Alumni E-News
Alumni E-News is a Centennial project aimed at keeping alumni up-to- date with news from the University including important announcements, student and alumni achievements, athletic news and upcoming events. You will still receive your alumni magazine, the Agricola News, by mail, free-of-charge. In this monthly, E-newsletter you'll find brief news items and for most, a link to our alumni website for more detailed information

Library Information Commons a Success
On October 1, 2004 the new Library Information Commons was officially opened by the President, Dr. Philip Hicks, Mr. Vernon Murray (Alumnus-Class of ‘54- which donated the quality chairs), Bonnie Waddell (Chief Librarian) and John Sullivan (Director, IT-CSU). The Information Commons houses 30 PC’s which combine IT resources of ACS and of the Library to provide a bright environment and modern access to computing resources for students and staff. Library staff provide assistance to students during the day and ACS student staff provide technical back-up during the evenings and weekends - with the IT Help Desk as back-up for both. The fiscal year of statistics is not completed, but indications are that the gate count has increased 80 per cent over the previous year.

Student feedback indicates satisfaction with the Information Commons, except for the occasional comment about the noise level. Quiet conversation is allowed in the Information Commons and the tables have been specially designed for collaborative work. The lower level of the library continues to be designated for quiet study. There is still some development required in the Commons: CD mastering software, reference management software, scanner and desktop publishing come to mind, but by all accounts, the project has been a resounding success.

Honourary Doctorate to be presented at 100th convocation
The NSAC is proud to be celebrating its 100th Convocation ceremony on Friday May 6th, 2005 beginning at 2:00 p.m in the Langille Athletic Centre with 165 students scheduled to participate.

The Honourable Roger S. Bacon will also be awarded an Honourary Doctorate. The honourary doctorate is designed to recognize extraordinary contributions to society or exceptional intellectual or community achievement. The awarding of honourary doctorates, an important feature of NSAC's convocation, serves to celebrate both the individual and the university as well as to inspire our graduates, their families and guests. For more information on the Honourable Roger Bacon and upcoming Convocation ceremonies, please visit our website at http://www.nsac.ns.ca/convocation/

Mailing of information from NSAC
The Development and Alumni Relation Office at NSAC is responsible for a number of mailings to Alumni and Friends of NSAC and while we are not the only group on campus that mails things out, we do a large portion of it.

It’s a big job trying to keep track of the proper contact information as people move about and circumstances change. In the past year, we have implemented a new database to help manage this information and while it is a great improvement and gives us a lot more options, we are still learning how to use it and problems sometimes occur. We are now dealing with over 20,000 records in the new system including Alumni, family members, friends of the NSAC and corporate sponsors. We have just imported all the information from the new Harris Alumni Directory and there are duplicates and other issues that we have yet to resolve.

Please be patient and help us by reporting any problems with the contact information we have for you. You can fill out one of the forms on the website or contact us at alumni@nsac.ns.ca or phone us at (902) 893-6721 and Joanne Jordan, Stephanie Rogers or Jim Goit will make the change as soon as possible.

Update on Fundraising
In preparation for the annual audit of 2004-05 fiscal year accounts, the Development Office is in the process of summarizing information after a very successful fundraising year. While the results are unofficial at this time, you might be interested in an early look at how we have been doing. In the past year we saw a dramatic increase in the both the number and size of donations to NSAC. We recorded a total of almost $734,000 in donations. This is a 100 per cent increase over the previous year. The trend in donations over the time of operation of the Office is encouraging as shown in the following graph. The efforts of many people at NSAC are beginning to show.

Look for additional reports and breakdowns on the various campaigns as they are developed but if you have questions in the meantime, please contact Jim Goit at (902) 893-7950 or by e-mail at jgoit@nsac.ns.ca

Calgary Area Alumni Meeting
If you have been receiving the Agricola News and the Alumni E-News, you are aware that these are exciting times for the NSAC. We are currently celebrating our centennial anniversary, launched our own postage stamp, turned declining enrolments around and introduced new programs.....and the list goes on.

We would really like to have an opportunity to get together with our Alberta alumni to fill you in on all the exciting details. We’d also like to stay connected with you and hear what is happening in your lives.

Mr. Jim Goit, NSAC’s Executive Director of Development and External Relations will be in the Calgary area on Wednesday, June 1, 2005 and would love to get together with you for an evening of casual conversation and fellowship in the Silver Room at the Royal Executive Inns and Suites, Barlow Trail & 27th Ave N.E. Calgary beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Please RSVP your attendance to Stephanie Rogers either by phone (902) 893-7247 or by e-mail at srogers@nsac.ns.ca by May 25th, 2005.

Blue and Gold Awards Luncheon 2005
As part of Homecoming 2005, the Centennial edition, a Blue and Gold Awards luncheon will be held to honour the many accomplishments of our alumni membership. We are soliciting your support and input by way of nomination of deserving individuals for several awards including: the Alumni Volunteer of the Year Award, the Young Alumni Achievement Award and our Distinguished Alumnus Award. For nomination criteria and eligibility please read on.

Centennial Homecoming Weekend 2005
Plans are well underway for Centennial Homecoming Weekend 2005 and we've got some exciting events planned for all alumni and in particular our honour year classes ending in 0 and 5. A highlight of the weekend will be a Maritime Night featuring a performance by Men of the Deeps, Saturday, October 15th and a Yuk Yuks on Tour performance Friday evening in Alumni Theatre.

Come and enjoy a weekend of great entertainment. Please keep posted to our Homecoming web site for additional details as they develop.

NSAC Athletics
NSAC Athletics has ended the 2004-2005 year with award winners being honoured at the 41st Annual Athletic Awards Banquet. The highlight of the year in terms of team performance was the Women's A Woodsmen Team who captured the top prize for CILA - gaining the most points among the CILA women's teams over four meets. In the individual category Mike Ackerley ( Men's Basketball) won the Rod Shoveller Award, there were four CCAA Academic All-Canadians, five NSAC student-athletes selected to the ACAA All-Conference Team in their sport, two CILA All-Canadians and MVP's and two Women's Rugby All-Stars. There were also 48 student-athletes (30 per cent) who received All-Academic Athlete Awards - an honours average and a varsity team member. Athletes of the Year are Mike Ackerley (four years basketball) and Sam Leger (four years basketball and three years soccer)

For the upcoming year, NSAC will be hosting the annual Agir-Golf Classic
July 22, 2005 (Amherst Golf and Country Club), the annual Festive Craft Market and possibly ACAA and CCAA events (to be confirmed in May 2005).

Keep in touch with us through the web site - www.nsac.ns.ca/athletics