26 StFX Day events held!

Across Canada and around the world, Xaverians gathered on Dec. 3 (or thereabouts) to celebrate and reminisce with friends old and new from StFX. Events were held across Canada, in California, England, Scotland and Ireland!

I was fortunate to be a guest at the St. John's, Newfoundland gathering and the event in Sydney, NS. Both were wonderful events.

In Newfoundland alumni of all ages gathered at the Last Drop Pub on Water St. I gave an update on campus news and heard lots of great feedback and suggestions on what we can do to increase recruitment in the province. Bill Dilny and Ron Joy were terrific hosts and have done so much over the years to develop our presence in the St. John's area. In attendance were also several recent grads who are interested in getting more involved in the St. John's chapter and we look forward to working with them as well.

In Sydney close to 100 people came out for mass and a reception at St. Anthony Daniel chuch and hall. Dr. Sean Riley spoke about progress on campus and future plans. Fr. Donnie MacGillivray and his team of Xaverian helpers put on a wonderful event. Those in attendance agreed that we'd like to work together to establish a formal chapter in Sydney, and several people agreed to play leadership roles in doing so (much to Fr. Donnie's relief!).

Helen

X-Rings are tough on exams

I understand now. I understand those former classmates of mine who said they had trouble studying for Christmas exams after getting their X-Ring on Dec. 3. Hardly five minutes goes by now that I don't notice my shiny new ring there on my finger and stop whatever I'm doing to admire it. It is such a happy distraction!

Yesterday's X-Ring ceremony in the Keating Centre was magical. Dr. Winston Jackson was absolutely thrilled to be awarded this year's honorary X-Ring in recognition of his exceptional service to StFX over the past few decades. And guest speaker Peter Bowler '77 did an outstanding job of conveying to our senior class all that the X-Ring represents. His words were funny, inspirational and moving.

Alumni President Ed McHugh reminded the students that there's a 30,000-strong alumni family out there that's looking forward to welcoming them into the alumni ranks and helping them as best they can along their journeys after graduation.

Countdown to X-Ring!

Only six days left! Excitement is building on campus this week as StFX Day and those prized X-Rings get closer. Our alumni will be sharing in the excitement as they gather at 25 StFX Day celebrations taking place across Canada, in the U.S. and Europe. If you haven't already done so, check out the list of StFX Day events on the main page of The X-Ring and see if there's one taking place near you. Organizers and fellow grads would love to see you there.

On a personal note, I have to say that I'm especially excited about Dec. 3 this year because I'll be getting my very own X-Ring! After four-and-a-half years of part-time studies, I'll be graduating next spring and I'm thrilled to be one of almost 1,000 seniors getting their rings Monday. Today I did what almost all our grads do in early December: I headed down to Cameron's Jewelry on Main St. to try on my new ring. That was a lovely feeling. It was really hard to hand it back to the staff at Cameron's so they can safeguard it with the others before the X-Ring ceremony, when they'll finally be ours to keep.

I just hope we don't have the snowball effect this year. That's when a senior student with a shiny new X-Ring decides to let off some steam while studying for Christmas exams by engaging in a little snowball fight. You see, the cold air and snow causes one's finger to shrink up a little, and then that new ring catches flight as the snowball is pitched, to land somewhere in a sea of snow, much to the student's dismay.

So on Monday I'll be reminding everyone to play safe.

National Dinner outstanding event

It was a pleasure to see so many alumni and friends of the university -- and meet lots of people getting to know StFX for the first time --at the StFX National Dinner in Toronto last week. There was lots of excitement in the air and no shortage of wonderful testimonials, both on stage and off, about the StFX experience. This event does a lot to expand and enhance StFX's national reputation for excellence and the level of care in every detail did not go unnoticed. For this we can thank a talented team of organizers, led by StFX's VP of Advancement Peter Fardy. It was wonderful to have members of our Students' Union executive in attendance, as well as Ed McHugh, Austin Hawley, Andrea Holahan and Janet-Lynn MacNeil from our Alumni Association Executive. Pictured here is Dr. Sean Riley, SU Pres. Adam Harris, keynote speaker the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney, and SU VP Marc Rodrique.

