleep loss increases the risk of depression,

workplace and motor vehicle-related injuries. It can

also lead to impaired job or school performance and

relationship difficulties,” says Dr. Morehouse.

Public awareness about sleep is also important.

“Most people are running on one or two hours

less sleep than they really need,” she says.

Critical thinking improves patient safety

A few years back, as head of a busy local emergency

department, Pat Croskerry began to analyze

the causes of medical error — a phenomenon, then

rarely discussed. Today he is one of Canada’s leading

experts in the burgeoning field of patient safety.

“It’s very important,” he says, “for physicians

to think critically about how information is being

presented, not just by patients, who can lead you

down the garden path, but by physicians’ own

colleagues and by people in other professions —

nurses, paramedics. We can all mislead each other.”

Drawing on his expertise in experimental and

clinical psychology, he has assessed and categorized

types of mistakes and published papers on how

physicians think. He found they were often led astray

by snap judgments about patients, dismissal of data

inconsistent with a diagnosis, insufficient patient history-

taking, and even the influence of persuasive colleagues

who may have made inaccurate initial assessments.

On his initiative, Dalhousie became Canada’s

first medical school to bring medical error into the

undergraduate and resident curricula. He organized

Canada’s first clinical gathering on medical error,

called the Halifax Symposium, in 2000. Today he

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is a widely sought clinical consultant and media

spokesperson on patient safety, and Chair of the Nova

Scotia Healthcare Safety Advisory Committee.

“In Canada the number of people who die from

adverse events in the health care system each year

has been estimated to be up to 25,000. And you have

to think that at least half of those could be prevented

by having the right systems in place and people

looking at things the right way,” says Dr. Croskerry.

Ethicists take novel approach

Are psychotrophic drugs changing the parameters of

normal human behaviour? Should we allow scientists

to create chimeras — new beings from an amalgam of

animal and human materials — for disease and stem cell

research? What is the common good and how should it

guide pandemic planning? What about inter-generational

justice in this brave new world of medical science?

At Dalhousie, some of Canada’s best minds are

sorting through some of the most vexing ethical

issues at the frontiers of modern medicine. The

eclectic Novel Tech Ethics research team includes

a physician, a lawyer and two philosophers.

Their desire to create a collaborative learning

environment has created a free-ranging, face-to-face

forum for discussion and cooperation. They are shaping

the next generation of ethicists for policy making and

research. The group makes great efforts to engage the

public in topical conversations promoting ethics literacy.

A few years ago, two of the core Novel Tech

faculty — both holders of Canada Research Chairs

— captured the only two grants available for

Emerging Teams from the Canadian Institutes of

Health Research’s Institute of Neurosciences, Mental

Health and Addiction. At the time, with a combined

value of $3 million, it was the largest amount given

to neuroethics research anywhere in the world.

Good, good, good: Good vibrations

A device in development for people with middle ear

damage could one day change the design of personal

music players to protect users against hearing loss.

Players like the iPod depend on conventional air

conduction to transmit sound through the ear canal,

eardrum and middle ear. Music, channeled through

these players at high volume for prolonged periods, can

damage the ear’s delicate mechanism and impair hearing.

A nine-member interdisciplinary research team

led by Manohar Bance is developing a prototype for a

new class of cost-effective hearing devices that transmit

skull-conducted sound. Essentially, it uses bone

vibrations to stimulate the middle ear directly. This could

assist people with middle ear damage who are unable

to wear a conventional hearing aid and offer a new

concept in personal music player design.

Manohar Bance

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Dr. Bance’s team is aiming for a non-invasive

product that resembles a set of headphones and sits

behind the ears. It would leave the ear canal open

to receive the ambient sound that helps individuals

maintain their orientation and balance.

The Bone Conduction Hearing Technologies

Project is a joint venture between Dalhousie and

Capital District Health Authority. The diverse

team is drawn from Dalhousie, Capital Health,

the University of New Brunswick and Defence

Research and Development Canada. They are

partnering with Bon Anchored Solutions, a Swedish

company affiliated with Cochlear Corporation.

Robots on-call

A medical robot sure comes in handy when your

immediate consulting practice spans three Maritime

provinces and experts are calling you from around

the world.

Dr. Mendez’s latest assistant is a remote-controlled

robot capable of bringing him face-to-face with patients

and colleagues whenever and wherever needed.

The first Remote Presence robot in Canada was

acquired for him through the assistance of the Queen

Elizabeth II Hospital Foundation. Dr. Mendez found it so

beneficial that a second robot was quickly acquired for

the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.

“If you’re in Sydney, Cape Breton and you’ve had

a head injury and you need a neurosurgeon, there

are no neurosurgeons there. So with the robot, I

can go look at you, see where your wound is, look at

your x-rays, talk to the physicians — your family —

make a decision on what to do,” says Dr. Mendez.

Patients seem to take the experience in stride.

