AV俱乐部

Adapting to a pandemic world of screens instead of seminars wasn鈥檛 easy for second-year Law student Haneen Al-Noman. A refugee from Yemen who鈥檇 settled in Halifax, she wasn鈥檛 sure how the bonds and connections that defined her first-year experience in the Schulich School of Law would translate into Zoom lectures and meetings.

Then she enrolled in a course supporting the AV俱乐部 Law Journal and met its editor at the time, Kim Brooks.

鈥淗onestly, Kim made the year bearable,鈥� says Al- Noman. 鈥淚t was a small course during the peak of the pandemic, and what stood out was the way she made space for us to detach from our roles of 鈥榮tudent鈥� or 鈥榠nstructor鈥� and talk to one another as people, and about all that we were going through that year. She allowed us to be ourselves.鈥�

Kim Brooks is nothing if not herself. She鈥檚 as likely to be spotted in a cowboy shirt and decorative belt buckle as she is in a business suit. She鈥檚 successfully led two different AV俱乐部 faculties through eras of growth and change 鈥� she鈥檚 also someone who takes the time to write different convocation speeches for every Faculty to give each class their own uniquely meaningful moment. She sees inclusion as elemental to the academic experience and, by shepherding the 2015 , helped widen the conversation about diversity and equity at AV俱乐部. A problem solver with big-picture energy, she鈥檚 as eager to talk existential questions of 鈥渨hat鈥� and 鈥渨hy鈥� as she figuring out how to get something new started.

Dr. Brooks鈥檚 latest 鈥渟omething new鈥�: becoming AV俱乐部鈥檚 13th president and vice-chancellor. Her appointment, which began in August, is noteworthy in that she鈥檚 the first woman and the first open member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to be permanently hired the role. But if you鈥檙e trying to understand the excitement that surrounds her solely through those lenses, you鈥檙e likely missing a big part of the story. You get a little closer to the heart of it knowing, for example, that Dr. Brooks has continued to mentor Al-Noman through the last year of her studies and into the early days of her legal career 鈥� even while serving as dean of an entirely different Faculty.

Related reading:听Kim Brooks appointed as AV俱乐部鈥檚 13th president and vice鈥慶hancellor

鈥淪he鈥檚 one of my favourite people that I鈥檝e ever come across,鈥� says Al-Noman, who is preparing to clerk with the Supreme Court of Canada next year. 鈥淜im makes you believe in yourself even when you don鈥檛.鈥�

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The search for a university president is a comprehensive effort that casts its gaze nationally and globally for potential candidates. So what does it say about Dr. Brooks, and AV俱乐部, that the search committee recommended the university鈥檚 first internal presidential hire in over 40 years? AV俱乐部 Board Chair Cheryl Fraser, who led the hiring process as search committee chair, says it speaks volumes.

鈥淭hroughout the process, we got to see Kim bring forward this vibrant energy and ambition for AV俱乐部,鈥� says Fraser. 鈥淪he鈥檚 someone with the ability to see and present Dal in a new light while holding true to our values. And she does this while making you feel like you鈥檝e known her forever. Her ability to build that relationship with people is really something special.鈥�

That comes up time and time again when you ask people about Dr. Brooks: the sense of connection people have with her, no matter how brief the interaction. The Honourable Michael MacDonald, former chief justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, was first introduced to Dr. Brooks in 2010 when she arrived in Nova Scotia to serve as dean of the Schulich School of Law. Each year, the chief justice was invited to speak to the incoming Law class, allowing MacDonald to see how Dr. Brooks forged connections with new students and faculty from their first moments on campus.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful combination to have someone so kind and caring, giving and modest, but at the same time so unbelievably smart,鈥� says MacDonald, who most recently chaired and served as commissioner of the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission. 鈥淪he鈥檚 the complete package鈥攖he EQ and the IQ.鈥�

鈥淪he brings a particular vitality and vibrance to every single conversation she鈥檚 involved in, but she never thinks she has all the answers,鈥� says Robert Orr, CEO and managing partner of the sustainable aquaculture impact investment fund Cuna Del Marr and member of the Faculty of Management advisory board. 鈥淭hat really creates space for others to participate. She鈥檚 always looking for ways to make things work for everyone involved 鈥� how to create a better future not out of compromise and concession, but in what we can co- create together.鈥�

