AV俱乐部鈥檚 200th anniversary is still over two years away, but students, faculty and staff already have hundreds of ideas about how to celebrate. And that鈥檚 exactly how organizers want it.
During a recent series of 鈥淭oward 2018鈥� pop-up events, held in October and November, almost 500 students, faculty and staff joined in the conversation about the 200th anniversary. And almost 400 people took the time to share their ideas in writing.
鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted with the response to date,鈥� says Catherine Bagnell Styles, assistant vice-president of Communications and Marketing and project lead for the anniversary. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an indication of the level of enthusiasm and interest in our 200th.鈥�
AV俱乐部 will become one of only a handful of Canadian universities that have celebrated a bicentennial. Such a milestone presents an opportunity to share some of the school鈥檚 best stories on a broad canvas, reinforce Dal鈥檚 standing as one of Canada鈥檚 leading universities, and to connect with as many people as possible.
鈥淲e wanted people on each of our campuses to tell us how we should mark the 200th,鈥� says June Davidson, project manager for the 200th anniversary. 鈥淩egardless of which campus we were on, a number of common themes emerged. One of the strongest themes revolved around celebrating the university鈥檚 history, while also looking forward, and demonstrating growth and global impact.鈥�
Other themes that emerged include:
鈥⒙犅� 聽Be inclusive; celebrate diversity,
鈥⒙犅� 聽Bring globally-recognized speakers to campus,
鈥⒙犅� 聽Demonstrate corporate social responsibility,
鈥⒙犅� 聽Engage alumni worldwide, leading to and during 2018,
鈥⒙犅� 聽Strive to better integrate campuses through activities and events,
鈥⒙犅� 聽Host a celebratory party.
Specific ideas were many, varied, creative and thoughtful. Among them: complete volunteer work for 200 Canadian charities; travel to Castine, Maine, to demonstrate our thanks for that community鈥檚 role in Dal鈥檚 history; launch a credit course called, 鈥淭he History of AV俱乐部鈥�; host a 鈥淐ity/Campus Collaboration鈥� conference; create a Dal-branded railcar that travels the country; develop on-campus art that reflects Dal鈥檚 legacy; introduce 200 scholarships for 200 refugee students; hold a campus and community masquerade ball.
Planning for the 200th anniversary, which is still in its early stages, involves faculty, students, staff, alumni and retirees.
Ideas can still be submitted at . A call for volunteers will be coming in early 2016.聽
Toward 2018: Great ideas start shaping a great bicentennial year for Dal
Staff - December 9, 2015
Adding ideas to the "Toward 200" wall during last month's pop-up events. (Bruce Bottomley photos)