In only a couple of minutes, they’re chatting away

with the unusual 160-pound bedside visitor.

This approach could revolutionalize care in

much of the region, where highly trained specialists

such as neurosurgeons, cardiac surgeons and

cardiologists are currently unavailable, he suggests.

Lives could be saved and health outcomes improved.

“Eventually we’ll be able to work like this with

anybody, anywhere around the world,” he says.

Brain Repair Centre

Atlantic Canada’s most comprehensive research

and development partnership, the Brain Repair

Centre, recently obtained a $5.6 million grant

from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI),

making the organization the recipient of one of

the largest single grants in Dalhousie history.

The grant came hot on the heels of another award

from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency / Atlantic

Innovation Fund for $3 million.

Together, these funds will help further the centre’s

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inquiry into ways to affect cell restoration after damage

by Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury and disease.

The centre integrates the work of basic and clinical

scientists seeking new treatments for neurological and

psychiatric disorders.

Robert Brownstone leads the spinal cord

research group and attributes their achievements to

collaboration. “We’ve put together a group with very

diverse backgrounds and interests,” says Dr. Brownstone.

Tanzania is a window on international health care

Students in medicine, dentistry and health professions

recently spent a three-week study tour in Tanzania,

an East African country that is home to Mount

Kiliminjaro and one of the poorest nations on earth.

They returned, not only with a better appreciation

of each others’ disciplines, but full of admiration

for the health professionals they saw in action.

“I was shocked by the enormous range of

conditions the doctor saw in one morning — from

elephantiasis and malaria, to dog bites and bicycle

accidents, to syphilis and HIV,” says medical student

Nicole Richard. “I was amazed by the talent of the health

care professionals in Tanzania; lack of skill is not the

problem, but lack of funds and other resources are.”

The International Health Office (IHO) has

conducted annual study tours to Tanzania for

medical students before, but last year’s inclusion of

students from other health professions was part of

a new and larger strategy for Dalhousie’s faculties

of medicine, dentistry and health professions.

Together they have launched several recent joint

research, training and clinical programs to give

their students the experience and skills needed to

collaborate in interprofessional health care teams.

Students return to campus with a whole new

perspective on the Canadian health care system and how

they can contribute to international health, says Ashley

Pinsent, IHO’s Manager of Student Programs.

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A quest for excellence

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Dalumni

For me, Dalhousie is a natural fit. As president of the Dalhousie

Alumni Association (DAA), I am involved in sharing a compelling vision and contributing time and thought towards the goal of becoming Canada’s best university. I take great pride, as I hope all of my fellow alumni do, in the success of Dalhousie as one of Canada’s leading universities. Part of the DAA board’s job is to attend events and spread the message to alumni and prospective students that Dal students and faculty continue to earn top honours and international acclaim.

My involvement with Dal has also allowed me to contribute to improving the student experience; contributions that include connecting students with mentors and spreading the word about our great campus. Since becoming president of the DAA, I’ve also faced the challenge of revamping Dal’s alumni program. We’re helping the Alumni Relations Office understand the perceptions, attitudes and expectations of our alumni in order to align strategy and resources to meet those expectations. Stay tuned! Level Chan, (BA’99, LLB’02)President, Dalhousie Alumni Association

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Being a lawyer can make volunteering challenging — not only in terms of freeing

up time to help a worthy cause, but also in choosing

which causes to support.

continued on p.29

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Friend of educationThe Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) recently honoured Jim Palmer, CM, QC (LLB’52, LLD’87) for his commitment to post-secondary education by presenting him with the 2008 Friend of Education Award. We congratulate Jim, a long-time friend and supporter of Dal, on this much deserved recognition.

Alumni eventsFrom east to west, down south and across the pond

Over the winter and spring months, Dalhousie alumni and friends gathered at events in New York, Florida, Halifax, Bermuda, London, England, Toronto, Kingston, Vancouver, Calgary and Kelowna.

Photos from top to bottom:

New York Alumni Reception

Kingston Alumni Pub Night

Calgary Alumni Lobster Dinner

Close to 20 alumni and friends gathered in Hong Kong for dinner on January 26.

Halifax Alumni Movie Night: Horton Hears a Who!

View more pictures online at www.dal.ca/alumni/events/photos

at events in New York, Florida, Halifax, Bermuda, London, England, Toronto, Kingston, Vancouver, Calgary and Kelowna

Photos from top to bottom:

New York Alumni Reception

Kingston Alumni Pub Night

Calgary Alumni Lobster Dinner

Close to 20 alumni and friends gathered in Hong Kong for dinner on January 26.

Halifax Alumni Movie Night:

Join us this summer and fall!Victoria Canadian University Alumni Picnic July 19Chester Alumni Reception August 7 Hosts: Brian (BCom’80, LLD’08) and Megan PorterDalhousie Annual Dinner October 16, Halifax Dalhousie Alumni Reunions October 16-17, Halifax

Watch for pub nights this fall in Ottawa, Toronto and Calgary and events in the Annapolis Valley and Sydney, NS.

