One of the newest members of the Order of Nova Scotia is Dr. Jacqueline (Jacquie) Gahagan, PhD, Associate Vice-President of Research at Mount Saint Vincent University.
On October 4, 2023, Lieutenant Governor Arthur J. LeBlanc, Chancellor of the Order of Nova Scotia, made the announcements.
The Order of Nova Scotia is the province of Nova Scotia’s highest honor. It was founded in 2001 to promote excellence by honoring Nova Scotians for their remarkable contributions and accomplishments. Members of the Order of Nova Scotia have excelled in a variety of endeavors, enhancing both their own honor and that of Nova Scotia.
Any Canadian citizen who currently resides in Nova Scotia or has previously done so is qualified to be nominated for the Order. Public officials (such as members of the Senate, MPs, MLAs, municipal councillors, or judges) are the only exceptions; they are not permitted to be nominated while serving in their current capacities. If the nominee is named within a year of their passing, the Order may be given posthumously. Couples, groups, and organizations may not be nominated; only single people may do so.
The nomination of Dr. Gahagan acknowledges their significant contributions to the field of health equity research, particularly in the areas of healthcare, health policy formulation, child welfare, housing for older LGBT Canadians, and HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Gahagan is a medical sociologist by training and serves as MSVU’s Associate Vice-President of Research. Dr. Gahagan has conducted research locally, nationally, and globally in the fields of social sciences and public health. In order to address social and health inequities, their program of health promotion research focuses on assessing policy and programmatic interventions using sex and gender-based analyses. Prior to beginning their academic career, Dr. Gahagan worked as an evaluation specialist in public health at the local, provincial, and national levels with regard to harm reduction, HIV/HCV prevention, and tobacco use cessation.
Dr. Gahagan is currently in charge of two research studies to explore and assess the effects of tuition waiver programs on lowering obstacles to post-secondary education among former adolescents in care. She is a champion for both current and former youth in care. Interviews with participants (past and present) and those in charge of these programs in Atlantic Canadian universities and colleges provide the first-person perspectives for this study.
Numerous awards have been given to Dr. Gahagan, including the 2022 Leadership Award from the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR), which was given in honour of their excellent leadership, dedication, and struggle against HIV/AIDS in Canada and abroad.
She was a founding member of the Atlantic Interdisciplinary Research Network for Social and Behavioural Aspects of HIV and HCV.
Learn more about Dr. Gahagan at https://www.msvu.ca/msvu-avp-research-dr-jacqueline-gahagan-appointed-to-the-order-of-nova-scotia/
References:
https://www.msvu.ca/
https://novascotia.ca/iga/order.asp
By LGNSComms – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91700399
Photo credits to: https://novascotia.ca/iga/2023recipients.asp
