By Joel Tichinoff, Sports Editor
After a long period of not having an Athletics Director at all, Dalhousie University has awarded the Athletics portfolio to John J. MacDonald, former director of external relations for the Faculty of Management, where he spearheaded the development of the Ken Rowe Building. MacDonald joined the Faculty from the financial sector in 1996. He is a fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers, a Minor Hockey coach, a member of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, former Treasurer of the Dalhousie Alumni Association and president of the Society for American Wines — the Halifax chapter. On his fourth day on the job, John sat down with The Gazette.
Joel Tichinoff: What was the last Dal Tigers game you attended?
John MacDonald: I was at the at the Dal Basketball game on Sunday against St. Francis Xavier.
JT: Great game.
JM: I also went on Friday to Volleyball and Women’s hockey. Both teams are looking good.
JT: Both teams are looking forward to playoffs. Before being named Athletics Director, you were the director of external relations of the Management Faculty, do you have any previous connection been to Dal Athletics?
JM: I have been a member of Black and Gold (Dalhousie Athletics’ Alumni Support Group) for decades. I graduated from Dal in ‘82 and was a strong supporter of varsity and intramural sports when I was a student. I actually learned to skate on the old Dal Memorial Rink (which burnt down in 1978) when I was four years old. My mother graduated from here so I’m a second-generation Dalhousian.
JT: What was your role at the Faculty of Management as director of external affairs?
JM: I was involved in the fundraising for the Ken Rowe Building and other fundraising initiatives within the faculty. For about four years, I was responsible for the marketing and communications area as well, so a lot of media relations.
JT: “Straight to the Juicy”?
JM: (Shakes his head) That’s not mine. No. That was after my time.
JT: Your Dal Athletics profile states you have “a passion for advocating the advancement of university sport.” What value do you see in university sports and campus athletics programs?
JM: I see the connections to the university in three ways. One is through out academic programs; research, part-time studies, full-time studies, free programs, continuing education. I see another connection with the community through arts and culture; things like the Dal Art Gallery, the Rebecaa Cohn, concerts, the Dal Theatre Department and Music Department all interact with the community on that level. And a third connection is around athletics. It’s an opportunity for the community to come into Dalhousie, it’s a prime way to be able to recruit students; there are a range of athletic activities that are available to students both on the Varsity and intramural side which has the sport component for people who aren’t at the Varsity level. Everyone can come in and continue to play their various sports and other sports that they may never have tried. My best memories from when I was an undergrad really come out of that whole sports connection whether it was Howe Hall, intramural sports, the Commerce Society. We used to go on road trips to support the Men’s Hockey team going to Acadia or Moncton. And that’s a real value; school spirit. It’s involvement, socialization, health and wellness. These are values that come with athletics.
JT: You’re quoted saying that this position gives you the opportunity “to inspire and be inspired.” Can you elaborate on that inspiration?
JM: So I think looking from a Varsity athletics perspective it’s really setting some high goals. The President’s Strategic Focus talks about us (Dalhousie University) becoming the best. In order to be the best overall as a university, you have to excel at all the components. We need to have the best teams to represent the university within our conference and nationally. We need top three finishes. We’re going to set some of these goals and some of them have been set already. We also need to look at what we’re doing for the Dalhousie community with regards to health and wellness, recreational facilities, intramurals, those kinds of things. So in terms of value, what are we doing within the four walls. And finally we have to look at facility renewal. That is a major, major project. I see that as a mid-term kind of thing; at the end of five years my goal is that we have an addition and renovations to the facilities we have existing on campus. And not just Dalplex. There are things with Memorial Arena and things with Sexton campus. It’s not just centered on Dalplex.
JT: On the topic of Dalplex. Built in 1979 when the student population was 7,500, how much of a priority has it become?
JM: It certainly would be a focal point, but there other areas of the campus as well (in need of renewal).
JT: You mentioned the value of school-spirit and growing a sense of attachment on campus. A lot of current and prospective students cite the lack of community and pride at Dal as a weakness of the university. How do you think you can address the lack, and foster the development of, community and school pride?
JM: Well I think we need to improve communication and we have to have a better promotion around our programs. I’m not as well-versed in (the promotion at the student-level) because they really have a student focus and I’m an alumnus and a staff-member. But we need to get the students engaged with the whole varsity program in particular. I was really pleased to see a lot of students coming in over the weekend to see the basketball and volleyball. And there are other programs; soccer in the fall, and hockey. If we run a promotion it seems we start getting the students in and we have to start developing that and work with the registrar’s office and the student recruitment team to really become part of that so that the Dal story is just about academics. We have to look for the full package, whether its academics, arts and culture or athletics. Those are the three we need to look at primarily at the undergraduate level.
JT: The final question is about sustainability. This building (the Dalplex) is held up by energy, right? The roof is supported by artificial air pressure. Is there any plan for sustainable practices in the Athletics Department?
JM: I would suggest, and I’m not intimate with the plans that have been developed, but anything with regards to the redevelopment of this department certainly will take sustainability into account. We’re looking at rewiring, and remaking all of the systems that make up the whole ‘physical plant’ shall we say. Specifics-wise, if we can take the present roof off Dalplex and have it as a kind of suspension, without using ongoing mechanical systems and machinery to support the weight I think that would be the thing to look at. But we also need to look at things like all the bottled water around and move on that in campus-wide terms. So you’ve got the macro piece around physical facilities but you’ve got the less-tangible things we can do bit by bit. We sell re-usable water bottles in our sports shop and our teams use re-usable water bottles. And actually there’s currently a project happening right now to redo the lights in the arena. We’re replacing the lights to reduce the energy consumption of the rink. So the facilities element is already getting underway.
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