Coady Celebrates impresses

There was a good showing of alumni at the annual Coady Celebrates fundraising dinner at the Westin Nova Scotia in Halifax Oct. 30, including our national president Ed McHugh, his wife Shelley, our vice president Austin Hawley and secretary Andrea Holohan. It was a lovely and inspirational event that garnered rave reviews. Guest speaker was former federal cabinet minister Flora MacDonald. She gave a very impressive presentation on her recent visits to Afghanistan. At 82, she is an outstanding Canadian with a great sense of adventure who continues to make a difference in the world.

Alumni celebrate Coach K's induction

It was a pleasure to be among close to 50 alumni and friends and StFX at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax last Friday night, Oct. 19, for Coach Steve Konchalski's induction into the NS Sports Hall of Fame. Steve received a very warm response from the 700 or so people in attendance. Afterward, we invited all Xaverians on stage for a photo with our honouree. Unfortunately, a few of the StFX crowd were missing though. Lesson learned -- when you want to corral the StFX folks for a photo, check the bar before you take the picture!

Recovering from Homecoming 2007

What a weekend! Yes, I admit it, I slept in until 10:30 a.m. this morning. After a jam-packed weekend of dinners, games, celebrations and late-night gatherings, I joined many of you in needing a little extra rest before coming face-to-face with a post-Homecoming Monday morning.

But here I am, back at my desk, handling little details leftover from a truly incredible weekend. I did confess to some that I was a little nervous heading into the Homecoming Dinner Friday night, since this was my first Homecoming as Alumni Director. But nerves soon made way for excitement and I quickly found myself caught up in the fun of renewing friendships and celebrating the StFX of yesterday and today.

Thanks to all the class reunion organizers and the large number of StFX staff who worked so hard behind the scenes to make Homecoming such a success. Special thanks to our new Special Events Coordinator Mary Jessie MacLellan and Alumni Assistant Glenda Bond who make complex events look so easy.

What I found so special and rewarding about this weekend was the number of people who had been away from StFX for a long time but enjoyed themselves so much that they pledged to come back again next year. And they are so very welcome!

Hail and Health to everyone, and here are a few Homecoming pics to enjoy.

Helen

Welcome to Homecoming!

We hit close to 30 degrees celcius in the sun on campus today as we put out the welcome mat for Homecoming 2007! The weather is just another sign of fun times ahead as we prepare to welcome our Golden Grads of '57, 25th anniversary alumni from '82 and lots of other anniversary classes and homecoming grads.

The Homecoming Dinner on Friday night is now sold out but tickets for the dance following can still be purchased at registration or at the door.

Remember to come to the football game early on Saturday for the outdoor concert with the energetic Tom Fun Orchestra and our outdoor reception and refreshment tent! It gets underway around noon.

See you at Homecoming!

Helen

Frosh weeks rocks campus

We welcomed 1200 new students to StFX this week and the excitement at Frosh Week activities is incredible. Things are a little quieter today as classes get underway, but this coming weekend more fun activities are planned, including Saturday's Joel Plaskett concert. We had alumni out serving pancakes and sausages at our frosh breakfast outdoors on Monday morning. A nice chance for our new students to get introduced to the alumni networks. I've been busy promoting our two alumni student groups -- SALUTE and SAINT -- to new students. So far the response is very good. Today's students quickly see the benefits of networking with alumni.

Here are a few of my favourite Frosh week pics.

Hail and Health,

Helen

Alumni host terrific student send-offs

I just got back from the Pictou County student send-off. We have an energetic and fun alumni group there; Paul Fraser and his team did a terrific job, once again, with this annual event. We had 30+ new students in attendance, plus parents, friends and alumni. Returning students were keen to share information and advice from their first-year at X. A similar event was held in Dartmouth last night for Halifax-area students and parents. Two very animated second-year students from rival houses Chillis and TNT got the students totally pumped for Frosh Week and the whole first-year experience. They demonstrated just how easy it is for new students to get swept up on the X-Spirit. (I only had to cover my ears twice.) Hats off to Ed and Shelly McHugh and the Halifax chapter executive for hosting a wonderful send-off! This Sunday's event in Moncton will wrap up this year's student send-offs. 10 DAYS 'TIL FROSH WEEK! Something new this year: The Alumni Association is sponsoring the Buddy BBQ on the first day of Frosh Week. We'll have a team of local alumni folks out, wearing very fashionable alumni aprons, and flipping those burgers. We don't want to waste any time in introducing our Frosh to the alumni network!

