Winter has arrived at Dalhousie, and with it a sense of celebration of shared successes over the past year. Students have finished exams and many are headed home to be with family and friends as they take a break from their studies before returning for a new semester. International and out-of-province students who will not be returning home over the holidays will feel the generosity of the global alumni family this week as they participate in the International Student Holiday Dinner on campus.

Each day I am impressed by the life-changing work being done at Dalhousie, from our world-leading research in areas including ocean studies and clean technology to the impact our students, faculty and alumni have on local communities through entrepreneurship, health care, and culture. I’m grateful to be a part of this diverse community focused on positive change in such a breadth of areas.

I’m also grateful for the impact that our 130,000+ alumni worldwide are making across the globe. For example, this year the alumni community across Canada rallied in an effort to support those affected by the wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alta., with hundreds of alumni joining a Facebook group and many offering space in their homes to those displaced. Local alumni contributed to Dalhousie’s food drive for Feed Nova Scotia, helping to donate over a tonne of food to the organization at a time of great need. Chapters also supported their local food banks over the holidays by volunteering and donating food. For the first time, alumni worldwide came together to celebrate Global Homecoming, with celebrations ranging from a Canadian Thanksgiving in Beijing to a Speaker’s Reception on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and a Gastown Ghost Tour in Vancouver. I would especially like to thank our chapter volunteers and Dalhousie Alumni Association board members who helped make this inaugural global celebration a success.

As we approach the celebration of Dalhousie’s 200th anniversary in 2018, we can truly be proud of our past and excited for our future.

I wish you and your loved ones the best this holiday season and hope that 2017 brings you success and happiness.

All the best,

Sheila Blair-Reid (BComm’86)
Executive Director of Alumni Engagement