Co-creation and collaboration are distinctly top-of-mind for Dr. Brooks as she works through her busy first months in the President鈥檚 Office.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 been delightful is the consistent feedback from people that they鈥檙e willing to help in whatever way we can think of,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 everyone鈥攆rom government to donors to former students, to faculty and staff here at Dal. They don鈥檛 just reach out to say 鈥榗ongrats鈥� but it鈥檚, 鈥業鈥檓 here if you need me. What can I do to help?鈥� And I think that really speaks to this moment we鈥檙e in as a university: people are looking to be part of something meaningful and purpose driven.鈥�

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The story of how Dr. Brooks found her own sense of meaning and purpose is hardly a straight-line journey to the President鈥檚 Office. (To steal a line from her sister when told about her new appointment: 鈥淚 always knew you鈥檇 be president of something, but I thought it would be more like a book club.鈥�)

For one thing, Dr. Brooks has a diverse resume虂 of work outside the academy, be it as a practising lawyer in Toronto and London (UK), or in community capacities like chair of the Halifax Public Libraries board or president of the Canadian Centre for Legal Innovation in Sexual Assault Response. And her academic appointments and achievements have been robust, whether that鈥檚 becoming a 3M Teaching Fellow鈥� Canada鈥檚 highest honour for university teaching鈥攐r serving as the Heward Stikeman Chair in the Law of Taxation at McGill University, or the Purdy Crawford Chair in Business Law at AV俱乐部.

But university leadership? It had never crossed her mind until she reached a sort-of 鈥渁h-ha鈥� moment eight or nine years into her career.

鈥淚 had this realization that I could see, with relative predictability, what the rest of my career would look like,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd don鈥檛 get me wrong: it was good! I鈥檇 walk away from academia after 40 years with an amazing cluster of students, a solid enough body of scholarship, and a pretty rewarding career, all things considered. But all around me, I saw these people who were more talented than me, in all kinds of different ways, who were experiencing the frictions of university life. They were getting discouraged, or stopped doing things, or were flummoxed because they we were running up against barriers.

鈥淎nd what I realized is that what I love doing, and can be pretty good at, is getting obstacles out of people鈥檚 way. When someone wants to do something and can articulate that to you, and you can enable it, it鈥檚 the best feeling in the world.鈥�

If there鈥檚 a AV俱乐部 experience that best exemplifies this aspect of Dr. Brooks鈥檚 leadership, it might be the appointment she began in early 2020 as dean of the Faculty of Management.

Mike Smit was the associate dean, academic and part of a group of faculty members that met with Dr. Brooks while she considered taking on the role. He didn鈥檛 know her at the time 鈥� she had been dean and faculty member in a completely different academic discipline 鈥� but her name kept coming up as they considered who at Dal might have the skills needed to take on the challenge they faced.

鈥淲e were in an interesting space,鈥� says Dr. Smit, who has since stepped in to serve as acting dean following Dr. Brooks鈥檚 appointments to the Provost鈥檚 Office and, subsequently, the President鈥檚 Office. 鈥淲e had strengths, a lot of potential, but we kept getting bogged down in conversations about structure and internal governance. We weren鈥檛 set up for what we needed to do, and we were looking for someone to help us decide what the right path was, to collectively come to a structure that works for what we needed.鈥�

Getting opinionated academics to align isn鈥檛 easy at the best of times; doing so amid substantial disagreements, and through the arrival of a global pandemic that isolated people more than ever before, might have seemed daunting to most. But Dr. Brooks approached it with the same sincerity, good humour, and willingness to listen with which she鈥檚 done so much of her work. She met with every faculty member, read an awful lot, and took in as much information as she could to ground herself in the Faculty鈥檚 people and what they cared about. The resulting process led to a new way of organizing the Faculty and its programs that was approved by Senate earlier this year 鈥� and, perhaps just as importantly, a shift in attitudes from one of concern to 鈥渃autious optimism,鈥� as Dr. Smit puts it.

Chris Smith saw this work unfold as a member of the Faculty鈥檚 advisory board and credits its success to Dr. Brooks鈥檚 team-focused approach.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very obvious she establishes an incredible rapport with the people she works with,鈥� says Smith, executive vice-president, finance for Nova Scotia Power. 鈥淭his was a Faculty struggling in what it was going to be and now, when that team engages with the advisory board, you can see the whole dynamic has shifted. It鈥檚 a complete 180 鈥� a much more collegial and cohesive unit, with a strategy they鈥檙e all engaged in. It demonstrates her ability to coach, to lead, to mentor, and to create a positive environment.鈥�

鈥淚f I were to define one superpower for Kim, it鈥檚 that she gets the best of the people around her,鈥� says Dr. Smit. 鈥淪he inspires the people she works with to want to do more interesting things and empowers them to do things they鈥檙e excited about. And I think that鈥檚 a power that will serve her very well as president.鈥�

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What does that people-focused power look like in the president鈥檚 chair? Dr. Brooks says she sees the job as if a theatre company were to mash together the roles of artistic director and stage manager. It鈥檚 about helping the company decide where it鈥檚 going to place its creative energies 鈥� but also about ensuring the stage is set so everyone can hit their marks.

