Achievements
Research
Nova Scotia’s universities have an outstanding legacy of research and innovation.
A long history in a coastal region known for its natural and energy resources has given us an edge. Our institutions have a wide variety of research centres dedicated to green technology, the environmental sciences, and public health. We’re making exciting contributions to clean and renewable energy development, industrial waste elimination, ocean conservation, marine industry sustainability, and food resource security. We’re developing solutions here in Nova Scotia, and bringing them to a world hungry for our expertise.
Alumni
Seamus O’Regan
Broadcaster
St. Francis Xavier University, Class of ‘92
If you watch morning television, you know about Newfoundland and Labrador’s Seamus O’Regan. The co-host of CTV’s Canada AM has an impressive university resume, having done graduate work in England, Ireland, and France. But he got his start at Antigonish’s St. Francis Xavier University, graduating with honours in Political Science in 1992. A solid education in Canadian politics enabled advisory work with the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and the federal Environment Minister in Ottawa. The awareness of global issues he developed at St. FX also prepared him for interviews with such diverse newsmakers as former US President Bill Clinton, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger. O’Regan has since received numerous honours including Maclean’s magazine 100 “Young Canadians to Watch,” a selection for Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 list, and two Gemini Award nominations.
Patrick Graham
Journalist
University of King’s College, Class of ‘80
Patrick Graham understands the values of being prepared, of empathy, and of dedication to the truth. The University of King’s College School of Journalism nurtured these values in Graham, helping develop an engaging style that would lead to assignments covering foreign conflicts for the London Observer, The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s Magazine, and the National Post. His gripping first-hand accounts of the Iraq war between 2002 and 2004 in Harper’s earned him a Kurt Schork Award from the Columbia School of Journalism, presented annually to a reporter who sheds light on controversial issues, political conflict, and human rights concerns. Based in Toronto, Graham is also involved in the film industry, recently co-writing a film about Canadians in the war in Afghanistan.
Colin Grant
Musician
Université Sainte-Anne, Class of ‘08
Music is a universal language, but it helps to be able to speak directly to your audience. Colin Grant can do both in spades thanks to a wealth of talent and a versatile education from the Université Sainte-Anne. A native of Toronto, and now a resident of Cape Breton, Grant is a fixture of the East Coast traditional music scene. Heavily inspired by Celtic and Acadian artists, his fans are a healthy mix of English- and French-speakers. A Bachelor of Arts (Major in French) and a Bachelor of Education from Sainte-Anne has given Grant the skills to adjust to any crowd, whether playing at a rural ceilidh or a formal concert in the city. His fiddle playing has earned him an ECMA nomination and international acclaim, and his band has performed to audiences from France to China to Indonesia.
Bishop Fred Hiltz
Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada
Atlantic School of Theology, Class of ‘78
The 13th Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada has always loved the Atlantic Ocean and its coastal cultures. Archbishop Fred Hiltz was born in Dartmouth, NS, and started his education at Dalhousie University. Heeding a lifelong calling, he entered the ministry by pursuing a Masters of Divinity at the Atlantic School of Theology. The intimate environment at the AST helped him develop a community-centered approach towards his ministry. Years of successful guidance in rural Nova Scotia and an eventual election in Halifax to diocesan bishop testify to his training and education. Deeply committed to promoting Anglican social justice and development, in 2008 Archbishop Hiltz became the first Primate to be elected president of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund. His love for the Anglican community has a touching personal note: as a young seminary student, Archbishop Hiltz met his future wife while attending Christ Church, Dartmouth – and their first date was to a church potluck!
Micah Lexier
Artist
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), Class of ‘84
Micah Lexier has been called “the hardest working person in the Canadian art world,” which may not be an exaggeration. Striving for public interest and imagination over complexity, Lexier says “my projects are often more about personality than an in-depth knowledge of art.” The Toronto-based conceptual artist has produced dozens of public art commissions, and recently won the $1 million Arriva Public Art Competition in Calgary. His stellar career started in his hometown of Winnipeg, but gained momentum after entering NSCAD in Halifax. “NSCAD students have had a major impact on the national arts scene,” says Lexier. “Coming here was the best thing I ever could have done for myself.” People clearly appreciate his work the world over, and the artist is represented by galleries in Toronto, Calgary, New York, Berlin, and Sydney, Australia. NSCAD and Lexier continue to collaborate: NSCAD Press recently released I’m Thinking of a Number, a 300-page book surveying 30 years of Lexier’s work.
