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Civic university with global impact

Our communities will benefit from strong partnerships and meaningful engagements with local impact through global reach.

Students walk over a wooden footbridge on Dalhousie's Agriculture campus.

Goal

Dalhousie and our communities have co-evolved as partners for 200 years. At the dawn of our third century, we fully embrace our pivotal role as a civic university, invested in holistic social, intellectual, and technological partnerships designed to support our communities, province, and the region. Further, as stewards of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, we will leverage our global activities to deliver on our local commitments.

We will hold ourselves accountable for our twin civic and global commitments through a broad set of internal and external performance indicators such as STARS (sustainability) and THE Impact Rankings.

Actions

  1. Develop an “impact charter” for Dalhousie, dedicated to pursuing our global mission and ambitions through the lens of our responsibility to play a pivotal role in inclusive and diverse aspects of the economic and social well-being and development of our communities. This charter will parallel the ethos of our commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in its scope and impact.
  2. Foster partnership with the provincial government and private sector to engage in major development projects targeted to enhance educational, commercial, and employment opportunities for the people of our province.
  3. Dalhousie commits to deep and meaningful partnerships and relationships with Indigenous peoples across Canada, in particular to the Mi’kmaw Nation on whose territory Dalhousie’s campuses reside. Through the Indigenous Strategy, Dalhousie commits to improving access and success for Indigenous students, researchers, faculty and staff and ongoing transformation of higher education and research by, with, and for Indigenous peoples. Dalhousie’s partnerships and relationships with Indigenous communities in Mi’kma’ki will model respectful and meaningful engagement, including with the contemporary scholarship and wisdom of Mi’kmaw elders, knowledge holders, and scholars.
  4. Dalhousie recognizes the African Nova Scotian community as a distinct people with unique needs and talents. Through implementation of our African Nova Scotian Strategy, Dalhousie commits to creating safe, culturally specific academic, research, social, intellectual, and physical spaces to nourish and facilitate meaningful and safe integration both on our campuses and in our engagements with the broader African Nova Scotian community.
  5. Partner with governments to increase access to higher education for Nova Scotia’s diverse populations, with particular emphasis on Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian communities. Emphasize working with grassroots associations and local community leaders to better understand their perspectives and address their educational needs
  6. Broaden and encourage public access to our university’s activities and facilities to foster a clearly visible connection between the university and the communities in which we reside.
  7. Leverage our international reach and connections to promote Nova Scotia and Canada internationally, help expand opportunities for local enterprises and organizations, and play a central role in attracting, educating, training, and retaining international students and immigrants to the province and the region.