PROFILE
Acadia: not just a university Encouraging student-led community building
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cadia University is one of the oldest and most respected liberal education universities in Canada, founded in 1838 in Wolfville. The post-secondary institution provides a personalized education in a wellrespected scholarly community and inspires students to become critical thinkers and engaged citizens. Ranked one of the top undergraduate universities in Nova Scotia (Maclean's 2021), Acadia stands at number three nationally for its research initiatives, small classes and a technology-rich learning environment. "Acadia provides a rare gift to its students: a truly welcoming experience that at once pushes us beyond our comfort zone and makes us feel like we're at home," says Brendan MacNeil, immediate past President of Acadia Students’ Union. 28
By Mina Atia
ACADIA STANDS AT NUMBER THREE NATIONALLY FOR ITS RESEARCH INITIATIVES, SMALL CLASSES AND A TECHNOLOGY-RICH LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. PHOTO CREDIT: ACADIA UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
"The synergy between excellence and comfort, Acadia and Wolfville, faculty and student, defines the experience students speak to in these rankings, and those attributes keep us all coming back,” says Ian Murray, Executive Director, Office of the President at Acadia University. Two high-achieving Acadia students recently won prestigious awards, highlighting the university’s strive for excellence. Leah Creaser, fourth-year Honours Biology student and president of the Indigenous Student Society of Acadia (ISSA), was awarded a 2021 3M National Student Fellowship. Guy HarrisonMurray won the Frank H. Sobey Award for Excellence in Business Studies. One of only nine business student award recipients studying at Atlantic Canadian universities, Guy received $30,000. “We are by no means perfect, but it is our BUSINESS VOICE
students, University and town leaders' collective strength and the willingness to work together that makes that synergy attainable," says Murray. Community-building campus opportunities With a Community Farm established on its half-acre educational garden, Acadia hosts forty individual garden plots where students and volunteers grow organic produce. In partnership with Acadia’s food service provider, Chartwells, Acadia hosts “The Growcer”. The ‘farm inside a box’ program features a hydroponic, vertical growing system on campus housed inside a repurposed shipping container, producing greens and microgreens year-round. The Growcer is first of its kind for a post-secondary institution in Atlantic Canada and can produce up to 230 lbs. of produce per week, which is then
