A look back at an eventful Dal year

From storms to stripes to success stories, there was no shortage of news at Dalhousie last year.

In 2011, our team of Dal News writers and student contributors produced more stories than ever – 540 in total throughout the year.

We were there when Dalhousie launched its $250 million Bold Ambitions campaign, and covered major donations like Ken Rowe’s $15 million gift to the School of Business and the announcement of the Wallace McCain Learning Commons in the Life Sciences Centre. We looked closely at Dalhousie’s pension concerns, including detailed interviews with Vice-President Finance and Administration Ken Burt. And we kept count as Dalhousie’s student population crossed the 17,000 mark.

As always, Dalhousie research pushed plenty of new ideas, innovations and discoveries into the public discourse: identifying risk factors for dementia, treating neglected “orphan” diseases, understanding Canada’s national parks system, determining a count of life on planet earth, and countless others. Some of our most in-depth coverage focused on Dalhousie Oceans Week, a celebration of the role that oceans play in research, culture and economic growth in our region.

And, of course, there were the students, faculty, staff and alumni we profiled. We talked to alumni on bikes—and student paraders on two wheels too—athletes who excel, and students with a song in their step. We highlighted student societies giving back to the community, through music, through education, through architecture and art. We celebrated staff who give their all to students, faculty who excel at teaching, and the entire Dalhousie community for being recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers.

What stories got the most attention? Many of the most popular Dal News stories of 2011 involved student life in some capacity: snow days, GPA changes, tuition, coffee contest wins and orientation week all made the list. And, of course, changes in parking policy generated plenty of views and discussion.

Our top 10 most read stories of 2011:

1. Snow day? [Dalhousie storm closure policy] (originally posted in November 2010, but reposted on January 12 prior to the first major snowfall of the year) – 6,805 views
2. Policy change for GPA (April 1) – 5,676 views.
3. Parking changes announced (August 22) – 5,301 views
4. Improving parking and transportation at Dalhousie (August 22) – 5,235 views
5. Dalhousie named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers (October 7) – 5,182 views
6. DSU unveils ‘See You in September’ welcome video (August 9) – 4,802 views
7. Winning wheels [Dal students wins car at SUB Tim’s] – 4,307 views
8. Dalhousie approves tuition increase (April 21) – 4,170 views
9. Orientation week – showing our stripes (August 30) – 3,855 views
10. Probation lifted for Dal Med School (June 10) – 3,764 views