Scholarship Students to be Honoured at NSAC

AGRICULTURE/FISHERIES--Scholarship Students to be Honoured at NSAC

Outstanding academic performance will be honoured at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) with the presentation of scholarships and bursaries to 266 students. The award presentations will be made today, Oct. 28, during the school's annual Autumn Assembly program.

Autumn Assembly provides the university with an opportunity to recognize scholarship students and acknowledge contributors to the university's awards program.

"This event allows us to recognize NSAC students for their leadership and academic achievements," said Chris d'Entremont, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.

A highlight of the evening's program will be the inaugural presentation of the Friend of NSAC Award. This award recognizes individuals or groups outside the university community who have been instrumental in furthering the goals of the institution.

The 2004 Friend of the NSAC Award will be presented to the Friends of the Garden. This group has assumed responsibility for the care of all specialist botanical collections on the campus, most of which they have helped to develop. The collections include the herb, heather, alumni, and native plant gardens and the butterfly meadow. The Friends of the Garden is also responsible for the development of the rock garden on the campus, which is about half an acre in size.

"This is a time of celebration," said NSAC president Philip Hicks. "We celebrate the success of our students, the generosity of our scholarship donors and the true spirit of volunteerism evidenced by the Friends of the Garden."

NSAC boasts one of the best scholarship-to-student ratios of any university in the region. One in three students receive a scholarship, bursary or other academic award, including 179 Nova Scotia students, 32 from New Brunswick, 22 from Prince Edward Island and 22 from Newfoundland and Labrador. The remainder is given to students from Ontario, British Columbia, the United States, Japan, Indonesia, Trinidad/Tobago, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Jamaica.

The Autumn Assembly program will be held in the Nova Scotia Agricultural College Alumni Theatre today beginning at 7:30 p.m.