NSAC E-Bulletin

Please forward your submissions to the NSAC E-Bulletin to Stephanie Rogers (news@nsac.ca) by Friday at 2:00 p.m. for inclusion in the next week's edition.

Air Quality Science Forum

On behalf of the Air Quality Branch of Nova Scotia Environment and Labour, I am pleased to invite you to attend an Air Quality Science Forum on outdoor air quality that is being held on March 8, 2006. The objective of the forum is to build knowledge about the basic science around air quality issues in Nova Scotia.

Experts from government, consulting, academia and a non-profit organization will speak on the basics of air quality. Topics will include air pollutants, causes of air pollution, human health effects of air pollution, government initiatives to improve air quality, and areas of new research. The forum format will be a series of presentations
with time for questions. A draft agenda is attached.

This is an excellent learning opportunity for members of the public, regulators and non-governmental organizations interested in this important topic.

Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Time: 8:15 - 4:15
Place: Compass Room, Four Points Sheraton Hotel (1496 Hollis Street),Halifax

Seating is limited, so pre-registration is required. There is no registration fee for the forum. Please RSVP by Wednesday, March 1st to birchad@gov.ns.ca or (902) 424-2581.

(More information will soon be available on our web site at http://www.gov.ns.ca/enla/air/


Angela Birch
Program Administration Officer
Air Quality Branch
ova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour

Excellence in Teaching Awards

Maybe its the winter blues, or the confused weather muddling our minds, but as of today, February 17th, no nominations for our annual Excellence in Teaching Awards have been received! The deadline has been extended until February 24th, so get those neurons firing and nominate the instructors you feel make a difference to the learning environment of NSAC. The nomination procedures can be found posted in all buildings and also at this web page: http://www.nsac.ca/academics/idc/teaching.asp
Show our hardworking instructors that their work is appreciated!

Research Excellence Award 2006

Nominations for the NSAC Research Excellence Award are due to the Research & Graduate Studies Office by Friday, March 3, 2006. Contact Marie Law (mlaw@nsac.ca) today for a nomination form.

The Research Excellence Award is intended to recognize and encourage excellence in research among Faculty of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. The award will be given for outstanding research contributions. Consideration will be given to originality, independence of thought, overall quality, and impact of the nominee’s research program.

Eligibility: All Faculty members who are employees of the NSAC and who are conducting research are eligible to receive this award.

Who Can Make a Nomination?

1. NSAC Faculty Members;
2. Researchers outside of NSAC;
3. Self nominations as well as nominations by administrators and professional associations are accepted.

What is the Nomination Procedure?

1. Complete a nomination form, which is available from the Research & Graduate Studies Office.
2. Immediately following the deadline date, the nominee will be informed and asked if they wish for their name to stand.
3. If the nominee is interested, they will be asked to submit a maximum of three letters of support, and a completed Standard CV Form. (Forms available from the Research & Graduate Studies Office.)
4. The NSAC Research Committee will act as the Selection Committee to decide on the recipient of the award.

Notice of Award: The Research Excellence Award will be presented during May Convocation. The recipient of this Award must be willing to present a research seminar at the NSAC.

Nominations and supporting documentation shall remain confidential! For further information, please contact the NSAC Research & Graduate Studies Office, Cumming Hall (893-6502; email: mlaw@nsac.ca).

NSAC Centennial Finale Event

Deputy Minister Rosalind Penfound and former Deputy Minister and NSAC Foundation Chair Dick Huggard "cut the cake" at the Centennial Finale event on Tuesday February 14th, 2006. Items were on display that will be placed in the Centennial Time Capsule to be opened in 100 years. The Time Capsule will be stored in the NSAC Agricola Collection.

2006 Award for Best Paper

The Canadian Society for Horticultural Science has bestowed a "2006 Award for Best Paper Published in the Canadian Journal of Plant Science in 2005" award to Rob Gordon, Ali Madani and their co-authors. The publication citation is:

Gordon, R., Elmi, A. A., Madani, A., Hauser, T., Rodd, V. and Leblanc, P. 2005. Nitrate and pesticide leaching from a processing carrot production system in Nova Scotia. Can J. Plant Sci. 85: 205-211.

As part of this award,they will receive a $500 cash prize in August from the Canadian Society for Horticultural Science.

Update from Student Recruitment Team

The Recruitment team have been busy on several fronts this past week. Nick visited four high schools in PEI and met with a number of students who either have applied or are in the process of applying. He also represented NSAC at the International Potato Expo on Friday and Saturday. He had the opportunity to speak to grade 10 students from Kensington and Kinkora high schools that were bused in for the expo as well as provide information to parents of prospective students attending the show.

Craig telephoned all the applicants who had been admitted to date. This part of a follow-up process the Recruitment team is implementing this year, working with the Registry and Admissions staff. Every two weeks Registry prepares a report of students admitted in the previous two weeks. Recruitment will be phoning and emailing to follow up with these applicants. This will then be followed by a letter from the President congratulating them on being offered admission to NSAC.

We had an opportunity this week to test out Mexico as a potential recruitment market. We have been working with an education agency that has excellent Nova Scotia connections. The owner is originally from Halifax. His company has 40 sub-agents throughout Mexico and they are the main source of the large number of Mexican students to NS high schools.

We have hosted staff from the Ad Astra agency at NSAC on several occasions. Two years ago we hosted some high school students from Campeche for an English language science camp facilitated by this agency. Ad Astra, with its rural connections throughout Mexico, focuses on promoting Eastern Canadian study options. NSAC, as a small university with an applied science reputation, is a good fit for their client mix. Mexico had previously been considered as primarily a market for post-graduate and language schools. We've learned since there is increasing interest in undergraduate programs from Mexico. An invitation to participate in some education fairs and agent seminars last week provided us the perfect opportunity to explore Mexico as a recruitment market.

Monica arrived home last night convinced that Mexico does provide good potential for NSAC. She spoke with 200 students looking for international undergraduate programs, five students are definitely interested in our graduate programs and 35 agents. One of the Ad Astra sub-agents she met with had been to NSAC two years ago as part of the summer camp initiative, has two daughters studying at CEC this year, and he is very hopeful they may come to NSAC. Good results from our first trip to this new market.


Brian Crouse

Provincial Volunteer Week April 23 - April 28th

Please consider nominating a volunteer in your club or organization for the following awards: Provincial Award, Model Volunteer Community of the Year Award, Volunteer Youth Award, Volunteer Group of the Year Award or if you or your group would like to attend the Volunteer Recognition Reception during Provincial Volunteer Week simply contact Colchester Recreation Services at 897-3155 or visit www.colchester-county.ns.ca

Varsity Results