David Sykes
Vice-President and Director, TD Asset Management
St. Mary’s University, Class of ‘94
Leadership and achievement need to be fostered and developed, something that David Sykes knows first-hand. A Vice-President and Director of TD Asset Management, Sykes reached the boardroom through encouragement and support on the football field and in the classrooms of St. Mary’s University. A former All-Canadian Huskies quarterback, Sykes is a also two-time winner of the Russ Jackson Award for athletics, academics, and community involvement. An outstanding academic performance while completing his Bachelor of Arts at St. Mary’s earned him a Rhodes Scholarship, taking him to Oxford University. Once in England, he completed a Masters of Arts and a Masters of Science. Now a resident of Toronto, Sykes is the lead manager of TD’s North American Dividend Fund, and has managerial responsibility for TD’s Global Dividend Fund and Private Investment Counsel portfolios.
Joni Guptill
Doctor
Dalhousie University, Class of ‘81
For Dr. Joni Guptill, providing life-saving medical care in the midst of some of the world’s harshest humanitarian crises has been both medically and spiritually rewarding. Dr. Guptill, a family physician in Halifax, is president of Medicins sans Frontieres (MSF)/ Doctors Without Borders, Canada. During two decades with MSF, she has worked on emergency missions in Turkey, Somalia, China, Syria/Iraq and Sudan. As the president of MSF, Canada, she leads the Canadian arm of an international organization that, in 2009, treated almost 8.3 million patients -- many victims of floods, famines and wars – and immunized 8 million people for meningitis. “We bring hope to populations who think they are completely forgotten,” says Dr. Guptill. “That hope we bring is a tangible thing. And that’s what keeps us going back.”
Ian Affleck
Public Servant
Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Class of ‘02
Ian Affleck might not be a name you would recognize in the media. A potato farmer from PEI, Ian is typical of graduates of Nova Scotia’s Agricultural College: a quiet crusader who excels behind the scenes. His career has flourished at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in Ottawa, where he protects food, animals, and plants, while enhancing the well-being of Canadians. He is proud of his work: “It’s fulfilling being involved in the regulatory framework which protects Canadians, all the way from the farm to the grocery store shelves.” Ian’s experience at NSAC prepared him for many challenges, including a Master of Science in Crop Physiology at the University of Guelph. “I can’t really compare my NSAC experience to anything else in my life,” he says. “From the class sizes, to the hands-on learning, to the values I adopted, I would not be where I am if I hadn’t gone to NSAC.”
Joanne Thomas Yaccato
President and Founder of The Thomas Yaccato Group
Mount Saint Vincent University
Most businesses succeed or fail based on their client relationship strategy. Consultant and Mount Saint Vincent University graduate Joanne Thomas Yaccato had a simple, but revolutionary idea: put the needs of women at the core of your company’s strategic planning process. A Quebec-born student, Joanne successfully parlayed her academic experiences in psychology into an understanding of habits and customs in a retail context. Suggesting that businesses incorporate a “gender lens” in their interactions with customers, her insights have changed the way businesses interact with both women and men. In the process, she has raised the consumer relations bar for everyone. A frequent commentator in the national media, Joanne is also the author of several best-selling books, including the recent The Gender Intelligent Retailer—a groundbreaking look at how companies can recession-proof their business by meeting the needs of women consumers.
Dr. Julie MacDonald
Child and Youth Psychologist
Cape Breton University
Dr. Julie MacDonald decided to study psychology at a young age, hoping to rid her community of the assumptions made about mental health disorders. She now works as a child and youth psychologist, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Psychology from Cape Breton University.
With small class sizes, Dr. MacDonald was able to develop relationships with her professors at CBU who became mentors to her while she worked toward her degree. Dr. MacDonald notes that she was well prepared by CBU to pursue graduate studies and a career in psychology.
“The opportunities for participating in research and to be supported by the faculty well beyond their role as class instructors gave me an edge when applying for graduate school, which is highly competitive,” says Dr. MacDonald.
Her undergraduate thesis was published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, and she was awarded the Gerry Gordon Memorial Prize by the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia for her outstanding contribution to psychology as an undergraduate student in Nova Scotia.
