StFX President and Vice Chancellor Dr. Andy Hakin (left), Honorary Recipient Dr. Minh Kauffman, StFX Chancellor John PeacockMore than 800 St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) graduates from across Canada and around the world crossed the stage Sunday during two Spring Convocation ceremonies.
"This day is the end of one journey and the beginning of another," said StFX Chancellor John Peacock as he opened Spring Convocation and wished all graduates success. "I hope this is the very best day of your life," said Chancellor Peacock. "These are challenging times and your years at StFX have prepared you to meet the challenges that lay ahead," added Chancellor Peacock.
"We come together today to recognize extraordinary achievement -- the extraordinary achievements of you our graduands in a time that has been unlike any other. The last 27 months have been a journey," said StFX President and Vice Chancellor Dr. Andy Hakin.
"Graduands, as part of your StFX experience you have developed your leadership potential. You have learned to collaborate, to include, to share, to prioritize, and learned about the importance of listening," added Dr. Hakin. "I hope you continue to learn and grow. Think about what you can do for the communities in which you live and work. As I said before do not sit back, lead," said Dr. Hakin.
StFX also honored 2022 Convocation honorary degree recipient Minh Kauffman, who is also an outstanding example of a leader. Dr. Kauffman has used her leadership skills to innovate international educational exchange and community development. We are honoured to welcome Minh into our Xaverian community, added Dr. Hakin.
"I can say that whatever happened to you here is an asset that stays with you the rest of your life, an asset that can pay unexpected returns. When I think back to my time 50 years ago at a liberal arts college in a small town in Indiana, I often realize what I experienced there stayed with me and shaped my becoming," said Dr. Kauffman. "Graduates, a career in life does not start with what you want to become, but with knowing who you are - your "being," the true self you already possess, the life values you want to uphold, such as love, honesty, truth, and respect."
Outstanding Faculty Teaching Awards were presented to Dr. Carole Roy in Adult Education, Dr. Zeynep Ozkok from the Department of Economics, and Dr. Katarin MacLeod in Faculty of Education. The University Research Award was presented to Dr. Michael Melchin in Earth Sciences.
During the morning convocation, students in PhD, masters, and education graduated, while the afternoon convocation degrees were conferred on graduates in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Business, Bachelor Arts and Science in Health, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts and Science in Climate and Environment.
Masks were required to be worn during Convocation and in all buildings on campus.
Bios of the honorary degree recipient and university faculty awards are below.
Minh Kauffman, Honorary Degree Recipient
Minh Kauffman, an innovator in international educational exchange and community development for nearly 50 years, was born Nguyen Thi Minh in Hanoi and raised in Saigon. She journeyed to Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana in 1969, her personal path of international education. Following graduation, Kauffman taught second grade for two years. In 1976, she and her husband Fred Kauffman began a 13-year series of service assignments in Guatemala, India, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam through Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). In 1990, the Kauffmans created the Education Exchange Center (CEEVN) as a project of the MCC Vietnam program. The goal was to facilitate contact and strengthen linkages between Vietnamese and American scholars and academic institutions at a time when Vietnam was isolated, and the U.S. trade embargo made such contact challenging. CEEVN became an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) subsidiary in 1994. Under Minh Kauffman's leadership, CEEVN began managing the Fulbright Fellowships for Vietnamese scholars and later added the Vietnam portion of the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program from 2000-13. From 1992-2009, she also facilitated many other Ford-funded programs focused on international scholarly exchange. Starting in 2006, Minh partnered with St. Francis Xavier University's Coady Institute. Part of this collaboration was co-creating social justice fora designed to bring cohorts of CEEVN alumni (Vietnamese beneficiaries of Fulbright and Ford scholarships) together to work collectively for the betterment of Vietnamese society. Under Kauffman's leadership, ACLS-CEEVN managed over $45 million in grants and funded nearly 2,000 fellowships, study tours, and grants to Vietnamese scholars and organizations. The many honours bestowed on her include the Friendship Medal awarded in 2005 by Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong. Minh Kauffman has been called "the most important person involved in the creation of meaningful relations between Vietnam and the United States." She has also been responsible for more Vietnamese receiving PhDs and master's degrees outside of Vietnam than any single individual. Believing CEEVN had completed its mission, Kauffman retired as director and closed its offices in 2020. She had spent the previous several years working with CEEVN alumni to create the Stronger Together Center that will preserve and grow its legacy. The history of CEEVN is recounted in The Excellent Bridge, published by ACLS in 2020. Fred Kauffman passed away in 2019. Minh Kauffman now lives in both Philadelphia, with her son Timothy, and in Nashville, with son Tony and daughter-in-law Nadia.
