Development and External Relations Update

The Development and External Relations office UPDATE is a monthly summary of activities in the section and is published for your general information. If you have questions, please contact Jim Goit or call at (902) 893-7950

• Jim accompanied Rob Gordon to an information session on the European Union (EU) /Canada Cooperation Agreement on Science and Technology Transfer. Under this agreement there is access to a whole range of program to enable partnership in research between Canadian researchers and those in the EU. The EU is investing billions in Science and Technology. There were several interesting presentations and we brought a whole lot of information back that will be shared Jill as it might interest her and other researchers. Rob made several contacts that he will be following up on. One of the priorities is the environment.
• Jim met with representatives of Canada Customs and Revenue Agency regarding the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax credit. We talked about setting up meetings between them and farm commodity groups as well as giving them a tour of NSAC. They seemed most accommodating.
• Jim and Laurie Sandeson met with Dave Ryan about IT infrastructure at the AgriTECH Park. The lack of access to the Government and College network is holding back development. Dave will be working with his staff and the phone company to come up with a plan and options to move the facility forward. We hope to have that in August.
• Jim attended the Federal Government Innovation Strategy Consultation in Halifax June 6th. The comprehensive strategy includes plans to double the amount of money spent on R & D over the next 20 years and make Canada a world leader in the production if innovative products. We can expect a suite of federal programs to be rolled out to work towards these goals. The lack of money to match federal programs was listed as a major concern. The indirect costs associated with research needs to be recognized in all cases.
• The Alumni Association Board held a good meeting on June 7th in Truro. The new board would like to move forward on a couple of fronts providing value to their members. Joanne, Stephanie and Jim will be working closely to help them in this regard.
• The drive to get new membership contributions to the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame has paid off. We were successful in signing up 4 new individual members and 2 organization and 2 corporate members this month. This is a new class of supporter designed to bring greater recognition for the organization in the farm business sector. Nominations for inductees have been forwarded to the various provincial committees for decision
• Jim attended the NSCC graduation ceremonies in Bridgewater on June 12th and spoke with the President, Ray Ivany. There are a lot of similarities with our graduation ceremony. It has a very “family” feel about it. They put about 200 across the stage for a variety of certificates and diplomas. The program is available from Stephanie for ideas in case anyone wants to see it.
• Jim lead a tour that Stephanie organized for the consulting company hired by the Principals’ search committee. They were very impressed with the campus, the state of our infrastructure and the quality of our research. They thought our professors had an entrepreneurial spirit and research very targeted to answering specific real-world concerns.
• Jim introduced Findlay MacRae of ADI to Mary Breen of International to discuss possibilities for cooperation on international projects. ADI might be able to participate in some new projects that the international staff are putting together.
• Jim and Stephanie along Garth met with Rosalie Courage and Adrienne Malloy of RBR Development. RBR is the author of the original study that the Foundation did on the potential for fundraising at NSAC. They suggest we should move ahead with a capital campaign as soon as practical beginning with the cultivation of several key donors.
• The Development Office team finished their section of the strategic planning exercise and passed it along to Bruce. It required a bit of reformatting of the plan that they had been working from over the past year but should make a contribution to the overall effort.
• Jo-Anne located a total of four lost sheep this month and continues to update the database
• Jo-Anne sent out over 75 letters to Alumni regarding Homecoming weekend and she is currently seeking out remaining address of class contacts for years which had no representative identified
• Jo-Anne sent out letters to 37 potential advertisers for Agricola News and followed up with phone calls to the Marketing Rep to secure the ads to offset production cost of the newsletter.
• Jo-Anne was successful in obtaining reduced rates at three local hotels for Alumni who come home for Alumni weekend
• Jo-Anne is currently seeking volunteers to participate in Homecoming and Open House. Thus far she has recruited four volunteers
• Jo-Anne and Stephanie met with Keith Hamilton, Class of ’52 to discuss opportunities of recognition for Dr. MacRae. Jim followed up with additional ideas.
• Jo-Anne forwarded nominations to the Hall of Fame to the committee in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland for review. PEI and NB will have their nominations soon.
• Jim attended graduation at the Pictou West High School and presented one of the Atlantic Scholarships to Dove Mitten, one of their top students. She will be starting at NSAC in the fall.
• Jim and Stephanie helped with the Ministers of Agriculture tour of campus as part of their annual meeting. Jo-Anne prepared information kits for distribution during the visit of the Federal Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Agriculture. Things ran a bit late but the ministers including Mr. Vanclief were very impressed with the research and facilities that we have.
• The NSAC Homecoming committee has held several meetings and has drawn up a tentative schedule for Homecoming 2002. Members are Jo-Anne Jordan, Jeff Morton, Debbie Mellish, Judy Smith, Stephanie Rogers (Chair) Dick Huggard and Rayanne Nelson (Student Union)
• Promotional ads profiling some of our recent graduates and award winning faculty will appear in the Saturday edition of the Truro Daily News and Chronicle Herald on June 29th, Thursday July 4th, Saturday July 6th and Thursday July 11th, 2002.
• The 2000-2001 Annual Report has been compiled and sent to the designer for layout.
• The NSAC Strategic Plan has been designed proofed and waiting for signature by Dr. Coffin prior to printing.
• Stephanie solicited design quotes for the NSAC general brochure. The successful bidder has completed the layout and design and it is awaiting Dr. Coffin’s signature prior to printing.
• Stephanie participated in the organization of the NSAC campus tour for the 2002 Minister’s and Deputy Minister’s conference. A mini-brochure on the campus and tour sites was printed locally and presented to participants along with campus maps.
• Stephanie is participating as a member of the organizing committee for the 2002 Novartis Agri-Golf Classic to be held July 26, 2002 at Northumberland Links Pugwash.
• Stephanie organized the Television shoot on campus for CBC Country Wide Friday, June 7th, 2002. They filmed the NSAC Aquaculture Centre and the Millbrook training program currently ongoing. The end result aired Thursday, June 13th, 2002. The program is Country Wide which can be seen from 8:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m every weekday. The show is news and current affairs for rural Canadians on the Country Canada network. It can only be seen by those on Digital cable or satellite.... (Channel 523 on Bell express vu/512 on star choice) A copy of the program is available on VHS Tape for those interested in viewing.
• Jo-Anne and Stephanie met with alumnus Keith Hamilton to discuss potential fund-raising ideas for the Class of 1952. Jim followed up with an e-mail containing idea details.
• Stephanie organized the design and layout of a temporary Research newsletter for the Research & Graduate Studies office.
• Stephanie is currently working with the Toronto Sun to develop a 2 page ad and editorial for their special supplement in their Sunday paper to promote Atlantic universities as a destination for Ontario students seeking alternatives to their overcrowded post-secondary school system. The special section will also be posted on the Sun's career/education Web site. It will be distributed to secondary schools, home delivery etc, on September 22, 2002.
• Stephanie participated in the Leave-A-Legacy Week wrap up meeting and discussions revolved around improving the process for 2003. NSAC received great coverage on a province wide basis through this initiative.
• Stephanie is acting as a writing mentor for the 2002 SPARK Intern.
• Stephanie met with Barry Diamond to review graphics and promotional requirements for the upcoming AASTW in November.
• Stephanie made initial contact with Eastlink with respect to advertising and promotional options related to community television.
• Donations to the various accounts managed by the office are summarized below.