Other upcoming events:Dalhousie Theatre Department Reunion for graduates of 1986-1990, Halifax, Saturday, June 21. Cost: $5. Email dalreunion@yahoo.ca for details. Phi Kappa Pi Alumni Association Reunion, Halifax, September 16-21. Contact Pat Dunphy at 902-857-9440 for details.

For complete event details and updates, visit www.dal.ca/alumni/events

Let us know what you’ve been up to: alumni.records@dal.ca

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When career-pediatric neurologist

Irving Fish first set foot

on the warm, dusty soil of

Ethiopia last year, his 40 years of professional

experience promptly deserted him.

“It was quite

overwhelming,” says Dr.

Fish (MD’64) of his first

philanthropic foray into Addis

Ababa, the capital of this terribly

beautiful African nation. “I like

to think of myself as being open-

minded, but I was prisoner to

those same preconceptions of Africa

that many of us have — images of

drought and famine and war. But it’s

so much more complex and rich.”

No paradise for its almost four

million residents, many of whom have no

electricity or running water, Addis Ababa

is a microcosm of this fiercely independent yet

desperately impoverished state. Ethiopia, with

a population of 75 million, ranks among the 10

poorest countries in the world. More than two-

thirds of Ethiopian women of childbearing years

are illiterate. Their children have never been

read to, have never held a crayon in their hand.

This is the scenario that Irving Fish

wants to change, one community at a time.

His vehicle is a program called The

Ethiopian School Readiness Initiative, a

culturally appropriate preschool literacy

project staffed by kindergarten teachers and

trainers from the Addis Ababa region. Building

capacity in this fashion will help to ensure

Educating preschoolers

is the key to boosting

Ethiopia’s crippled

economy—Dr. Irving Fish, MD’64

Irving Fish first set foot

on the warm, dusty soil of

Ethiopia last year, his 40 years of professional

experience promptly deserted him.

Ababa, the capital of this terribly

to think of myself as being open-

those same preconceptions of Africa

that many of us have — images of

drought and famine and war. But it’s

so much more complex and rich.”

No paradise for its almost four

million residents, many of whom have no

electricity or running water, Addis Ababa

is a microcosm of this fiercely independent yet

desperately impoverished state. Ethiopia, with

Spotlight NO PARADISE

Photos from top to bottom:

Scenes from a typical day at the pre-school;

children greet Dr. Fish with handmade

silk flowers (bottom).

Ethiopia

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the project is economically feasible and self-

sustainable within a short period of time,

according to Dr. Fish, who is based in New York.

With the assistance of local psychiatrist

Dr. Menelik Desta — “our man on the

ground in Ethiopia” — Dr. Fish and his

team launched the first in what is to be a

series of programs in October 2007. This

pilot project, comprised of 40 urban and 40

rural preschoolers, offers many irresistible

incentives for local families: free lunch, a 10:1

child-to-teacher ratio and an engaging and

interactive teaching style, to name a few.

The results have been off the charts.

“I’ve been watching children

develop for over 40 years and

nothing prepared me for this,” says

Dr. Fish, who made a return trip to monitor

progress this past January. “In just three

short months, these children actually knew

the alphabet in English and could recognize

letters out of sequence. They also knew their

colours, shapes and numbers, and could

draw the 200 characters of Amharic [the

local language.] It just blew me away.”

Already on to the next phase of the

initiative, he is mobilizing resources for an even

more ambitious project, this one encompassing

some 3,500 families in the unforgiving

region of North Shoa in central Ethiopia.

“Funding and operating an initiative

like this certainly does have its challenges,”

says Dr. Fish, who has relied almost entirely

on the goodwill of well-heeled friends and

associates who have bought into his vision.

“But you’d be surprised by how much you can

accomplish for a relatively minor investment.

You’re dealing with a very different financial

picture in a country like Ethiopia. People get

paid very little and a dollar goes a long way.”

In fact, he says, the Addis Ababa pilot

project has a price tag of only $100,000.

The expanded North Shoa program can

operate in perpetuity on a shoestring

budget of just $250,000 a year — mere

peanuts by Western standards.

“This is one of the futures of medicine,”

says Dr. Fish, who has found his true calling

after more than 40 years at the helm of the

pediatric neurology department at New York

Hospital. “Sure, we need molecular biology

and genetic research in our quest to cure

suffering and disease but as we continue

to merge into one global community, we

can no longer afford to go on ignoring

economic disparities and poverty.”

After a lifetime of believing the practice

of medicine is fundamentally a humanitarian

endeavor, Dr. Fish is taking it to the bank. At 70

years of age, he is blazing new trails and raising

the bar for humanitarian medical practice

among younger physicians. It’s a call to action

for Dal medicine grads, whom he believes

should be looking at development projects

like his as exciting career opportunities.

