Celebrating Dal's Killam Scholars

On Monday, October 17 , students, faculty and distinguished community guests gathered together to celebrate the accomplishments of a group of students who dedicate their education to discovery – the Dalhousie’s Killam Scholars.
 
The Killam Scholarships all stem from a gift from Izaak and Dorothy Killam in 1965 to change the world. Mr. Killam was from Yarmouth and one of the wealthiest businessmen of his era. The Killam Trusts were established to support advanced education at five Canadian universities, including Dalhousie, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts.

At Dalhousie, the Killam awards — which include Master’s and PhD scholarships and Postdoctoral fellowships — have provided more than $170 million to support scientific research efforts.

Learn more: Killam Trusts at Dal

The annual Killam Celebration offers a chance for student researchers to share their discoveries. In the form of three-minute thesis presentations and poster presentations, select students shared their work on a wide range of topics including the cost effectiveness of private natal care rooms, pediatric cancer pain management, and whale conservation efforts.
 
Adrian Dauphinee of the Department of Biology, a continuing Predoctora Killam Scholar, discussed his research on programmed cell death (or PCD) in plant life. Stressing the importance of his Killam support for his research, he also offered advice to students looking to become researchers themselves: “Do what you love.”

“Find something you are passionate about and give it your all,” he says.

A new era

Though the Killam Celebration is intended to celebrate the students, this year included a special announcement as Dal bid farewell to the longest serving Killam Trustee.

Dr. George Cooper — a two-time Dal alumnus (BSc’62, LLB’65, as well as an honorary degree recipient in 2004) who most recently served as President of the University of King’s College — has been managing trustee of the Killam Trusts since 1993 and will be stepping down from that role in the coming year.

Ian Nason, vice-president of finance and administration at Dal, thanked Dr. Cooper for his service.

“Cooper’s advancement of the Killam Fund has been inspirational,” said Nason. “His dedication to Canadian education is unwavering”.

Marty Leonard, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, was proud to announce an award in George Cooper’s name: the George Cooper Killam Graduate Prize. It will be awarded annually to the top ranked students in the Killam Scholarship competition, with one prize going to the top ranked master’s student, and the other going to the top ranked PhD student in that year’s competition.

The inaugural recipients were Erin Dempsey and Sarah Kraeutner, both from the Department of Psychology and Neurosceince.