This week, AV俱乐部 Vice-President Martha Crago and the School for Resource and Environmental Studies (SRES) Associate Professor Michelle Adams are two of the 19 women honoured at this week's .
Hosted by the Canadian Progress Club Halifax Cornwallis on Wednesday, November 19, the event honours inspirational women who play an important role in their communities. The awards banquet is also a fundraiser for . (Through its 26 years, the event has raised more than $1 million.)
Dr. Crago and Dr. Adams join 11 additional honourees this year who are Dal alumnae, making for an exceptionally strong Dal contingent at the annual celebration.
A newcomer's contributions to Nova Scotia
For Martha Crago, the honour means a great deal to her as a relative聽 newcomer to Nova Scotia. She first arrived in the province seven years ago when she was hired as AV俱乐部鈥檚 vice-president research.
鈥淚t gives me the sense of a community embracing me, and that鈥檚 a really nice feeling,鈥� she says. 鈥淭o be selected by a group of women in Nova Scotia who feel I鈥檝e contributed to the province, is very meaningful for me. When I came here I didn鈥檛 initially see myself as a Nova Scotian, and over time I have been聽 figuring out my connections to the place. So I really appreciate being acknowledged in this way.鈥�
Dr. Crago is being recognized in the awards鈥� Education and Research category. As vice-president research, she鈥檚 responsible for supporting approximately $140 million in funded research annually across AV俱乐部 and working to advance Dal鈥檚 position as one of Canada鈥檚 leading research universities. As the Atlantic provinces鈥� research powerhouse, AV俱乐部 has a particularly important role to play when it comes to supporting regional development.
鈥淚n Canada, in general, two-thirds of research and development (R&D) is not done not by universities;聽it鈥檚 done by companies,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚n Nova Scotia, it鈥檚 the inverse but even more so. In Nova Scotia, 75 per cent of research and development is done by universities. If universities were not doing R&D, there would be an extremely small amount of R&D done in Nova Scotia. And 98 per cent of that R&D is done at AV俱乐部.鈥�
However, in the quest for applied research and industry partnerships, Dr. Crago says the province and university can鈥檛 lose sight of the importance of foundational research.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 keep discovering the basic nature of things like, for example, neutrinos, you don鈥檛 get to the place where you can see the applications of something really new and different. So there鈥檚 multiple layers here. One is how we can work better with companies and how we provide this strong R&D component for the province. At the same time, we have to be sure that聽 we continue to build the knowledge base that allows us to conduct that applied research as you move along.鈥�
Dr. Crago鈥檚 own research background is in the social sciences, focused on how children learn languages. She ended up in the middle of linguistic debates quite unexpectedly. When she was working with Inuit communities in Northern Quebec, she became aware that Inuit children learning to speak Inuktitut challenged some of the reigning theories about language acquisition. She continued this line of work by exploring differences between Aboriginal and European-influenced teaching and learning in various Aboriginal communities鈥� homes and schools. After becoming a dean she couldn鈥檛 travel as much, and subsequently she conducted reseach on the benefits of bilingualism for children who have language learning disorders.
While the field of language acquisition has always had strong representation from women, Dr. Crago can remember a time when faculty numbers relative to the gender breakdown of students was still skewed. She was not only part of changing that, but she has been part of the changing face of research leadership more generally. When Dr. Crago was hired as Dal鈥檚 vice-president research seven years ago, she was one of only two women in the role among the U15 group of Canada鈥檚 leading research universities. Now, currently six of the 15 universities have women as their vice-presidents of research.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 another reason why this particular prize is means a lot to me,鈥� she says.