“Being involved with this initiative

has been the most professionally satisfying

moment of my life,” says Dr. Fish. “The

children get a lot out of the program, but I

get 100 times more out of it than they do.”

Joanne Ward-Jerrett

We can no longer afford to go on ignoring economic disparities and poverty.

Reunion2008 OCTOBER 16 & 17

Come home to Dal! Meet old friends and see what’s new. A special invitation for the Classes of 1968, 1963, 1958, 1953, 1948, 1943 and earlier.For information on reunion events, Email alumni@dal.caOr call 902.494.2805, toll free 1.800.565.9969

BOOKSTORE LOCATIONS

Studley Campus6136 University Ave. Phone: (902) 494-2460Fax: (902) 494-3863

Carleton CampusHealth Sciences5981 University Ave.Phone: (902) 494-3020Fax: (902) 494-6150

Sexton Campus1360 Barrington St.. Phone: (902) 494-3985Fax: (902) 494-3863

Methods of paymentCash, Debit, DalCard, MasterCard, Visa (authorized card holders only)

Order online at:www.dal.ca/bookstore

DEGREE FRAMESfrom the Dalhousie Bookstore

Our high quality degree frames come in five distinctive styles. These frames include a mat, foil-stamped with the Dalhousie crest in gold. They also feature an easy clip system that allows for quick installation of your degree.

Black$49.95

Walnut Wood$61.95

The Briarwood$88.50

The Diplomat$124.50

The Diplomat Medallion$199.95

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ANNUAL GIVING

For information on how to make a gift to our 2008 Annual Fund campaign, visit www.dal.ca/giving or call 1.800.565.9969

We made the call.You gave the answer.You and more than 6,500 of your fellow alumni and friends raised over $2,400,000 during the 2007 Annual Fund campaign. Whether you gave through the mail, over the phone or on our website you have helped Dal provide today’s students with the best environment to live, learn and explore.

Thank you.

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Spotlight TO MARKET, TO MARKET

Where did that bag of frozen French

fries come from? What befell

your hapless potatoes during

their trip from the dirt to the oven? How far

did they travel, how were they processed,

and how much energy was expended in the

spud’s epic journey from soil to plate?

Alumnae Marla MacLeod and Jennifer

Scott are “food miles coordinators” at the

Ecology Action Center. Their three-year

project for the Nova Scotia Federation of

Agriculture studies the impact of a local

Nova Scotian diet, versus an imported one.

“We don’t know how our food is traveling or

even where it’s coming from,” says Ms. McLeod.

Concerns about an imported diet aren’t

all environmental — although greenhouse

gases, energy emission during transport, and

processing pollution are all major factors

in the growing switch to local foods.

‘Food miles’ also have a serious economic

impact. Nova Scotia is losing local processing

plants to larger corporate competitors. Farming,

long part of the province’s heritage, is also

threatened. “Farmers are actually not able to

make a living right now,” Ms. MacLeod winces.

The pair urge switching to a healthier,

more sustainable model of eating. The

project is well-timed, too. More and more,

people want to support local farmers and

have that social connection with local

food — rather than popping a processed

TV dinner into the microwave.

Incorporating local foods into your diet

requires no more than a little forethought —

eating seasonally, relearning a lot of recipes,

asking questions at your favorite restaurants

about their use of local foods. Heavily processed

foods should be avoided, as they’re rarely

locally produced. “If you live near a farmer’s

market… go to the farmer’s market!”

Rebecca Schneidereit

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1960s1969Mell Hosain, PEng, PhD (NSTC), was granted Professor Emeritus status in Civil Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. He was awarded the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal for his contributions to the province as an educator and the Canadian Pacific Railway Medal for services to the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, including a year as the national president in 1997-98.

1970s1970Peter McGuigan, BSc, has a new book out. In 2007, Nimbus published his bestselling Historic South End Halifax. Currently working on a book on Halifax and the Great Depression for Fernwood, he is also collecting information for a new history of Dalhousie, which will emphasize the interrelation between the university and the city.1971Pankaj K. (PK) Sen, MEng (NSTC), PhD’74 (NSTC), is currently professor of engineering, Colorado School of Mines, and site director, Power Systems Research Center (www.pser.org). He is extremely proud of the education he had at Dal and wishes to share his email address with classmates:psen@mines.edu1972Ruth Jackson, BSc, is chief scientist on a project in the High Arctic to extend Canada’s northern underwater boundaries through a process called UNCLOS: United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea. This is a multi-year project that requires geologic mapping of the seabed north of Ellesmere Island. For more information, visit: www.nanometrics.ca1973Dennis Bowie, MD, has been awarded the Prix d’excellence for Atlantic Canada by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Associate professor of medicine at Dal and practicing respirologist in the Capital Health District, Dennis is also head of the Atlantic Thoracic Society and past president of the Canadian Thoracic Society. His research interests include asthma, lung disease, respiratory infections and pulmonary function. This award recognizes Fellows who have made significant contributions as medical educators or provided outstanding service to their community.