Hail and Health,

Helen

Counting down to Frosh Week

Students' Union VP Activities Corey Bradbury and VP Communications Neil Stephen dropped in to Alumni House today to talk about alumni support of Frosh Week and partnered activities for Homecoming weekend. It's so hard to believe it's only 16 days til Orientation Week starts! Our alumni have been doing their part in getting ready by holding some terrific student send-offs. I was thrilled to be able to take part in our send-offs in Edmonton, Vancouver and Saint John recently. Our grads are introducing new students to the X-Spirit before they ever step on campus. This introduction to the Xaverian family has a huge impact not only on our new recruits, but also their parents. Especially when they're coming from the other side of the Canada, meeting caring and enthusiastic alumni helps to put parents at ease about the community they're sending their kids to. Calgary also held a send-off this summer and similar events are planned for Halifax, Pictou County and Moncton. During Frosh Week the Alumni Association is getting involved by sponsoring the Buddy BBQ on the first day, Sunday, Sept. 2. We'll have alumni out serving up the burgers and dogs and introducing new students to the alumni network. During Homecoming, the Alumni Association is partnering with the Students' Union and Athletics for a pre-game concert and refreshment tent (all ages welcome) on Saturday, Sept. 29. This will be a terrific opportunity for alumni and students to mix and mingle. Homecoming 2007 is going to be lots of fun. I hope you're able to join us. If you haven't already done so, register for Homecoming on the X-Ring -- it's free and will get you a half-price ticket to the football game. Hail and Health, Helen PS The summer edition of AlumniNews is at the printer!

Summer finally comes to campus

Summer weather has been late coming, but Xavier Gardens are in full bloom right now and it's a terrific time to visit campus. Lots of alumni stop by during their summer vacations and if you're going to be in the neighborhood please drop in to Alumni House.

Our new students who are coming to rez next year have been getting their room assignments over the past week and are busy getting in touch with their new roommates online. It's amazing how much discussion and networking these guys do online (my first born is coming to X next year so I've been observing from the sidelines). There's aFacebook group for our new Xaverians and even subgroups of that for individual houses. These students are going to know so much about each other before they even meet face-to-face!

But they're not the only Xaverians online. Our new online alumni community here is a terrific success. In just over a month we have 1500 registered alumni and more joining daily. The more the site gets used the more useful it becomes for everyone as photos, messages, news items and other information is added. And of course we're very pleased to be providing another way for alumni to find their classmates and reconnect.

I had the pleasure of participating in the recent alumni golf tournaments in Montreal and Charlottetown. They were lots of fun and it was great to meet so many wonderful alumni and hear stories from their student days. Both these alumni chapters are thriving thanks to strong, enthusiastic leadership.

Last week we had two farewell receptions. On Monday the campus community came together to say goodbye to Fr. Paul MacNeil. He'll be with us for another couple of weeks and then his new journey on sabbatical begins. On Friday the university said goodbye to VP Student Services Jana Luker. Jana has been a real friend and advocate for students over the past few years.

Til next time...

Hail and Health,

Helen

Bishops Hall getting makeover

You won't recognize Bishops Hall this fall! It's getting an $11 million facelift right now and will sport an updated facade and all the high-end finishes of Governors and the renovated MacIsaac Hall. It's an ambitious construction schedule, having just started after students left at the end of April; it has to be ready for their return in September. Lately a lot of demolition has been going on inside. The crews have been blessed with great weather.

Fantastic Spring Convocation!

Despite winterish weather, Spring Convocation 2007 was a huge success! With over 1100 grads we had our largest class yet for an uplifting ceremony at the Keating Centre. It was new Alumni Association President Ed McHugh's first time addressing Convocation and he did a terrific job. Ed talked about the alumni family around the world that is ready and more than willing to help our newest alumni in any way they can. Of course summer weather showed up a day late, with temperatures getting into the high 20s in sunshine in the days following Convocation.

