Mount Saint Vincent University

 You're not just a number at the "Mount"

“Every time I turn around I learn something new that just amazes me about this place,” says Alexa McDonough, Mount Saint Vincent University’s interim president and vice-chancellor.

Whether it’s launching a new chair in learning disabilities, establishing a digital commons to showcase and preserve the scholarly work of faculty, staff and students, or envisaging a new combined science and communications degree, there are plenty of sources of inspiration to be found at the “Mount”.

Inspiration also comes from the Halifax university’s deep-rooted concern with social justice. “I think the Mount is unapologetic – it’s one of the things I love about it. It operates in a values framework with a clear sense of the shared mission to create a better world, break down barriers, create more justice and fairness in the world and a lot of the programs reflect that - a lot of the Mount’s history reflects that,” McDonough says.

This history dates back to 1873, when the Sisters of Charity founded Mount Saint Vincent Academy. According to a Mount history, “At a time when women could not vote, the Mount provided an opportunity for women to learn and participate equally in society.” The congregation’s leadership in advancing education for women continued throughout the century that followed. In 1988 the Sisters of Charity transferred ownership of Mount Saint Vincent University to a lay Board of Governors.

“The Sisters of Charity have always been and continue to be real leaders in this community and the broader community,” McDonough says. “They are relentlessly positive and always optimistic and very, very effective change agents.”

That embracing and initiation of change is evident when reviewing a university list of Mount firsts: the first English-speaking Bachelor of Public Relations program in Canada (another first, the Master of Public Relations program saw its inaugural class graduate last fall); the only university in Atlantic Canada to offer Child and Youth Study; the first Maritime university to offer co-operative education; and a Bachelor of Science (Science Communication), the first of its kind in Canada.

The Mount has also made its mark through longstanding leadership in distance education. “Our whole distance education strategy in many respects is a strategy in access and equity,” says Jeff Hollett, Mount Saint Vincent University’s associate vice president student experience. “Increasingly fewer and fewer Nova Scotians and Canadians can drop out of their lives for four years, come and live at university, study full-time and incur the accompanying debt. We’re trying to be creative and have been quite successful in creating opportunities that allow people to access education here who wouldn’t otherwise find it possible.”

The Mount’s student body consists of over 4,000 women and men from more than 60 countries. Hollett says only a portion of the university’s population comes directly from high school. There is a strong community of adult-age students and about a third of the entering class are transfer students from other regional universities.

“Each one of the individuals within those different stakeholder groups has different expectations of what a first-rate university experience would be,” Hollett says. “And to the extent that we can, we are going to try to tailor our services to meet the needs of individuals.”

This individual approach is something the Mount prides itself on. The university says a 2008 survey of graduating students found 95 per cent student satisfaction with the accessibility of professors outside of class time. It also notes the average class size is 24, among the lowest in Canada.

Another point of pride is the university’s natural setting. “You get the best of all worlds here,” McDonough says. “You’re living in a beautiful environment, in a gorgeous ecological space with this beautiful wooded hillside looking out at the ocean, and within four minutes from any part of this campus you can be on a bus to downtown Halifax.”

As the Mount heads into the future, it will not forget its past. “The Mount is an institution that has always been dedicated to social justice, community outreach, providing barrier-free access to postsecondary education, and, to this day, those ideals and values are core to the institution,” Hollett says. “Education for women, and providing opportunities for women, are key pillars in the Mount’s history and also in its future. And this is a time when we’re reconfirming those values with the aim of moving forward and doing an even better job of achieving our goals.”