1974Joyce MacKichan Walker, BRec, has been named 2008 Educator of the Year by the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators — the group’s most prestigious award. A strong advocate for educators and educational ministry, she was recognized for her work in church education. She serves as the minister of education at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, N.J., and has been on staff there for nearly 20 years. Les Grieve, BA, LLB’77, was appointed as a Judge of the Alberta Provincial Court, effective January 28, 2008. A number of Dal grads attended the swearing-in ceremony on February 21, 2008. He is the 13th judge appointed from the Dalhousie Weldon School of Law Class of 1977. Les now sits in the Banff and Calgary criminal courts, as well as other regional points around Calgary.1979Berns Galloway, BSc, has been appointed to the faculty of the Foundation for Human Enrichment (www.traumahealing.com). The Foundation is the sponsoring body offering training and research in ‘somatic experiencing’ — a naturalistic approach for psychotherapists and bodyworkers to support the resolution of trauma. Berns is a psychotherapist and educator living in Victoria, B.C. (berns@sammasati.com). Emmitt Kelly, BCom, was recently appointed president of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Nova Scotia for 2008 and sits on the board of BOMA Canada. As well, Emmitt has been appointed to the Board of Governors of the University of King’s College for a four-year term and chairs the property, grounds and safety committee. In his spare time he serves as a Class B member of the Canadian Olympic committee.

1980s1982Brenda Joyce Picard, BA, LLB’85, received the distinction of a Queen’s Counsel designation in December, 2007. In June 2007, she was also the recipient of the P.E.I. Law Society’s Community Service Award in recognition of her lengthy and ongoing volunteer work with local, provincial and national organizations.1984Alex Neve, BCom, LLB’87 was recently named to the Trudeau Foundation’s latest group of

Trudeau Mentors – some of Canada’s most distinguished and accomplished leaders from a broad range of backgrounds who are each paired with a PhD student studying in a similar area. Alex has been secretary general of Amnesty International Canada since January 2000. He has been a member of Amnesty for over 15 years and has worked for the organization nationally and internationally in a number of different roles including research missions to Tanzania, Guinea, Mexico, Burundi and Ghana.1985Leland (Lee) Keane, BA (Hons), completed a Master of Arts in organizational development from Phoenix University on December 31, 2007. He is currently employed by the RCMP and was posted to the Pacific Region Training Centre in Chilliwack as an operational skills instructor in February, 2007.1986Diane Ravenscroft, BSc, has a career in leadership development. Her firm, Workplace Master Inc., is designed to raise the bar of professional and interpersonal development through learning and coaching. The website is under construction but Diane can be reached at both www.discovercoaching.biz and www.workplacemastery.com. She is also program director for a new online graduate program in organizational leadership for Norwich University in Vermont.1988Karen Woodworth, BN, is pleased to announce her recent marriage to Fred Colaiacovo on August 31, 2007. Karen recently accepted a new position as head and neck oncology case manager in the Capital District Health Authority Cancer Care Program, Halifax, N.S. Friends and former classmates can contact her at kwoodworth@eastlink.ca.1989Mathai Mammen, BSc, has been appointed head of research with Theravance. He is responsible for all departments that encompass research (medicinal chemistry, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, and in vivo pharmacology), which represent more than 50 per cent of the company’s activities. It’s a major challenge and exciting opportunity for Mathai, who plans to continue giving Dal and its outstanding chemistry program good press at every opportunity. Check out the following link: http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/071219/0342098.html.

Classnotes

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1990s1992Marlene Buckler, MD’91, PGM’92, has some surprising advice: “Stay away from doctors and don’t take pills!” The Sarasota-based physician is currently at work on a new book, and is the originator of a web site of the same name: Stay out of my ER! Visit Dr. Buckler at www.stayoutofmyer.com1994David J. Williams, BSc (Hons), married Jennifer Fankhauser on November 17, 2007, in Seattle, WA. David recently joined Expedia, Inc. as finance manager for the global air

business. They would be happy to hear from friends at djwillians777@msn.com1995Julia Drew Watt, BA, and husband Sam Avanesov are overjoyed to announce the birth of their son, Domenic, in August 2007. Julia and Sam met when she worked at the Embassy of Canada in Moscow, Russia and they now live in Ottawa, where she is currently on maternity leave from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.1996Darren D. MacDonald, BScK, and his wife Susan MacDonald are excited to announce the birth of their son Owen Shae MacDonald,

born December 27, 2007, in Sydney, N.S. Friends and classmates can contact Darren at darrenmacdonald@mac.com.1997Timothy Crooks, BSW, was recently honored by the Metropolitan Halifax Chamber of Commerce, winning a silver award in the category of 2008 Business Person of the Year. 1998Amber MacArthur, BA, is currently living in Toronto and working as a CBC technology correspondent, among many other things. A new media journalist and web strategist, she juggles a variety of interests ranging from podcasts to TV. Check out her website: ambermac.com.