Innovative teaching, research and collaboration
Before last summer, Michelle Adams had only a vague idea of the Progress Women of Excellence Awards. Two colleagues had won the award in the past, one of them who was the national sales director for Bullfrog Energy. She thought they were, in her words, 鈥渒ind of 鈥榖eyond-me鈥� awards.鈥�
鈥淲hen you look at the people who get nominated, you think, 鈥榯his is pretty cool,鈥欌�� adds Dr. Adams. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really good philanthropic organization.鈥�
Dr. Adams is being recognized this year in the Entrepreneur/Innovator category. 鈥淢ichelle is herself 鈥榠nnovation鈥� by nature,鈥� says colleague Karen Beazley, who nominated her for the award. 鈥淪he lives it.鈥�
Dr. Adams elaborates: 鈥淲hat I do wouldn鈥檛 traditionally fall under academic research. I think part of the reason Karen nominated me is because I鈥檓 really actively trying to intersect what we do in academia with what goes on in the real world.鈥�
She takes learning outside the university, through research projects, internships and thesis work for Masters of Environmental Studies students. She has created opportunities for student groups in the Management Without Borders course to work with local companies, and involves students in her own outreach projects. 鈥淪tudents respond very well to real-world examples of what鈥檚 going on not just in a lab but in a boardroom,鈥� she explains, 鈥渁nd they also respond well to knowing that their assignments will be read by someone other than an academic.鈥�
Her research in eco-efficiency and industrial ecology also brings together academia and the real world. 鈥淚 truly believe that business and industry have to play a very significant role in sustainable development, but they don鈥檛 do that research,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e do. It behooves us to say, 鈥榶ou can make your money, but here are some strategies that will help you do that but also put you on a sustainable path.鈥� You don鈥檛 have to be a business person to be entrepreneurial 鈥� it鈥檚 just leveraging knowledge in new ways.鈥�
Dr. Adams has worked in Latin American countries to implement energy efficiency programs, often through the former Eco-Efficiency Centre (EEC), which she directed. In one particular project with Ecopetrol, a Colombian oil and gas company, she and her students helped start a program that eventually led the company to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Closer to home, Dr. Adams and the EEC, together with David Wheeler (former dean of the Faculty of Management) convened and consulted hundreds of stakeholders across Nova Scotia as part of a renewable energy initiative. 鈥淥ver 25 recommendations came out of this, and the government actually implemented many of them. That was very powerful for me, to see where your efforts can go.鈥�
Dr. Adams, who also conducts research at the Verschuren Centre for Sustainability at Cape Breton University, speaks highly of the interdisciplinary and cooperative nature of Dal鈥檚 SRES program and its effect on her research.
鈥淪RES is very respectful of efforts to engage the outside world in a non-academic way, which may not be as easy in other units,鈥� she says. Dr. Beazley鈥檚 reaction to Dr. Adams鈥檚 award speaks to the supportive environment in SRES. 鈥淚 am so proud to see Michelle鈥檚 accomplishments recognized,鈥� she says. 鈥淪he is a role model and mentor for other young women, and a leader in bringing environmental concerns into the mainstream of engineering and business.鈥�
Dr. Adams herself is most thrilled with the nature of the award. 鈥淚鈥檓 really pleased that this was in the Entrepreneur/Innovator category,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t shows that what we do and learn in higher education can and should be integrated into society. And getting the award in this category demonstrates that my passion about that is noted. I鈥檓 pleased that someone else realizes that you can get out of your box.鈥�
Outstanding alumni
Alongside Dr. Crago and Dr. Adams, several Dal alumnae are being recognized as Women of Excellence by the Canadian Progress Club Halifax Cornwallis, in a variety of categories. (Dr. Adams is herself an alumna, having earned her PhD from AV俱乐部 in 2006.)
Management and the Professions
鈥� The Honourable聽Lena Metlege Diab (MPA鈥�87, LLB鈥�90), Immigration Minister for Nova Scotia
鈥� Karen Oldfield (LLB'85), president and CEO of the Halifax Port Authority
Arts and Culture
鈥� Author聽Carol Bruneau (BA鈥�77, MA鈥�81)
鈥� Heather Gibson (BA鈥�96),聽executive director of the Halifax Jazz Festival and of Jazz East
Education and Research
鈥� Sandra Starratt (BEd鈥�83, MEd鈥�92), Halifax West High School鈥檚 social studies and languages department head as well as student government adviser
Entrepreneur/Innovator
鈥� Jane Adams Ritcey (BPE'71), president of Adams & Knickle Ltd.
Health, Wellness and Sport
鈥� Dr. Jenine Arab O鈥橫alley (DDS 鈥�90), dentist at Halifax Dental Studio
鈥� Kerry Copeland (BSW鈥�89), Kids鈥� Run Club co-ordinator聽and Doctors Nova Scotia聽health promotion adviser
鈥� Sara Wilson (BA鈥�99),聽professional golfer and owner of Metro Ladies Golf Inc.
Communications and Public Affairs
鈥� Faten Alshazly (BScCS鈥�99), WeUsThem Inc.聽principal and chief creative officer
鈥� Paula Sibley-Fox (BA鈥�00),聽director of strategic communications for Nova Scotia鈥檚 RCMP