Virtual Events Series continues to engage Acadia alumni here at home and around the world

By Fred Sgambati (’83)

Acadia’s Office of Advancement and the Acadia Alumni Association continued to find new ways to engage members of the Acadia alumni community during the global coronavirus pandemic, building on the success of a virtual events series that kicked off in May 2020 by offering an interesting and diverse range of topics twice a month during the new year. All sessions were moderated by Executive Director, Alumni Affairs Oonagh Proudfoot (’93, ’06), and we are pleased to recap them for you in this edition of the Bulletin.

JANUARY 18 - The U.S. election: the good, the bad and the ugly (a panel presentation). With the inauguration of a new US President on the horizon, the world recalled with fascination the turbulent campaign, the election results, and the transition from the previous president to the next. Panelists Paul Black (’00), Acadia professor Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, and Director of Regional Services with the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage for the Province of Nova Scotia, Meg Cuming, discussed and debated some of the idiosyncrasies of the new political landscape.

JANUARY 25 - Hindsight is 2020: A Conversation with Acadia Chaplain Rev. Dr. Marjorie Lewis. Dr. Lewis spoke with Executive Director, Alumni Affairs Oonagh Proudfoot and guests on ways in which they can include spirituality in strategies to cope with stress and anxiety plus have meaningful lives during these most unprecedented times.

FEBRUARY 8 - A Labour of Love: Understanding (and tasting!) the Nova Scotia wine industry. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we joined Gina Haverstock, head winemaker at Devonian Coast Wineries (Jost, Gaspereau and Mercator Vineyards) and Matt McSweeney, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for the Sensory Research of Food at Acadia, for a conversation about the Nova Scotia wine industry.

FEBRUARY 22 - Diversity at Acadia: Fact and fiction to action, with panelists Junior Moaku ('19), Tracey McGillivray ('87, '15), Zabrina Whitman and Robert Ffrench (’04). A discussion highlighting an Acadia-specific initiative supporting black and Indigenous students, including conversation about social movements as a call to action and what members of our alumni community can take from the conversation to inform any further activity either as individuals or organizations.

MARCH 8 - Out of Milk: Infant Food Insecurity in a Rich Nation, with presenter Dr. Lesley Frank (’95). In this talk, Dr. Frank (’95) shared insights contained in her new book, Out of Milk: Infant food Insecurity in a Rich Nation.

MARCH 14 - Acadia’s 107th Annual Tully Tea. A total of 59 people attended this wonderful virtual event to raise a cuppa and celebrate Whitman House (Tully), its current residents and alumnae. Vice-President, Advancement (Interim) Nancy Handrigan (’92) offered words of welcome and Executive Director, Alumni Affairs Oonagh Proudfoot (’93, ’06) provided an historical overview on Tully.

MARCH 22 - Municipal Government and Women in Government. Mayor Wendy Donovan of Wolfville, Mayor Pam Mood ('82) of Yarmouth and Deputy Mayor of Kings County Emily Lutz ('20) were on hand to discuss the importance of municipal government and women in leadership roles.

APRIL 12 - House Call | Question and Answer Period with the Doctor from the comfort of your own home. Dr. Trevor Jain ('93) chatted about his remarkable career as a physician, trauma specialist and member of the Canadian military. He also discussed health care issues and concerns that matter to you.

APRIL 26 - Imagining ourselves otherwise: the value of video games as a humanities research tool. Acadia professor Dr. Jon Saklofske noted that the construction of game experiences allows us to become conscious of, to redesign, and even to symbolically re-present systems of human interaction and social/political/economic experience. This research method allows us to experiment with, investigate, and tweak possibilities -- like a humanities lab space -- to potentially reconstitute/recontextualize existing systems in illuminating ways, and/or prototype and model other possibilities.