On a return trip from Nova Scotia to Alberta, Dr. Heather Bruce quickly grabbed a book at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport for her five-hour trip home to Calgary.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig follows a young woman as she’s provided an opportunity to live as if she had done things differently.
“Its about the decision you made versus the decision you didn't,” explains Dr. Bruce. “It's just fascinating because at the end of the day, it made me realize no matter which way you go, you still have to be happy with what you've done and who you are."
Dr. Bruce recently made the decision to become the next dean and campus principal of the Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture.
“It’s all about opportunity: what happens if you take it and what happens if you don’t,” she added.
Dr. Bruce comes to Dalhousie from the University of Alberta, where she is chair of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science and professor, carcass and meat science. There, Dr. Bruce has taught courses on livestock growth, meat science, and communication in science, and is the Scientific Lead for Agri-Food Discovery Place, a multipurpose research facility on the university’s south campus.
Prior to joining the University of Alberta, Dr. Bruce was the external research manager at Maple Leaf Foods Agresearch farm in Burford, Ontario, and before that was senior scientist and muscle food quality section leader at CSIRO Australia. Dr. Bruce received her PhD from the University of Alberta and her MSc and BSc (Honors Agriculture) from the University of Guelph.
Dr. Bruce is excited for the opportunity to lead the Faculty of Agriculture over her five-year term beginning mid September. She, her partner Sonia, and her calico cat Sarah will be making the move to Truro, Nova Scotia, in early September.
What are you most looking forward to in Nova Scotia?
I like the small-town feel or intimacy that I think resides in Truro, and I think the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus in Truro is a special place. It's a really special place because it has a strong sense of community, and I'm looking forward to being part of that specialness and making sure that it continues to be special.
What are some of your favorite things to do?
I like to kayak and canoe and I'm hoping to bring those with me, and so I'm looking forward to having more ready access to water in Nova Scotia. I like to garden. I have such limited personal time, but l would like to keep a bit of my research going, so that's also going to hopefully happen through collaborations and hopefully I'll be able to build bridges between U of A and Dalhousie. I like to be busy. I'm like a horse that runs best under the whip. I'm happiest when I'm busy and focused.
Favorite foods?
There are not many foods that aren't my favorite, but if I were asked, I do enjoy a good steak. I like spaghetti, pasta in general, and pizza. I have simple food taste, but I really appreciate a very well-crafted meal. I do like good cuisine, and I'm looking very much forward to the seafood in Nova Scotia. I can cook and I do cook, but I also like having a meal at a restaurant.
What's the best piece of advice you've ever received or given?
There are some sayings I have that I live by. One of them is 'Never say no to an opportunity.' And the other is 'Perfection can be the enemy of good.' I know some of my students have been paralyzed by perfection, and I have had to teach them that near enough is good enough when you are learning. If you often seek to be perfect, you don't achieve what you could achieve. I'm comfortable with imperfection because it is part of learning.
I strive for excellence but sometimes you need to deliver the best you can rather than wait for perfection. 'Change is the path to future opportunity,' is also something I live by. I am comfortable with change, I embrace change. It's often led to improvements, but I don't change for the sake of change.
A lot of this came from my background in 4-H where they taught us to never say no to an opportunity — you know, if it's not yes, then it's no.
What are you most proud of academically?
I'm proud of the students I have influenced. I've graduated about 20 graduate students in my short career. I've been [in Alberta] 16 years and I’m really, really, proud of them. They've gone on to be incredible professionals and I think the people I have trained or fostered their training, has been my greatest accomplishment. They keep in touch with each other, and they keep tabs on me, and in fact they hosted a birthday party for me this past fall. It was like my past, my present and my future all in one room. It was just so special.
Why Dalhousie?
I’m really looking forward to this because I think Dalhousie is the ideal agricultural faculty. It has an on-site farm, new faculty members, established faculty, great instructors that cover the breadth of agriculture in the east. I'm excited to be part of that and to hopefully be able to assist with achieving everything it wants to achieve. I’m so impressed with it.
What do you think the biggest difference is between the West coast and East coast with respect to agriculture?
The crops are different. The livestock species focus is a bit different, even though the species are found across the country, but you don't have any abattoirs, whereas we've got most of them, particularly in the beef sector.
But for me, it's not that foreign because Nova Scotia seems to be very similar to Ontario in a lot of ways in terms of farming, the focus on dairy, the interaction with beef. The farms will be smaller, but I think Nova Scotia is in a place where agriculture could really move to the next level and I think with the right research and the right support, it could become even more intensive and more cutting edge. I think Nova Scotia is poised for that, and I'd like to be part of that.
I think it's an exciting time for the Faculty of Agriculture and I can't wait to see where we can go with the right partners in government and industry and in Indigenous communities.