鈥淚 like being the person who helps people decide they want Grease to be the play they perform, and also to help make sure the pink car is placed where it鈥檚 supposed to be,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut I鈥檓 not the one playing Sandra Dee.鈥�

In other words: she鈥檚 not the star. That lack of spotlight-seeking isn鈥檛 just for show. It鈥檚 why she was adamant about sharing her DAL Magazine cover with some of Dal鈥檚 outstanding students. It鈥檚 why she eschewed doing a traditional address at her installation ceremony this October, offering the stage to Law and Management Professor Sherry Pictou to discuss the Indigenous philosophy 鈥渟even generations鈥� of impact. And it鈥檚 why she鈥檚 鈥渞elentless,鈥� as Naiomi Metallic puts it, when she sees potential in someone and wants to encourage them to step up and get involved.

From left to right: Jasmine Kwan, Tanisha Dabas, Anna Kimoto, Sartaj Singh Sidhu, Travis Price, Sally Steinberg, Willy Kindo (Nick Pearce photo).

鈥淪he鈥檚 the person who encouraged me to apply to join [the faculty at] the law school,鈥� says Prof. Metallic, Chancellor鈥檚 Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy at AV俱乐部. 鈥淚f she wants to achieve something and thinks it鈥檚 the right thing to do, she will not let go of it. And I know I鈥檓 not the only person she鈥檚 done that for. It鈥檚 an inspiring approach; it鈥檚 made me want to do the same for others.鈥�

As for what she hopes to inspire during her presidency, with Dal鈥檚 strategic plan, Third Century Promise, at its halfway point, the university鈥檚 immediate priorities are relatively clear. But she is keen to take advantage of this moment, and this enthusiasm she鈥檚 feeling, to spark big conversations about AV俱乐部 and its future. How can we empower our people to push forward with their dreams and ambitions for AV俱乐部 and themselves? How can we unite behind a sense of purpose that defines and emboldens our vision for the rest of the century ahead? And how can we embody our sense of place and grow the vital contributions AV俱乐部 makes to Nova Scotia and beyond?

鈥淚 think she鈥檚 not only the president AV俱乐部 needs right now, but what Nova Scotia needs as well,鈥� says Candace Thomas, a Schulich Law alum and former Dal board chair who鈥檚 currently the province鈥檚 Deputy Minister of Justice. 鈥淪he鈥檚 someone who knows how important it is that AV俱乐部 be relevant to its community, and how to go out into that community 鈥� using the connections she has, and new ones she can make 鈥� in the spirit of true collaboration and openness and willingness to listen.鈥�

Right now, what Dr. Brooks is hearing is understandably tinged by the heavy burdens of the past few years.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been through this pandemic that has been very urgent, immediate, and isolating,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e have an obligation to reconnect people and purpose: how can we take the lessons we learned about our ability to change, our adaptability, all of that, and apply it to something we鈥檙e all actually excited about and engaged in?鈥�

And that comes back to the university鈥檚 mission: educating and inspiring generations of students, cultivating new knowledge, accelerating innovation and the university鈥檚 response to society鈥檚 challenges, and so much more.

鈥淎 president has to hold true to the fundamental purpose and potential of a place like this and find ways to unite people around shared purpose, meaning, and joy,鈥� says Dr. Brooks. 鈥淚 believe pride is something people feel deep within themselves. They have to feel like they鈥檙e part of contributing something meaningful to the world.

鈥淚 feel that pride in AV俱乐部. I know many others do as well. But I think there are so many more people out there waiting for an invitation to be part of something meaningful, something purposeful. I think we can offer that to them.鈥�

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Student spotlights

Every good photoshoot benefits from some helping hands. President Kim Brooks may be the focus of this feature, but she wanted to use the opportunity to help shine a spotlight on some of Dal's future alumni.听

This story appeared in the听DAL Magazine Fall/Winter 2023听issue. Flip through the rest of the issue using the links below.