January 11-17, 2016 marks the 8th annual StFX Faculty Appreciation Week, presented by StFX Athletics. All current and retired StFX faculty members will receive free admission to this week’s varsity games upon presentation of their StFX faculty ID card.

On Friday, Jan. 15th, StFX Athletics will recognize our 61 CIS Academic All-Canadians (StFX student-athletes with 80% average or higher) at a celebratory breakfast.  Each Academic All-Canadian will invite a faculty member to join in the celebration.

As part of Faculty Appreciation week, StFX Athletics will be profiling various faculty members on our website. Today we feature Dr. Neil Maltby from the faculty of business administration.

Dr. Neil Maltby teaches international business, small business management, and general management at the Gerald Schwartz School of Business. He holds a PhD in international business from the University of Strathclyde. Dr. Maltby joined the StFX faculty in 2000 and during his time here has been widely praised for his dedication to students and their education. He received StFX’s Outstanding Teaching Award in 2006 and the Association of Atlantic University (AAU) Distinguished Teaching Award in 2012. This past December he was selected as the honorary X-ring recipient at the annual X-ring ceremony. Dr. Maltby has served as a faculty advisor for the StFX cross country team.

What inspires you on a daily basis as a faculty member at StFX University?
Student commitment to learning, leading, and being part of a community.  I am fortunate to get to teach in the first year, as I get to observe the growth of our students over the entire cycle of their time at StFX.  Seeing the work students put in to their academics, society leadership, community volunteer work, varsity athletics, and being part of the Xaverian community is inspiring.  

How does involvement in athletics complement success in academics for students?
Athletes inherently aim to excel.  I have always believed the runner’s mindset, for example, to run farther and faster, requires a mental discipline that translates quite well to academic goals of learning more, studying longer, aiming for better results, and pursuing knowledge.  Sports requires athletes to set goals, pursue those goals and hold themselves accountable for their performance.  As a varsity athlete, students must balance individual pursuits with team responsibilities, which in many ways mirrors the community-based and individualistic nature of learning at a university.  The running team works together to help each other academically.  When a runner joins the team they join a tradition of running and academic excellence.  Upholding and exceeding that tradition is part of the culture of the team and every person who runs for St. FX is expected to aim for Academic All-Canadian status. 

What motivated you to become involved with Athletics at StFX?
I love team sports and the feeling of being connected to a team.  I love cheering the runners at races and soaking up the atmosphere of a race.  I have long respected the work Coaches Bernie Chisholm and Kevin Grant have done with the team and in the community, building a local running program with people like Chris MacKinnon and Therese Tracey.  Antigonish has a long tradition of community and school running programs so getting involved in the varsity team connected me to some of that tradition. 

What advice do you have for students trying to manage their time?
Set goals.  When athletes work toward goals their competitive, success-oriented training kicks in and they make effective, efficient use of their time