ADRP President Randy Barkhouse (front row, centre) joined by several other members at the Association’s annual general meeting in April.

By Joanne Ward-Jerrett

With over 450 members and a collective memory that encompasses more than one-third of Dalhousie’s 200-year history, the Association of Dalhousie Retirees and Pensioners (ADRP) is an important voice in the Dal conversation. A strikingly diverse crowd – encompassing the full spectrum of Dal employees including senior administration, faculty and staff – the ADRP has raised the bar on group giving by coming together to establish a bursary fund for financially strapped undergrads.

“Most of us who retire from working at Dal feel a very strong allegiance for the university and to furthering its educational mission,” says ADRP President Randy Barkhouse (BSc’68; MA (Mathematics)’70). “That is true regardless of our particular role in the university while we were employees. The ADRP Bursary fund, initiated by our past-President, the late Dr. Carolyn Savoy, provides an outlet for us to collectively express our support as Dalhousie retirees.”

Colleague Denise Sommerfeld, a retired faculty member from the School of Nursing, agrees. “I believe that along with my fellow ADRP members, I made a commitment to Dal those many years ago, not merely within an employee contract, but as a partner in a covenant to nurture the next generations to become citizens of the world.”

Earnings from the fund will be used to award one or more bursaries annually to support a second-year (or higher) undergraduate student who demonstrates financial need. The ADRP is committed to fundraising an additional $25,000, with the first round of bursaries to be awarded in time for Dalhousie’s 200th-anniversary celebrations in 2018.

“We’re at about 80 per cent of our goal to date,” says Barkhouse, who is confident of success. “Our members are solidly behind this initiative because we recognize that many students require assistance.”