StFX University hosted a number of dignitaries and visitors to campus this morning for the groundbreaking of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Hall. The hall will become home to the Victor and Mona Dahdaleh Institute for Innovation in Health, an incubator for health research on campus. A release from the university states the Institute at StFX is at the intersection of research and practice; academia and public health; theory and impact.

Photo: (l-r) Dr. Joe Apaloo, Dean of Science; Hon. Sean Fraser ’06 Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities of Canada, MP for Central Nova; Mrs. Mona Dahdaleh; Dr. Victor Dahdaleh ‘15, Philanthropist; Dr. Andy Hakin, StFX President and Vice Chancellor; Dennis Flood ’80, Chair of StFX Board of Governors; Hon Michelle Thompson ’06, Minister of Health and Wellness, MLA for Antigonish; Katie Wilson, StFX Student Union VP of Finance and Operations; Dr. Amanda Cockshutt, Academic Vice-President and Provost. (St. FX University photo)

 STFX President and vice chancellor Dr. Andy Hakin said the new facility will mean a lot to the university, students, and members of the community and surrounding areas.

 The facility will house programs such as human kinetics, nutrition, and psychology, along with graduate programs.  

Preliminary infrastructure will begin this summer with an anticipated opening of the facility set for the winter of 2027. The total cost is over $60 million, including $15 million from the Dahdaleh family, the largest single donation to the university by a private donor. Last spring, theprovincial government provided $37.4 million to support the research institute, while the federal government provided $8 million in funding to the Xaverian Commons project, which encompasses the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Hall.