Dr. Margo Watt
Department of Psychology
Professor Emerita
Professor Margo Watt, an alumna of StFX, earned her PhD in clinical psychology from Dalhousie University and returned to StFX in 1999 as the first clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychology. Her expertise raised the academic profile of the department – not only did she create new courses such as Clinical Psychology and Forensic Psychology, she also created innovative new programming, including a two-year Concentration in Forensic Psychology and then a four-year direct-entry Applied Forensic Psychology program—both very popular offerings.
Dr. Watt is a prolific scholar in mental health, clinical assessment, and criminal justice, as evidenced by $7 million+ in research funding and 100+ publications. She was the recipient of StFX’s Outstanding Teaching Award, the President’s Research Award, and the distinction of Jules Léger Research Scholar. Her award-winning book, Cases in Clinical Forensic Psychology, is nationally recognized as a significant contribution to the criminal justice psychology field. Her 25+ year career as a registered clinical psychologist includes working with incarcerated individuals and staff of Correctional Services Canada. Dr. Watt is a true leader and innovator.
Dr. John Phyne
Department of Sociology
Professor Emeritus
Dr. John Phyne has been a Senior Research Professor in Sociology since retiring from his 31-year career at StFX in 2020. John’s research is rooted in a strong sociological orientation to people and place. His research explores the challenges of maritime people making a living in the context of global markets, especially those markets concerned with salmon aquaculture. His research is interdisciplinary and international, involving collaboration with other social scientists exploring the political, socioeconomic and environmental impact of the global salmon aquaculture industry.
John’s exemplary scholarship offers evidence of StFX’s leadership in rural studies. John has received SSHRC funding and was a funded researcher on a $14 million-dollar Aquanet National Centre of Excellence on Aquaculture. He has published in leading journals in his field. His 1999 book Disputed Waters is a central study on environmental conflicts in the Irish salmon aquaculture industry. His current book project: Before Jellybean Row: People, Planners and the City-Centre of St. John’s deals with the socioeconomic and inter-personal relations in the city-centre of St. John’s, and the role of planners in clearing the ‘slum portion’ of the city-centre as part of urban renewal in the 1960s.
In addition to serving as Sociology Chair, John was a founding faculty champion and later program coordinator for StFX’s Interdisciplinary Studies in Aquatic Resources Program. John is proud to have supervised 17 honours theses in Sociology, and 10 senior papers in the Interdisciplinary Studies in Aquatic Resources Program during his time at StFX.
Dr. Yvon Grenier
Department of Political Science
Professor Emeritus
Dr. Yvon Grenier began his career at StFX in 1991 and immediately began to make exceptional contributions to his discipline, his department, and to the academic life of StFX.
Dr. Grenier has published six books on diverse subjects such as the civil war in El Salvador, literature and politics in the work of Nobel laureate, intellectual, and diplomat Octavio Paz; literature and politics in Latin America; and cultural policy in Cuba. Dr. Grenier is currently writing his seventh book, a study of Pierre Trudeau’s relations to Cuba and the Cold War. Dr. Grenier has also published over 100 refereed articles, chapters, and review essays in English, French, and Spanish.
For his accomplishments, Dr. Grenier was honoured with the President’s Research Award in 2006. Honours also came from outside the university, with over 50 invitations to give public lectures in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and France. Dr. Grenier served on the editorial boards of several prominent academic journals, including Cuban Studies, the top journal on Cuba.
Dr. Grenier’s expertise is continually sought out by the national media on provincial, federal, and international matters. He has also been an exemplary teacher. His classes were always popular, and he has mentored students by supervising 25 honours theses in his career.
Dr. Arlinda Ruco
Health
President's Research Award
Dr. Arlinda Ruco is an internationally recognized scholar in the Interdisciplinary Health Program. Her appointment at StFX began on August 1, 2022, and her work to date exemplifies research excellence. She has been the recipient of over $1.9 million in research funding. Her current work on colorectal cancer disparities will for the first time allow performance indicators from the Nova Scotia’s provincial screening program to be published.