Thursday, October 16, 20086:00 for 7:00 p.m.Westin Nova Scotian Hotel · Halifax NSTickets: $75 or $750 for a table of 10

Across the street. Around the world.University and community working together.

Join fellow Dalhousie alumni and friends as Dr. Wanda Thomas Bernard, MSW ’77, Director of the School of Social Work and member of the Order of Canada takes us on a journey into the heart of our own community. The Dalhousie Alumni Association will also recognize the outstanding community contributions of the 2008 award winners.

To reserve tickets or tables, contact Dalhousie External Relations: 902.494.1697 or 1.866.225.8043 To order online: www.dal.ca/alumniPlease order tickets by October 1, 2008

THE DALHOUSIE ANNUAL DINNER

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2000s2000

Rachel Matthews, BM, married Gordon Sweet in Montego

Bay, Jamaica, on February 14, 2008. They are proud

parents of Georgina (Gina), who will turn three on

August 15. Rachel is a teaching assistant in Dalhousie’s

Department of Music, and runs a busy little business,

“Cortland Music,” delivering live classical string music

in the Halifax area: www.cortland.ca.

Sylvia Hamilton, MEd , LLD’01, was recently named

to the Trudeau Foundation’s latest group of Trudeau

Mentors — some of Canada’s most distinguished

and accomplished leaders from a broad range of

backgrounds who are each paired with a PhD student

studying in a similar area. A noted filmmaker, writer

and president of Maroon Films Inc., Sylvia is also

co-founder of the New Initiatives in Film Program

— designed to provide women of colour and First

Nations women with opportunities to make films at the

National Film Board’s Studio D.

2002

Tanya (Flood) Fleming, MBA/LLB, and Jonathan

Fleming, MBA’00, are proud parents of a baby boy,

Jack David, born Christmas Eve 2007 and big sister

Megan Elizabeth (May 2005). Jonathan is an oil and

gas analyst with Canmark Securities and Tanya is a

corporate lawyer with Oster, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP.

2003

Beth Amiro, BA, and fellow Dal alumni Caralee Murphy,

BA ’01 and Juel MacCallum, BA’05, were honoured with

a bronze award for Best New Business 2008 by the

Halifax Chamber of Commerce. Surfers, activists and

community leaders, the women were recognized for

their leading-edge business, One Life Surf School,

Eastern Canada’s first women’s surf centre.

2004

Terry L. Nikkel, MBA, has written his first book:

Making Library Web Sites Useful – a LITA

Guide. It was published in 2007 by Neal-

Schuman (www.neal-schuman.com). Terry

is now director of libraries at UNBSJ.

2005

Kristy Mahoney, BScN, and her partner, Jordan Surette,

would like to announce the birth of their little boy,

Liam Jordan, who was born December 29, 2007.

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37registrar’s office

Spotlight PROBLEM SOLVING IS HER SPECIALTY

Theo Bell has made fluid transitions

between chemistry, mechanical

engineering, investment banking and

even between continents.

Growing up on Prince Edward Island,

she never dreamt she’d work for a prestigious

investment firm in the United Kingdom.

“Life’s a journey,” says Ms. Bell.

“With some luck and a lot of hard work,

you never know where you’ll end up.”

As a chemistry student, she realized working

in a lab wasn’t for her. At Dalhousie, she was able

to combine her chemistry studies with a degree

in Mechanical Engineering and found her niche.

“Through co-op, I experienced the world

of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) at

a combustion specialist firm in Halifax,” she

says. This involved using algorithms to solve

complex problems. When professor Julio Militzer

wanted summer students to help with his

website, CFDnet.com, she quickly volunteered.

Dr. Militzer supported her interests as

her graduate supervisor. “He taught me so

much, he was a great inspiration and made it

fun,” she says. “He’s like my second dad.” That

“fun” collaboration earned her the Governor

General of Canada’s Academic Medal for

outstanding Masters Thesis and the Cambridge

Commonwealth Trusts PhD Scholarship.

“After visiting Cambridge with its college

system, medieval architecture and proximity to

continental Europe, I decided on Cambridge.”

During her doctoral studies, she broadened

her career goals beyond academia. “Maybe it

was just the PhD, but I found it too solitary and

started looking for other career options,”

she says. She was introduced to investment

banking by her fiancé.

“Although an engineering process

may seem unrelated to finance, investment firms

recruit from many backgrounds but focus on

people who are best in their class,” says Ms. Bell.

In her spare time, she was a college

rower at Cambridge, training up to a dozen

times each week. “It taught me discipline

and work ethic,” she says. Billy Comeau

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Dalhousie Discover Alumni Ad Winter 07/082/3 page vertical 4.75x7.25

Studying environmental science and international

development was a great way to

learn about our world. And my

student exchange to Malaysia was

an amazing way to experience it.

