News

Professor Susan Holmes is retiring from Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Open Learning & Career Development (formerly known as College of Continuing Education) on July 1, 2021 after 31 exciting and rewarding years.  She was hired in May 1990 by Dr. Lloyd Fraser as Director of the Interactive Computer Learning Centre (computers with big touch screens) at Henson College of Continuing Education and Public Affairs, reporting to then Dean, Dr. Doug Myers.

Over her tenure, Susan has seen many transformations of the role of continuing education in the university and has been part of many local, national and international initiatives. One such initiative took her to Adu Dhabi, UAE where she led the successful offering of a Qada Leadership Certificate for young nationals. Many of the graduates of this certificate went on to become future leaders in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.

In December of one year in the distant past, President Traves contacted Dean Mary Morrissey to respond to a request from the International Technology Institute (ITI) to establish a graduate program that became the Master of IT Education (MITE). Susan was the lead for this project and brought together a team that designed the program. Amazingly, the program design and curriculum met Dalhousie Graduate Studies standards and it was retroactively approved in December that year.

Susan was Director of another notable project that began as a program to address the high rate of attrition in first-year Engineering students. Refining Your Learning Skills for Academically Dismissed Students became a required component for students from many Faculties to return after dismissal without waiting out a year. In a typical summer, 150 students took this intensive 10-day program. Working with dismissed students was very challenging and extremely rewarding.  Deans, advisors, and senior administrators were invited to witness the students’ presentations on the final day of each session and were always in awe of their stories of remarkable transformation.

Dr. Ivan Joseph, former Dalhousie Vice-Provost Student Affairs and now Vice-President Student Affairs, Wilfred Laurier University, had this to say about Susan’s leadership:

“Susan is a tremendous advocate for students at Dalhousie University. Her work was about making sure students felt like they mattered and they belonged. Her commitment to their success was demonstrated through the development of the award-winning Refining Your Learning Skills Program and her years of teaching in the classroom. Her contributions impacted students and families in a way that changed the trajectories of their lives.”

Along with these major projects that filled the years, Susan was also a Faculty Associate with the Centre for Learning and Teaching and served two 3-year terms as Faculty of Continuing Education representative on Senate. For many years, she has been Chair, Senate Discipline Committee.  She was formerly President of Metro Council on Continuing Education and has served on several CAUCE committees.  She has presented at numerous conferences over the years and published in the Journal of University Continuing Education and in the conference proceedings for International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation.

Those of you who have worked with Susan will recall that she often stated that she loved her work. The University is a place filled with caring, dedicated colleagues, struggling and inspiring students, and many opportunities for a curious mind, all of which she will miss.  Above all, she will miss her good friends and colleagues.

And they will miss her, too.  Sandra MacAulay Thompson, P.Eng, NSERC Chair in Design Engineering in the Department of Industrial Engineering, had this to say about her time working with Susan:

“I always enjoy Susan’s warm nature, her quiet sense of humour and her dedication to her work, and above all her vast knowledge, understanding and experience in post-secondary teaching.

I will miss the opportunity to work with Susan in the future but I’m so grateful we made the connection in the first place!”

As she enters retirement, Susan will be continuing to enjoy birding and all there is to learn about birds, fitness classes, walking with neighbours, volunteering and cycling. As she puts it, “after 31 years, it’s time for new adventures.”

Past and current members of the university have written letters of well wishes that you can view here and you can also add your own.

We wish you all the best in retirement, Susan! Thank you for the valuable contributions you have made to Dalhousie University.