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| Dean of Dentistry Tom Boran hands over the turtle to University Librarian Bill Maes. |
Turtles are notoriously slow and patient creatures. And waiting for a 18-kg concrete turtle to find its own way up University Avenue to its new home might take a while.
So on Wednesday, Dean of Dentistry Tom Boran made the trek to the Killam Library to deliver the United Way Deans’ Challenge trophy to University Librarian Bill Maes and his team, who bested all comers to emerge victorious in this year’s challenge.
“I know it will be in good hands,” said Dr. Boran.
HÂţ»â€™s United Way campaign, which kicked off with a two-week “blitz” in October, is almost at its goal, currently sitting at 89 per cent of the $200,000 it’s hoping to raise. There’s still time to contribute this holiday season and make a difference to valuable community programs throughout Halifax.
In fact, there’s extra reason to consider a donation: the original recipient of the top draw prize – a designated parking spot or monthly bus passes for a year – has re-donated it to the cause. All new donations made before December 31 will be eligible to claim the prize.
The Dean’s Challenge, however, is a done deal, and Bill Maes couldn’t be happier with his team’s success.
“It’s all the work of a very supportive and dedicated staff that was committed to getting the turtle here this year,” said Dr. Maes, who actually initiated the first Deans’ Challenge last year. “We had a really high participation rate across the libraries, and it’s great to see so many people contributing to something so positive.”
In total, library staff donated $7,709.20 to the United Way in this year’s campaign. While other faculties donated more money in absolute terms, the challenge’s winner is decided by a mathematical formula that takes participation rate and staff contingent into account. Dr. Maes says that the libraries hope to give the turtle a name – still to be determined – and to keep it on display in the main Learning Commons in the Killam for all to see. It’s quite likely to also spend some time in HÂţ»â€™s other libraries throughout the year to come, and possibly even beyond that.
“Oh, we’re winning it next year too, absolutely,” says Dr. Maes, confidently. “It’s never leaving.”
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