OUTSTANDING FACULTY TEACHING AWARD
Dr. Carole Roy, Department of Adult Education
Dr. Carole Roy joined the StFX Department of Adult Education in 2007 where she has been providing students with opportunities for the development of critical thinking and reflective practice. Dr. Roy's philosophy resonates with the teachings of Paulo Freire, who saw education as a process of emancipation. Offering encouragement for the exploration of creativity and innovation, she values and supports student engagement in community, since experiential learning sharpens learners' theoretical knowledge. She brings enthusiasm, fosters courage, and enjoys the dynamic process of creating space for transformative learning in the classroom as well as in individual conversations with students. Students often comment about the far-reaching impact of discussions: "I looked forward to class and it truly changed my way of thinking and my practice;" "Dr. Roy's discussions helped me to be a better person and will continue to help me grow long after this course is done. I have rarely felt so engaged in an academic setting." Dr. Roy brings to her teaching extensive experience of education in non-formal settings, from peace activism, international cross-cultural youth programs (Tunisia, Thailand, India, Uruguay), to documentary film programs and discussions in carceral settings. In the last 18 years, she co-organized annual documentary film festivals with the intention to provide a safe forum to explore and discuss social justice issues with the greater community. Supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, her many research projects have incorporated Dr. Roy's values with the inclusion of students' involvement as research assistants, co-presenters, and co-authors.
OUTSTANDING FACULTY TEACHING AWARD
Dr. Zeynep Ozkok, Department of Economics
Dr. Zeynep Ozkok graduated from St. Francis Xavier University with a BA with first class honours in economics in 2007. Following the completion of her PhD in economics at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in 2013, Dr. Ozkok returned to her alma mater to teach at the Department of Economics. Since then, Dr. Ozkok has been teaching core macroeconomic theory courses as well as courses on international economics and development economics. Having experienced a variety of educational systems throughout her studies in Turkey, Australia, Spain, Canada and in the United States, Dr. Ozkok aspires to provide her students with a learning experience that they can enjoy and from which they will benefit. Dr. Ozkok has worked extensively with international students having shared their experience of studying at StFX. She continues to supervise thesis students and co-author academic papers with her students. In their nomination, students describe Dr. Ozkok's passion for development economics, saying that they "can hear in her voice how strongly this subject resonates with her," covering topics such as girls' education, income inequality, and the multifaceted effects of poverty. Her students note that empathy and a love of learning shine through her teaching. As they put it, "Zeynep's kindness and generosity simply cannot be overstated. Her passion for students' success will forever be something that we remember."
OUTSTANDING FACULTY TEACHING AWARD
Dr. Katarin MacLeod, Faculty of Education
Dr. Katarin MacLeod began teaching at StFX in the Faculty of Education in 2009. She holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and completed undergraduate physics and Bachelor of Education degrees at StFX. Her doctoral dissertation received the Canadian Science Education Research Group's Dissertation Award for the best doctoral dissertation on science education in Canada. Dr. MacLeod's expertise is science education, viewed through the lens of a Science, Technology, Society, and Environment (STSE) perspective, which requires taking the content of science and placing it in a context that is meaningful for students. A consistent perspective voiced by her students is that "Dr. MacLeod's teaching has truly impacted my views of science and how I plan to teach my classes." Dr. MacLeod encourages and supports inquiry learning in all her courses. Her students describe her as an intuitive teacher, who understands when to talk and, importantly, when to listen. In Dr. MacLeod's own words, "For me, teaching is about having high standards for my own professional practice. It is about remembering the humanity of teaching and learning, and that first and foremost, the student experience is paramount." Along with her teaching, Dr. MacLeod is also actively involved in university service. She currently serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Academic Integrity.
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AWARD
Dr. Michael Melchin, Department of Earth Sciences
StFX earth sciences professor Dr. Michael Melchin is a prolific researcher who has published more than 120 refereed scientific journal papers. Dr. Melchin's research is focused on understanding the response of life to a pivotal time interval of global change, some 500 and 400 million years ago. He has championed the use of elemental and isotopic geochemical techniques to understand the processes that govern the relationship between ocean water chemistry, nutrient supply and the diversification or extinction of species. Dr. Melchin has had continuous research support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) since 1990 and his NSERC Discovery Grant was recently renewed until 2024. His research requires an extraordinary commitment of time and effort. He has provided numerous generations of StFX students with unique research experiences, including field work in the Arctic, the Canadian Rockies, and in China. These are remote and rugged areas for field research; many require expensive helicopter support, and he has been isolated on occasion for up to eight weeks. Dr. Melchin is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including visiting professorships and fellowships in other countries, such as the Czech Republic and China. He is a President's Medal recipient and Distinguished Fellow of the Geological Association of Canada. In 2020 he was awarded a James Chair in Pure and Applied Sciences at StFX. In the community, Dr. Melchin's abilities as a musician and organizer of charity concerts are legendary - to his colleagues, students, and community he truly is known as a rock star.'