Now I’m making my own

contribution by researching

policy for environmental

sustainability in Cuba.

Cool courses can change everything.

Find yours at DISCOVER.DAL.ca

Janice Ashworth, BSc’07

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Conference Services All the event planning support you need.

Whether it’s a meeting of five or a convention for more than 1,000, Conference Services will help you set the stage for an outstanding event. Dalhousie provides an extensive range of meeting space options for formal and informal events – from small boardrooms to large auditoriums.

www.conferenceservices.dal.ca Tel: 902-494-3401 | Fax: 902-494-1219 | Email: conference.services@dal.ca

Full catering and audio visual services available.

For information, email: wendy.mcguinness@dal.ca or ann.vessey@dal.ca

In her final moments, Betty Eisenhauer was still chuckling about the boxer short raid of 1943.

Her bequest to Dal reflects her sentiments.Legacy gifts speak to your experience at Dalhousie and all it has meant to you – an education

and a lifetime of memories. Your gift could support a bursary fund, or strengthen the program

within one of your preferred faculties. Giving back to Dal through a bequest, large or small,

helps to ensure lifelong success for the generations that follow.

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InMemoriam

Marion Dennis (Robb) Christie, BA’26, MA’27, Bedford, N.S., on February 23, 2008Donald Holdsworth McNeill, BSc’33, Waverley, N.S., on January 9, 2008John Henry Budd, BA’29, MD’33, LLD’78, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., on March 4, 2008Donald Macleod, BA’34, MA’35, LLD’78, Baltimore, Md., U.S.A., on January 20, 2008Albert Aaron Schwartz, MD’40, Edison, N.J., U.S.A., on January 6, 2008Marie Delvenia (Benoit) Demers, LCMus’40, Sydney, N.S., on February 13, 2008Douglas Scott Lyall, BA’38, LLB’41, North York, Ont., on January 15, 2008Thomas Melville Deblois, DENGR’39, BEng’41 (NSTC), Toronto, Ont., on January 28, 2008Dorothy Marguerite Hunter, BCom’42, Dartmouth, N.S., on April 15, 2008Kathleen Pyman T (Martin) Mack, BA’43, Halifax, N.S., on February 9, 2008Francis Carroll Fennell, DDS’43, Halifax, N.S., on March 25, 2008Robert Lloyd Parsons, BEng’44 (NSTC), Moncton, N.B., on November 9, 2007Rolfe Reynolds Colpitts, BEng’44 (NSTC), Kingston, Ont., on March 25, 2008Harry Aikens, BA’45, Halifax, N.S., on February 17, 2008Harry Oxorn, MD’45, Gatineau, Que., on March 16, 2008Alexander James Farquhar, BA’47, Halifax, N.S., on March 9, 2008Llewellyn Philip Arlette, LLB’48, Edmonton, Alta., on January 12, 2008Verna Georgie Holmes, BSc’48, BEd’73, MED’78, Ottawa, Ont., on February 2, 2008Neil Smith Sutherland, DPharm’48, Truro, N.S., on April 5, 2008Richard Willoughby Crudge, BEng’48 (NSTC), Calgary, Alta.James Adrian MacInnis, MD’50, Bath, N.B., on January 15, 2008Marion Shirley (McCoy) McLeod, BA’50, BSc’50, Wolfville, N.S., on February 28, 2008Harold John Blackwood, MD’51, St. John’s, N.L., on January 10, 2008William George Reid, BCom’51, Riverview, N.B.Thomas Edward Flynn, MA’53, Halifax, N.S., on January 22, 2008Kenneth Graeme Putnam, BEng’53 (NSTC), Dartmouth, N.S., on February 13, 2008Clive Langley Rippon, LLB’53, Victoria, B.C., on March 4, 2008

