Effective September 1, NSAC will become the Faculty of Agriculture at Dalhousie University.

Proposed Governance Model

In October, the merger principles were released and the direction to date on a proposed governance structure was discussed at various meetings including special open forum meetings and at the most recent Faculty Council meeting.

The merger principles were developed to guide merger discussions and are central to maintaining the essence of NSAC while enabling its continued success.

A summary of the direction to date on the governance structure is as follows:

  • The overall governance structure will serve to maintain the tradition of NSAC while supporting and building academic, teaching and research excellence while supporting economic development opportunities in Nova Scotia, nationally and globally.
  • In merging as a single university, NSAC will be a faculty of agriculture and will remain a campus.
  • The campus will maintain a local identity within the larger university identity.
  • Academic responsibilities and authority will be the same as the other academic units of Dalhousie.
  • NSAC will be led by a Campus Principal/Dean who will provide strategic leadership to the campus accountable to Dalhousie’s President and Vice President Academic and Provost.
  • The Campus Principal/Dean will be responsible for aligning the agricultural mandate to academic program development and delivery, research priorities and external partnerships.
  • The Campus Principal/Dean will ensure effective and responsive student services and administrative support.
  • The faculty of agriculture will have an advisory body with representation from government and industry. A member of the advisory body will also sit on Dalhousie’s Board of Governors.

Members of the Governance Working group include:

  • Bernie MacDonald, Co-President & Vice-President Administration
  • Carolyn Watters, Vice-President, Academic and Provost
  • Ken Burt, Vice-President, Finance and Administration
  • Leslie MacLaren, Co-President & Vice-President, Academic
  • Richard Donald, Vice President Research, Extension and Outreach
  • Greg Ells, Director, Colleges and Universities, Labour and Advanced Education
  • Mike Chisholm, Executive Director, Department of Agriculture

Download: Governance Discussion PowerPoint Presentation [414 kb]