Dr. Ruco is also the author of 32 peer-reviewed publications, and her work is highly cited. As a leader in the cancer screening and prevention field, she has also given 26 national and 12 international conference presentations.
Dr. Ruco is always happy to mentor the next generation of researchers and has mentored eight research trainees and supervised approximately 10 honours and graduate theses. She collaborates broadly with colleagues nationally and internationally and has forged numerous research partnerships at the NS Colon Cancer Screening Program and at OsloMet University in Norway. She is currently an Affiliate Scientist at Nova Scotia Health and is an Associate Member of the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute.
Dr. Ricardo Scrosati
Department of Biology
University Research Award
Dr. Ricardo Scrosati began a productive career at StFX as a Canada Research Chair in Marine Ecology, in recognition of his exceptional research potential. Two decades of research have produced over 100 peer-reviewed publications involving many student co-authors and established Dr. Scrosati as an expert in the dynamic communities of organisms that inhabit the intertidal areas of Nova Scotia’s rocky coastlines and similar environments worldwide. Many at StFX have seen the beauty of these wild shores through photos shared by Dr. Scrosati.
His research into intertidal community structure and function in a changing environment—now influenced by more extreme weather events—has engaged dozens of StFX undergraduate and graduate students, including students in his Coastal Marine Ecology course, and led many to further education-, research- and science-related careers such as data analysis and resource management. International collaborations, especially with researchers in Bremerhaven, Germany and Valdivia, Chile, have brought a stream of international graduate student visitors to StFX.
Dr. Scrosati’s research has been supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) since 2006. He is a founding member of the newly established Arctic Coastal Biodiversity Observation Network.
Dr. Scrosati’s scholarship has been recognized by StFX through the award of a Dr. W. F. James Research Chair, and in 2024, Dr. Scrosati was a finalist for the Halifax Discovery Center’s Nova Scotia “Professional of Distinction” Award.
Dr. Geniece Hallett-Tapley
Department of Chemistry
Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award
Dr. Geniece Hallett-Tapley’s steady and strong commitment to ensuring her students’ success is among the reasons her students nominated her for this award. She provides her students (especially her female students) with an excellent template for achieving success in STEM and in academia.
Dr. Hallett-Tapley’s teaching philosophy outlines an approach that focuses on transparency to her students, sharing with them her own life experiences, to help them realize that their learning is a journey; dedication in consistently, enthusiastically, and effectively conveying course concepts during her lectures, and; promoting an inclusive and accepting environment for all, accommodating different learning styles and adapting her teaching approach to serve the needs of her students.
Dr. Hallett-Tapley’s students have said they highly appreciated her efforts, her patience (especially during office hours), her frank discussions with them about striking a good work-life balance and the countless hours she spent mentoring them, helping them to navigate their next steps toward graduate school or toward a professional career. Dr. Hallett-Tapley serves as an inspiration for her students and is highly valued and respected by her colleagues.
Dr. Arlinda Ruco
Health
Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award
Dr. Arlinda Ruco is a cherished mentor and teacher in the Interdisciplinary Health Program. While this is only her second year of teaching at StFX, the letters of nomination from her students speak to the lasting impact she has already made on them. They speak of how she taught them to see healthcare leadership through an equity lens, how she trained them in valuable research skills and methods, and the ways in which she places student accessibility, well-being, and success at the forefront of her pedagogy. They also speak to her concern for their future, and the ways in which she reads resumes, provides feedback on interviews, helps with med and grad school applications, and generally cares about the lives her students bring into the classroom.
Dr. Ruco’s teaching leadership also includes her supervision of 10 honours theses since joining StFX, as well as two Masters of Public Health students at Western University. She has worked hard to centre 2SLGBTQIA+ learning, Indigenous content, and inclusive perspectives on health. This year, she piloted a visit to the Afrikan Canadian Heritage Friendship Centre as part of her Health Leadership Course to continue her work on creating diverse learning opportunities for all students.
Contact
Xavier Hall
4545 Alumni Crescent
Antigonish NS B2G 2W5
Canada
