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  Robert M. Campbell, Ph.D - President and Vice-Chancellor
 

COMMENCEMENT 2011

Address by President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Campbell


As President and Vice-Chancellor, I would like to welcome you to Mount Allison’s Commencement — 2011 special edition.

I would also like to welcome you to a special Convocation ceremony, which has been called to extend an honorary degree to a special and distinguished guest and friend of Mount Allison University — His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada.


On behalf of the entire Mount Allison community, I would like firstly to extend a special and heartfelt welcome to our new students — the graduating class of 2015 — and to their parents, family, and friends.


After seeing and talking with so many of you over the last months, I am confident that the class of 2015 is going to be a great and memorable one, a group that will attain substantial and significant accomplishments.


Thank you all so much for making the important and consequential decision to come to Mount Allison, and for placing your trust in us — this means so much to all of us.


Rest assured that our entire community will work our very best and our hardest to make your involvement in Mount A a successful, rewarding, and enriching one.


I expect that you are all as excited and anxious as I am today, and that you have equally intense and ambitious hopes for the coming year.


I know that there is always a certain degree of melancholy about the end of summer — but I also know that you want to jump in and get started on a new adventure.

The purpose of Commencement is symbolic and aspirational: It is to mark the beginning of your academic journey. This year, we combine Commencement with Convocation: You can also anticipate and envision its conclusion.


With your own personal effort and application, support of our community, and with a bit of imagination, creativity, and luck, your journey should be completed when you walk across this stage at Convocation in four years time, and shake hands with and receive your degree from our Chancellor Peter Mansbridge.


I am confident that this journey at and through Mount Allison will be a fantastic one for you — not only in academic terms but also with respect to your personal development.


I stood here at Convocation four months ago, at the other end of the stage, to congratulate and shake hands with each of our graduates as they processed across the stage.


This was a fantastic and rewarding experience for me.


Their energy, their elation, and their emotion at that moment were almost overwhelming — after all, they had just survived a “one-on-one” with Peter Mansbridge!

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Their elation spoke volumes about the intensity and satisfaction of their academic and personal experiences at Mount A.


And what was truly amazing was how different they were as individuals from four years earlier —

There will be many occasions for me over the next four years to make declarations and to express myself in my formal role as President, such as:

You may see printed in a number of publications — including the O-week brochure — my top 10 pieces of advice on how to make your university career a successful one.

I do not propose to review them here, other than

I feel that you are here because we promised

So, do let me know how we are doing — particularly if you ever think that we are not living up to your expectations.

But remember: in all of the hurly burly of Orientation, classes, courses, activities, and relationships:

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Allow me this opportunity to point out one particularly great opportunity this year.

Each year, we select a theme that reflects one dimension of Mount Allison’s mission as a University:

2011-12 will be the Year of Science and Discovery.

Working away in his laboratory at Mount Allison University, Jack Stewart discovered and developed a novel mammalian paralytic peptide, now called soricidin, from the venom of the shrew.

The paralytic, non-opioid properties of the peptide suggested potential application for pain treatment with the value-added benefit of not being an addictive moiety.

Further screening offered another opportunity as it indicated pronounced effects on cancer cells and potential application in oncology. 

This was the beginning of a process that moved the research to the private sector, first as BioProspecting NB then with Soricimed Biopharma.

This was a real success story in translational research — taking technology from the academic research bench to private industry.

Bolstered through a recent conclusion of a Series A round of financing, Soricimed is now moving the oncology applications toward the completion of a Phase I clinical trial and moving the early diagnostic discoveries toward a prototype. Jack also has several recent Mount Allison grads working in his company as well, many whom began their research with Jack as students.

Some of you may be majoring in the Sciences and will likely gravitate to organized events in these areas, and many of you are majoring in subjects and disciplines outside of these areas. But I know from talking with you, and with previous students, that you are broadly interested in science and how discoveries are made and that you want to stay involved and alive to these areas — even if they do not overlap directly with your academic work. So, I encourage you to take advantage of these activities and programs.

There will be an especially rich and varied array of activities and speakers in this Year of Science and Discovery. The President’s Speakers Series begins with

To this end, we are going to launch the YOSD right here, right now. Make the most of these exciting events at Mount Allison!


I would like to thank you all for attending: welcome, good luck, and have a great university experience. Best wishes for a memorable and terrific year!

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