It’s that time of year again – a chance to revisit some of our greatest moments of 2024.
Here’s a list of the 10 MSVU stories that made the biggest splash this year (based on website page views and social media engagement).
Not surprisingly, it’s the news about the amazing people of MSVU that stood out the most (and a couple of other big announcements too).
10. Meet Melanie Colosimo, MSVU’s New Art Gallery Director (January)
Melanie might have joined us mid-way through 2023, but we put the spotlight on her at the start of 2024. Since then, she’s been making waves at MSVU and in the local art scene.
In April 2024, we told you that one of her pieces now hangs in the new Simon’s department store at the Halifax Shopping Centre. And this fall, her inflatable interpretation of the Cogswell interchange was a hit at the 2024 edition of the nighttime art festival Nocturne.
9. MSVU men’s basketball team wins ACAA championship; Women take second (March)
If you follow our Mystics teams, you know that they’re the best of the best. So it should come as no surprise that our men’s and women’s basketball teams both took high honours at the ACAA championships last season, including a first place finish for our men’s team and a second place for the women (and, in case you missed it, our women’s soccer team also won the ACAA championship this October).
They’re on track to be top of the heap at this year’s championships too. Follow all teams here.
8. MSVU Olympians ready to make waves in Paris: Meet Sloan MacKenzie and Michelle Russell (July)
Have we mentioned that some of the best athletes call MSVU home? Last summer, one current student and one alumna showcased their skills on the world stage, competing in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Sprint paddler and Applied Human Nutrition student Sloan MacKenzie (canoe) made her first trip to the Olympics this year, while English alumna Michelle Russell (kayak) was a returning Olympian, having competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
7. Announcing MSVU’s New AVP People and Culture (June)
Chris Hattie joined MSVU this past year in the new role of Associate Vice-President of People and Culture. And he hit the ground running! His primary areas of responsibility include a focus on ensuring strategic human resource management and prioritizing equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and truth and reconciliation, across all facets of MSVU. Lots to come from Chris and team in 2025.
6. New University Librarian (June)
Many were excited to read the news of Jeannie Bail’s appointment as MSVU’s new University Librarian late last spring. She too has hit the ground running, with a focus on ensuring accessible and equitable library services that meet the needs of all students, faculty and staff. We’re lucky to have her at MSVU!
5. Shannex donates $500,000 to MSVU for healthy aging research & innovation (May)
It was a big news day for MSVU on May 28 when Shannex made a special announcement – really it was an even bigger news day for aging Nova Scotians, their families and those working in long-term care.
That day, Shannex announced a $500,000 gift to MSVU for the establishment of a new Shannex Centre for Workforce Wellbeing, including a new research chair, new learning opportunities for students and emerging scholars, and new research on innovative care practices and nutrition for residents.
The new centre and chair will position the Maritimes as a national leader – arguably international leader – in research and practice focused on those working in long-term care, shaping care practice and staff recruitment and retention strategies.
4. MSVU Celebrates Spring 2024 graduate honorary degree recipients (May)
Convocation time is the best time of the year on campus. Each spring and fall, we get to pause and celebrate the success of our students. It’s a time of pure joy (with maybe just a little sadness as we say goodbye to our wonderful students). We watched more than 1,100 awesome MSVU graduates cross the stage this spring convocation and fall convocation. And we celebrated faculty and honorary degree recipients too, including the Honourable Dr. Paula A. Cox, Dr. Michelle Douglas, and Dr. Ruby Blois.
3. MSVU Child Study Centre growing with 5m government investment (May)
In May, we shared the news that the governments of Nova Scotia and Canada are investing a combined $10 million ($2M provincial and $3M federal) in an expanded Child Study Centre at MSVU. The university will raise the remaining $5 million.
The centre is a one-of-a-kind place for its provision of exceptional and inclusive childcare, and leading teaching and research on early childhood. Once complete in 2026, the new centre will have triple the number of childcare spaces and expanded capacity in teaching and research too, informing policy and practice across the Atlantic region and beyond.
2. Dr. El Jones Receives Honorary degree from Acadia University (May)
She’s an author, poet, journalist, educator, and advocate, and now honorary degree recipient. During spring convocation season, Dr. El Jones was awarded an honorary degree by Acadia University.
Said Dr. Corinne Haigh, Dean of the Faculty of Professional Studies at Acadia, “What defines her achievements is a commitment to activism and community advocacy to highlight inequities and redress injustices. The recognition of her performances, teaching and political commitment [is testament] to the exceptional influence she has exercised during the Black Lives Matter movement and the expansion of Black scholarship in Canadian academia.”
Another member of the MSVU community got an honorary degree in 2024. Dr. Jacquie Gahagan was recognized by Ontario Tech University for their extensive work in health equity research, education and advocacy.
1. Celebrating MSVU 2024 Student Academic Award Winners (April)
What did we tell you? Stories that put a spotlight on our amazing people – especially students – are always a big hit, as they should be! In the spring, we celebrated MSVU students’ exceptional academic achievements. We celebrated our student-athletes at the 2024 Best of the Blue event too. These students are an inspiration to the university community and a great source of Mystic pride!