At the very end of 2025, MSVU President Dr. Joël Dickinson gathered with university faculty and staff to celebrate the year and, in particular, recognize some exceptional employees.
Three standout faculty and staff were celebrated as the newest recipients of the President's Awards for Service and the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award.
These individuals have gone above and beyond in service and/or advanced equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) within the university community. They help make MSVU the special place it is.
Congratulations to the award winners!
Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award winner
The Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Award, established by the Employment Equity Committee, recognizes faculty and staff for efforts aimed at promoting diversity awareness, representation, and inclusion within MSVU. This award aligns with MSVU's commitment to advancing efforts in EDIA toward ensuring a safe and welcoming university community for all.
Nouf Saleh, Library Technician - Evening and Weekend Services, is the 2025 recipient.
Nouf's student mentorship and role modeling have had a big impact on the library, contributing to a positive work culture, high student employee retention, and student professional growth. Nouf creates a psychologically safe space for students, free from judgment and built on mutual trust.
Nouf is an important role model for the Library's Muslim student employees, especially young Hijabi women. She has led many library initiatives around the celebration of Muslim holidays and observances. These initiatives have raised awareness and understanding within the MSVU community and helped Muslim students feel welcome and supported. Likewise, Nouf's support of the Muslim Students Association has been an important relationship for the library in terms of outreach and engagement.
In addition, Nouf champions the university's commitment to EDIA through her ever-changing promotional and educational displays, and recently through her support and mentorship of a high school student's co-op placement focused on making the MSVU Library children's book collection of over 10,000 titles accessible and welcoming.
Through her kindness, generosity, and mentorship of young women from diverse backgrounds, Nouf embodies the spirit of MSVU.
President's Award for Service winners
The President's Awards for Service recognize those who have made exceptional contributions to the MSVU and broader communities.
The award for internal service is presented to faculty and staff who have exceeded expectations and influenced positive change at MSVU through their committee work, leadership, partnership, and process and service improvements. The award for external service recognizes faculty and staff who have made a significant volunteer commitment to the broader community, influencing positive change beyond the university.
Dr. Leigh-Ann MacFarlane, Educational Developer, Teaching and Learning Centre, is the 2025 recipient of the President's Award for Service to MSVU.
Leigh-Ann has been with MSVU for nearly 10 years and is described as exemplifying dedicated service to the academic integrity of the university. Leigh-Ann is recognized by her peers as offering consistently meaningful feedback to support departments and faculties with their innovative program changes. Her efforts to support quality academic program reviews require immense time (often working late in the evenings and on weekends), diplomacy, and a solid understanding of academic policy, and provincial government regulations.
Leigh-Ann is genuinely committed to seeing programs succeed and to providing MSVU students with innovative and engaging academic experiences. Students may not know it, but the new program they just signed up for, or the new course that was just developed was likely touched by Leigh-Ann. Her nominators noted, "She provides hope, positivity, and excellent advice to all parties responsible for building and maintaining the academic programming of MSVU. And her service strengthens not only the university's academic programming and integrity, but also the wider MSVU community, making it a better place to work and learn."
Dr. Christine McLean, Associate Professor and Department Chair, Child and Youth Study, is the 2025 recipient of the President's Award for Volunteer Service to the Extended Community.
Christine has demonstrated exceptional commitment as an active leader in early childhood education and development. She has served with numerous external organizations, including the Canadian Association for Young Children (since 2015) as a National Board Member and Nova Scotia representative, Membership Committee Chair for six years, and now Treasurer. Her external leadership roles have also included Vice-President of the Canadian Association for Research in Early Childhood and executive positions with provincial associations in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador. All of these roles reflect her dedication to advancing best practices and shaping policy in early childhood education across Canada.
Christine is also known for organizing and participating in initiatives that strengthen community well-being. She is a go-to advisor on early childhood topics for CBC's Maritime Noon, facilitates a monthly breast cancer support group known as the Pink Panthers, and actively contributes to her local church community. These efforts demonstrate her unwavering commitment to fostering positive change in the broader community.
In short, Christine's volunteer service is not only shaping early learning classrooms - it is shaping society.
