Racism protests are a sign of hope by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University It wasn’t so long ago that many of us were using the COVID-19 virus to argue that our world was more interconnected than we care to admit. Divisions are commonplace and people move through their lives erecting barriers between the [...]

Scratching the surface of cat psychology by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University I have been plagued by cats almost my entire adult life. (OK, maybe I like them just a little.) Dogs, I feel I understand. They’re reasonably straightforward. You know when they’re happy, when they’re guilty of chewing your favourite shoe and [...]

This is a fight for our shared humanity by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University I had promised myself that I wouldn’t write a COVID-19 column. In the midst of what is clearly a once-in-a-lifetime event for most of us, I knew we would be besieged with news item after news item, column after [...]

The vital art of dance by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University In June we celebrate St. Vitus’ Day, a time that honours an unusual saint whose influence was seen throughout Europe generally and in Germany in particular. Martyred in 303 during widespread persecution of Christians, St. Vitus became inexplicably important to Germans in [...]

The Wiki and wacky world of St. Isidore by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University As I was driving to work this week, I saw a sign outside a neighbourhood church. It read: “Prayer is the original wireless form of communication.” It brought to mind the old joke that Moses was the first person [...]

Always room for prayer in life’s overflowing jar by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University A good friend of mine, a fellow scotch aficionado, sent me a story which is an adaptation of a well-known leadership story, popularized by Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In my friend’s version, a [...]

Some timely advice that’s never too early by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University This new year my resolution was to be less punctual. Why? Because punctuality has always been both my obsession and my curse. From the youngest age, I had a phobia about lateness. I so hated to arrive late that I [...]

Truce of 1914: A glimpse of man’s good by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University It truly does seem, at times, as though the news of the world is relentlessly despairing. Despite claims by individuals, such as Steven Pinker in The Better Nature of our Angels, that we live in the most peaceful era [...]

Christ child a model for young educators by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University I was admiring a friend’s potted plant recently when she noted that I had just missed the flowering. “I forgot to water it,” she noted, “and it just bloomed.” It turns out that it isn’t unusual for plants to flower [...]

Christ child a model for young educators by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University Of all the stained glass windows we have at St. Mary’s University in Calgary my favourite may well be an image of the Christ child with the “doctors” of the temple (Luke 2:41-52) which is installed in our library, St. [...]