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. [...]

Seeing is believing straight from the heart by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University For many of us of a certain age, “Who Are You?” by the Who is a seminal song, made popular again as the theme music to the TV show CSI. Pete Townsend reputedly wrote the anthem after an exhausting day [...]

Voice of the wounded is essential for healing by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University Recently I read a wonderful LinkedIn entry by Aron Laxton about the U.S. Navy’s efforts to study and reinforce aircraft based on planes that had been damaged from the front. Engineers studied and mapped the bullet holes that peppered [...]

There’s plenty of gain from this pain by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University Recently I experienced a rather serious injury. The official version is that I fell off a 15-foot ladder while rescuing a child from a burning building. The first part of that story is true, and the latter part should quietly [...]

‘Soft’ approach triumphs by Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University I always look forward to the spring. It is when our university celebrates convocation, and while this is usually an all-consuming, logistically complex event, come the day this is feel-good all the way. To see the faces of the graduates and their families, and [...]