Stevens Centre at Acadia to Become Home to High Performance Athletes and Community Members

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - Acadia University will soon strengthen its role as a regional centre for sports excellence, thanks to a $1 million gift from The Stevens Family Foundation. The Stevens Centre, part of Acadia’s athletic complex, will provide varsity athletes and visiting regional, provincial and national sports teams and individuals with a training environment equal to those that are currently only available in Halifax.

The generous gift from The Stevens Family Foundation honours the memory of Laurie Stevens, Class of 1955 and DCL 2002 and former member of Acadia’s Board of Governors, as well as the close connection between the Stevens family and Acadia. Several members of The Foundation are graduates of Acadia: Marilyn Stevens (’55), Wendy Himmelman (’79, ‘80), Thane Stevens (’80), Foundation Chair Janette Fiander (’82), Scott Stevens (’86), and Tracey Tulloch (’91).

“Acadia’s reputation as a centre of excellence, both academically and athletically, places it among Canada’s leading institutions for the well-rounded student experience,” said Ray Ivany, Acadia’s President and Vice-Chancellor.  “We are fortunate to have the Stevens family as members of our Acadia community and have benefited from their commitment to building capacity both on campus and in our region. As active and engaged alumni, the Stevens family sets an example for many others and we are grateful for the support they have offered our student-athletes, our professional coaching staff, our faculty and all community members who pursue healthy lifestyles and high-calibre athletic competition.”

The Stevens Centre will combine a number of athletic support functions into a single facility, leveraging Acadia’s existing biomechanics lab and newly renovated fitness centre. Inside the Stevens Centre will be new hockey and football locker rooms, a training room designed to meet the needs of high performance athletes and their fitness and strength testing regimes, and space for athletes and to meet with faculty experts in sport science, biomechanics, strength and conditioning, sport psychology and sport nutrition. The Stevens Centre will be available to regional high performance athletes and in the university off-season will be used to attract provincial and national athletes and events to the area. 

“We are an Acadia University family through and through,” said Janette Fiander on behalf of the Stevens Family Foundation. “Our parents met at Acadia and later married. Dad served on the Board of Governors, and during his tenure on the Board he brought his financial, business and construction knowledge to help advise and serve to Acadia’s benefit. He was a loyal member and served with pride and aimed to make Acadia an even better University.

This gift is intended to honour our parents’ dedication to Acadia while celebrating our pride in Acadia. Our hope is that the gift will have a positive effect on the university community and the wider Annapolis Valley region."

“I believe the Stevens Centre will play a key role in our ability to recruit and retain students,” said Kevin Dickie, Director of Athletics for Acadia. “Young athletes who visit campus to train and compete will learn first-hand about Acadia as a post-secondary institution. We know a significant proportion of students who now attend Acadia first came to campus for a sports camp, competition or field trip. Many of these students no longer compete in their chosen sport, but, because of their training, prove to be excellent scholars and student leaders.”

“From the outset of our discussions with the Stevens family, it was clear how deep their affection for Acadia is and how much they care about the experience our students have in all areas of campus,” said Rod Morrison, Acadia’s Vice-President of Advancement. “As we celebrate the 175^th Anniversary of Acadia’s founding, it’s hard not to reflect on how fortunate we are to have, in the Stevens, a family that is also extremely interested in the success of the Annapolis Valley – their gift helps Acadia play an even larger role than at present in attracting young people to our area. We know that health, fitness and athletic competition are important aspects of the lives of many young people, so the Stevens Centre is destined to become well-known to future generations of Acadia alumni.”

The Stevens Centre will feature a 1,500 square foot strength and conditioning area accompanied by renovations to existing meeting rooms. Approximately 6,000 square feet of varsity hockey and football locker room space will be added which will be available to community groups in the off season. A high performance training centre at Acadia positions the University to become Sport Centre Atlantic’s first satellite location in Nova Scotia outside of Halifax. This has tremendous value to Acadia through the number of high quality events and competitions the institution will be able to attract to campus during the academic year, but especially during the spring and summer. The Stevens Family Foundation hopes to inspire more gifts for the project.