Dal President Richard Florizone鈥檚 annual Inspiration & Impact: Our Year in Review town hall is meant to be an opportunity to reflect on the past year at the university and celebrate achievements across the university.
But sometimes breaking news takes precedence, which on Thursday morning (June 21) meant two things.
First was the previous night鈥檚 fire at the Cox Institute on Dal鈥檚 Agricultural Campus in Truro. Several members of the university leadership team who were originally expected at the year-in-review event were in Truro working to address the aftermath of the fire, in which thankfully no one was hurt. (For the latest, visit the Faculty of Agriculture website.)
鈥淭hanks to the first responders, and our gratitude that nobody was injured,鈥� said President Florizone. 鈥淚鈥檝e had the chance to speak to Dean Gray (Faculty of Agriculture) and offer all of our collective support 鈥� that the full administrative and financial support of Dal is behind him as we mitigate the impact.鈥�
The second news to be addressed before getting underway was Monday鈥檚 big announcement from Board Chair Lawrence Stordy: that President Florizone will be leaving AV俱乐部 in the new year to lead the new Quantum Valley Ideas Lab in Waterloo, Ont. Described as 鈥渢he opportunity of a lifetime,鈥� he鈥檒l be helping establish Canada as a global leader in emerging global field of quantum computing.
鈥淚t kind of takes me back to my roots as a physicist, and so I鈥檓 excited about it,鈥� President Florizone told the crowd gathered in the McCain Building鈥檚 Ondaatje Hall, as well as those watching online via livestream.
鈥淏ut I want to say it鈥檚 also very bittersweet. I鈥檓 so proud of all the things we鈥檝e done together as a community, and today it鈥檚 so timely because I get to talk about some of those things.鈥�
Moving forward, guided by our values
With just over six months left in his presidency, Dr. Florizone plans to continue to help the university community push forward on the core areas of its current Strategic Direction, now in its final year. In Thursday鈥檚 presentation, he shared insights on the plan鈥檚 five pillars 鈥� Teaching and Learning, Research, Service, Partnerships and Reputation, and People, Infrastructure and Support 鈥� as Dal approaches its third century.
鈥淔or me, as I reflect on the last five years, we really put in a couple of years 鈥榯illing the soil,鈥� if I can go with an agricultural metaphor,鈥� he explained. 鈥淲e had some challenges as a campus as well.
鈥淏ut we addressed those challenges and opportunities in the very same way, which is to go back to our mission of teaching, research and service 鈥� our fundamental values like academic freedom, respect, freedom of inquiry, diversity and inclusion. And because we鈥檝e met those opportunities and challenges in the same way, it鈥檚 left us with some really incredible results, particularly in the past couple of years.鈥�
More on President Florizone's town hall: Watch the replay video and review the Powerpoint presentation
In Teaching and Learning, for example, President Florizone highlighted student award winners from the past year like Rhodes Scholar Nayani Jensen, 3M Student Fellow Martha Paynter and Top 8 Academic All-Canadian Anne Dunn-Suen. He discussed the early success of the On Track program to support student retention, which saw participating students continue in their studies at a rate 23 percentage points higher than those who didn鈥檛 participate; and a litany of faculty awards, ranging from Jocelyn Downie鈥檚 Order of Canada and Julia Wright鈥檚 induction to the Royal Society of Canada, to Drs. Patrick McGrath and Patrician Lingley-Pottie receiving the Governor General鈥檚 Award for Innovation 鈥� just to name a couple.
Research, innovation, impact
Then there鈥檚 Research, in which AV俱乐部 received a record total of funding last year at $156 million 鈥� a testament, President Florizone explained, to the quality of Dal鈥檚 faculty researchers. He also highlighted that Dal continues to rank third among Canada鈥檚 U15 universities in industry-sponsored research per faculty member.
鈥淭hat partnership is a really powerful base for us to build on, and it shows the potential of this institution to act as a catalyst for the social, cultural and economic growth of our community.鈥�
Under Service, President Florizone highlighted community clinics in Dentistry, Social Work and Law, as well and Dal鈥檚 success in providing hands-on, real-world learning for students. Last year, 100% of direct-entry undergrads had access to experiential learning opportunities, with 89% taking advantage of them.
鈥淲e鈥檙e giving our students not just a world-class, accredited, high-quality experience in the classroom, but we鈥檙e giving them those experiential opportunities as well,鈥� said President Florizone.
Achieving momentum together
As is the case in previous years鈥� presentations, President Florizone highlighted specific stories under each Strategic Direction area with a video. These included the new Aboriginal and Indigenous Law in Context course in the Schulich School of Law; Dr. Katherine O鈥橞rien鈥檚 pending arrival as the new Canada 150 Research Chair in vaccinology; and Dal鈥檚 role in supporting the new Ocean Supercluster in the region.
Watch: Featured videos from President Florizone's presentation
鈥淚n the last two years, Dal has been a critical partner in attracting more than half a billion dollars in ocean-related research and development to our region,鈥� said President Florizone, speaking to both the Ocean Supercluster and funding for Dal鈥檚 Ocean Frontier Institute. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful tribute, it fits with our mission, it strengthens AV俱乐部. But, critically, it strengthens our city, our province and our region on a topic 鈥攐cean sustainability 鈥� that鈥檚 important to the world.鈥�
Other videos highlighted Dal鈥檚 200th anniversary celebrations (for Partnership and Reputation) and the new Dalplex fitness centre (for People, Infrastructure and Support) 鈥� one of several exciting new spaces set to open on campus this year, alongside the Sexton Campus IDEA project, the new Ag Campus learning commons and others.
Additional items of note from President Florizone鈥檚 included record success in Annual Giving fundraising ($4.5M) and that the university is nearing full labour market representation of Indigenous employees. And in the Q&A portion of the event he discussed internationalization, collaboration with the DSU and Advancement around upcoming Homecoming celebrations for Dal 200, and the role of MIT-REAP (Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program) in inspiring of the sector-spanning successes Dal and its partners have seen in recent years like the Ocean Supercluster and others.
鈥淚 love the sense of momentum on campus,鈥� said President Florizone, concluding his remarks.
鈥淚鈥檒l hope you鈥檒l take from this a sense of what we can achieve as a community, because that鈥檚 is really what it鈥檚 all about: we come together with a common cause around a whole range of initiatives that strengthen Dal, but also strengthen our region, our country and even the world.鈥�
More on President Florizone's town hall: Watch the replay video and review the Powerpoint presentation