To create a society of engaged citizens, business and community leaders must demonstrate the value of engagement. That’s what Joan McArthur-Blair is doing with her students at NSCC.

When you consider the important role that educational institutions play in training and preparing students to enter the workforce, it makes sense that shaping positive attitudes toward “giving back” should be an important part of their mandate. When developing a corporate social responsibility strategy, progressive business and community leaders also must understand the value of setting a good example. 

Case in point: I met with Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) president Joan McArthur-Blair on a beautiful late-summer afternoon at the college’s stunning new campus at Mawiami Place in Dartmouth. As I entered the state-of-the-art building and found my way to the president’s suite of offices, I was surprised that the leader of this formidable institution, who has just completed her third year on the job, does not enjoy the spectacular view of Halifax from the harbour side of the building. “We reserved the view for the students,” she says simply. 

That refreshing spirit is evident around the college these days. The new Dartmouth campus, which is a major achievement of the government’s $123-million investment in NSCC, is open for business. Add to that the completion of major renovations at all 13 campuses around the province, many of which have been underway for years, and it seemed to McArthur-Blair that a celebration and some display of gratitude were in order. 

On Oct. 17, some 1,600 employees and more than 10,000 students thanked Nova Scotians for their investment in the college with a day dedicated to making a difference in the communities it serves. The day, called Reach Out to Nova Scotia: Learning to Make a Difference, encompassed all 13 campuses, which are each participating in volunteer projects that respond to various community needs. “We wanted to share our knowledge, skills, and expertise with our communities,” says McArthur-Blair, “as well as thank them.” 

Considering that 94% of employed NSCC graduates will reside in the province, the college has a vested interest in helping ensure the students understand the value of service learning and community engagement. While most of the projects that were planned for the mid-October event were unique to the particular community that each NSCC campus serves, they all focused on three main themes: healthy communities, building communities, and green communities. Both students and staff took on a variety of projects that were dependent upon the needs of each individual community, such as building playgrounds, hosting seminars, and cleanup projects. 

For the past few months, the steering team, composed of staff and students from each campus, has accepted proposals from community organizations and has co-ordinated work teams. When asked how one might encourage other organizations to find opportunities for engagement in such a focused way, McArthur-Blair has the following advice: “Anything is possible and has the potential to be important and magical. Never assume you can’t do something.” 

The magnitude of this project has been hitting home for the team in recent weeks. “As far as we can tell, this is unique,” says McArthur-Blair. “No other education institution has attempted a community project on this scale.” One challenge of such a broad endeavour was finding a way to get McArthur-Blair to 13 campuses on the same day to rally the “troops” (at press time, the team was still working on figuring out those logistics).

To create a society of engaged citizens, as business and community leaders we must demonstrate the value of engagement, as Joan McArthur-Blair is doing with her students at NSCC. It’s an important lesson from which all of us can learn.