Saying goodbye to SALUTE grads

On Friday, May 4 Dr. Riley hosted our graduating SALUTE students for a lovely farewell luncheon at Morrison Hall. SALUTE is the students' group that assists the Alumni Office with a variety of important and fun events each year, including X-Ring and the Christmas tree lighting in Xavier Gardens. During lunch the students shared stories of their favourite memories of StFX, which Dr. Riley was keen to hear and incorporate into his speech to convocation on Sunday. We wish the students the very best in the future and know we'll be seeing them at alumni chapter events.

Farewell Mass for Students with Fr. Paul

There was a Mass of Thanksgiving with Fr. Paul on Sunday at the Chapel – his last 5 p.m. Mass with the students. Excellent turnout. Afterward there was a reception at the Black Doors, Morrison Hall, complete with a slide show of favourite Fr. Paul photos and a special book of farewell messages for friends to write in. The students gave Fr. Paul a memory book with lots of pictures and personal messages, as well as a very stylish varsity-style StFX jacket. He was obviously pleased!

Moving Day at StFX

It was moving day today on campus and in town. It's the last day of exams and the boulevard is lined with cars, vans and truck as parents come to collect their kids (and a lot more stuff than they arrived with in September). Some students are just moving from one apartment to another in town, like these guys who were moving a bed up Highland Drive on a shopping cart at lunchtime today. Things were going okay until they reached the point just past Fatima St. where it goes downhill, sharply. At that time the bed decided to do the steering. The guys were still in good cheer though and didn't mind me taking their photo.

Alumni Recognition Award winners

This was a tough job. The alumni and staff on the awards committee had a very difficult time selecting one winner from each undergraduate class for the $1500 award. There were some incredible students in the running for this special recognition. Of 43 applicants, 12 were short-listed for interviews. The winners are:
First year: Michael MacIsaac, Inverness, NS
Second year: Kaitlin Russell, Stellarton, NS
Third year: Melissa MacLean, Scoudouc, NS
Fourth year: Lila Pavey, Dartmouth

The winners are invited to read their essays during the Hall of Honour ceremony at Homecoming 2007.

Fr. Paul MacNeil to leave StFX after 11 years

Fr. Paul announced at Sunday's masses in the Chapel that he will be leaving StFX sometime this summer after giving 11 years of spiritual guidance and leadership to the StFX community. He will take a sabbatical year for renewal and study before assuming a post with a parish in the Diocese of Antigonish.

As StFX chaplain, Fr. Paul has been a friend to so many students, faculty alumni, staff and members of the community. He will be greatly missed.

A mass of thanksgiving is taking place at the Chapel at 5pm this Sunday, on April 22nd, with a social gathering at the Black Doors following. There will be a book of “Thanks for the Memories” for people to sign, offering best wishes to Fr. Paul as he moves into his next life journey.

A celebration for the wider community will take place at a future date.

Fr. Paul has been a tremendous gift to StFX for these past 11 years and we hope he enjoys his sabbatical year. He will most certainly be welcomed with open arms in the parish that is blessed with his appointment in 2008.

Faculty retirements

It is with mixed feelings that we celebrate the retirement of faculty members. While we wish them the very best as they embark on a new journey, we know we'll miss their friendship on campus and the very significant contribution they make to the student experience at StFX.

This year a long list of accomplished and popular professors have reached that milestone. This afternoon they are being honoured at a party at Bloomfield Centre. Our new retirees are:

Dr. Dorothy Lander, Adult Education
Dr. Norm Seymour, Biology
Dr. Rom Palepu, Chemistry
Dr. Phil Milner, English
Dr. James Taylor, English
Dr. Patricia Hogan, History
Dr. Paul Phillips, History
Dr. John Quinn, Mathematics, Statistics & CS
Dr. Ernst Schuegraf, Mathematics, Statistics & CS
Dr. Naeem Jan, Physics
Dr. Ken den Heyer, Psychology
Ms. Addy Doucette, Theatre Antigonish
Mr. Al Connors, Chemistry