Janet Doris (Dexter) Reid, BA’54, Halifax, N.S., on March 6, 2008Eric Gordon Demont, LLB’56, Halifax, N.S., on March 6, 2008Hector McInnes, BA’54, LLB’56, Chester, N.S., on March 18, 2008John Robert McQuinn, DPharm’51, BSc’56, Halifax, N.S., on March 30, 2008Kenneth Ross Parker, MD’56, Burlington, Ont., on March 31, 2008Floyd Leroy Rhyno, DENGR’55, BSc’55, BEng’57 (NSTC), Sarnia, Ont., on January 17, 2008John Herbert Mercer, BA’54, BEd’57, Wolfville, N.S., on February 20, 2008Barbara Lillian Hopkins, BSc’58, St. John’s, N.L., on January 26, 2008Harry John Flemming, LLB’58, Halifax, N.S., on February 16, 2008Arthur Michael Sullivan, MA’58, Holyrood, N.L.Barbara Scott (Cameron) Webster, BCom’61, Pasadena, Texas, U.S.A., on March 29, 2008John Louis den Ouden, LLB’62, Niagara Falls, Ont., on September 22, 2007Daniel Graham Garnhum, MD’62, Halifax, N.S., on January 10, 2008Charles Edwin Blackie, BEng’63 (NSTC), Sorel, Que., on January 13, 2008John Alden Spargo, BEng’63 (NSTC) , on January 20, 2008Morton S Rucker, MD’64, Bradenton, Fla., U.S.A., on January 4, 2008Howard Andrew Gee Smillie, PGM’67, Halifax, N.S., on March 30, 2008Doris Claire McMaster, DNSA’67, Halifax, N.S., on April 8, 2008Charles Edward Sheppard, BEng’69 (NSTC), Clarenville, N.L., on September 24, 2007Jean Rivers Sawyer, BA’68, BEd’69, Halifax, N.S., on February 24, 2008Lloyd Lee Parsons, DENGR’69, BEng’70 (NSTC), Toronto, Ont., on November 9, 2007Suzanne Louise (Temple) Irvine, BA’69, BEd’70, Caledonia, Ont.Frank Woolhouse Walker, BEd’71, BSc’71Trevor Thomas Murray, BA’72, Bedford, N.S., on January 26, 2008Robert Eldon Wadden, BA’72, Lower Sackville, N.S., on April 4, 2008Eva Amalia (Laine) Wilson, DNSA’72, Aurora, Ont.David B Rhude, BA’73, Halifax, N.S., on January 8, 2008Ronald Clark MacDonald, BA’73, Bedford, N.S., on February 24, 2008

Gerda Den Hoed, DNSA’69, BN’73, MEd’79, Halifax, N.S., on March 14, 2008Barry Elmer Ling, BSc’70, MD’75, PGM’79, Charlottetown, P.E.I., on February 8, 2008William Russell Hicks, LLB’75, Lacombe, Alta., on February 9, 2008Robert John Hume, DDS’75, Hay Settlement, N.B., on February 19, 2008James Lawrence Fardy, MBA’76, St. John’s, N.L., on October 27, 2007Brian Robert Joseph Conrad, BSc’76, Dartmouth, N.S., on March 18, 2008Fay Cecelia (McGowan) Spencer, MA’74, MEd’78, Halifax, N.S., on February 7, 2008John Barry Roberts, BSc’75, PGM’80, MD’80, Baton Rouge, La., U.S.A., on December 26, 2007Trevor Anthony Phillips, BEd’75, MA’80, Herring Cove, N.S., on April 13, 2008Harold William Wilson, BEd’81, Lower Sackville, N.S., on January 16, 2008Iqbal Singh Gill, BEd’82, North York, Ont.Ronald Francis Crawley, BA’74, MA’80, MLS’83, Ottawa, Ont., on March 27, 2008Alan Edison MacDonald, DDS’84, Cornwall, P.E.I., on December 31, 2007Hedley Smith, BEng’84 (TUNS), Halifax, N.S.Gilles Vigneault, MSC’85, Jonquiere, Que.Dawn Michelle Anne Isenor, BCom’86, Stillwater Lake, N.S., on February 29, 2008Stanislawa Joanna (Alapin) Alapin-Rubilowicz, BA’86, BAHC’88, Halifax, N.S., on February 13, 2008Sonya Sheilah-Marie Arnold, BA’88, BSW’90, Dartmouth, N.S., on January 22, 2008Pierre M Vallee, MBA’92, Kirkland, Que., on January 4, 2008Alexander Dorneo Sayat, BCom’94, Yarmouth, N.S., on November 30, 2007Raymond Francis Carroll, MBA’77, PhD’96, Halifax, N.S., on February 27, 2008Katharine Claire Taylor, BCom’03, Mount Hebron, N.B., on January 15, 2008Craig Arden Lawrence, MURP’06, Chestermere, Alta., on February 12, 2008Samuel W J Howse, BCSc’99, MA’00, PhD’07, Halifax, N.S., on January 14, 2008Gareth Edward Akerman, MSc’07, Halifax, N.S., on March 14, 2008

We apologise to the friends and family of Freeman C. Sheppard, who was mistakenly identified in the Winter 2008 issue of Dalhousie Magazine.

theBackstoryFIT FOR THE JOB

NAME: Donna Goguen

HOMETOWN: Halifax, Nova Scotia

EDUCATION: BSc (Hons) 1980

PASSIONS: Family, fitness, volunteering

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Commissioner of Maritime University

Field Lacrosse League, former regional director for Hockey Nova

Scotia Female Council, articles in Journal of Biological Rhythms,

Neuroscience Letters, Molecular Brain Research, and Neuroscience.

JOB: Manager of Circadian Rhythms Neuroscience Lab

at Life Sciences Centre

TEACHES: Donna is a familiar face at Dalplex — she’s taught fitness

for more than 15 years and aquafitness for a decade.

“Sometimes you recognize you have skills you didn’t know you had and sometimes there’s a need for them in unexpected places.”

Research: Billy Comeau

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