As the dean of Dal’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Robert Summerby-Murray might be expected to be an advocate for the fine and performing arts. Less obvious to some is his quiet advocacy for student-athletes.

Turns out Summerby-Murray is the go-to senior administrator for athletics awards nights and events. He regularly represents the university at sports-related galas and can be seen cheering for the home team in the front row at varsity show-downs.

“I am a huge supporter of student athletes and the level of commitment they bring to achieving excellence both in their sport and in their academics,” says Summerby-Murray. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the holistic philosophy of a healthy spirit in a healthy body. It’s an important part of the total student experience and it’s a very demanding and challenging path to choose.”

So, when Dal field hockey coach Linda Bonin approached FASS alumni officer Krista Armstrong  looking for funding support for two of the faculty’s athletes who were being recognized at an event for the Canadian Women’s National Program in Vancouver, Armstrong  immediately turned to her dean for his input. “Although it has varsity status, the Dal field hockey team is a club team, so they really have very little funding,” explains Armstrong. “When athletes are recognized at awards conferences or invited to travel to events, they really can’t afford to participate because they don’t have any money for such ‘frills’ as team attire, meals, scholarships, etc.”

Small change, big impact

Upon being presented with the request, Summerby-Murray’s immediate response was to check into the Faculty’s annual fund budget for scholarly/conference purposes  to see if it might be possible to provide support through that avenue, but then he hit on a better idea. “I did a few quick calculations and I realized that by increasing my own personal monthly contribution to the annual fund by about $45, I could target these monies to deserving student-athletes,” he says.

After conferring with his wife, Susan, who proved very supportive of the initiative, Summerby-Murray formalized his commitment. “At the end of the day, my personal gesture represents about a 20 to 25 per cent increase in my monthly giving,” says Summerby-Murray. “I consider this gift to be a small extension of what we’re doing, anyway. We have a lot of students engaged in athletics at Dal and they deserve our support. I encourage others across the Dalhousie community to make a similar commitment.”