All Posts Tagged With: "Memorial University"
Rock-bottom prices on The Rock
Why students are flocking to Memorial University
Memorial University student. By Andrew Tolson.
The 21st Maclean’s University Rankings includes a close look at Atlantic Canada’s schools. To read more, buy your copy today.
Amber Haighway, a fifth-year music education student at Memorial University (MUN) in St. John’s, Nfld., has many jealous friends studying in places like Toronto, New Brunswick and back home in Nova Scotia. They say things like, “I can’t believe you pay that little for a whole semester—that’s the price of one course at my school.” It’s not far from the truth. As the Glace Bay native explains, “it’s more affordable to travel from Nova Scotia and pay for school, books and housing in Newfoundland than to go 10 minutes down the road to Cape Breton University and live at home with my parents.”
Memorial to ban smoking by 2013
Marine Institute ban effective immediately
Memorial University plans to ban smoking entirely by 2013, citing health concerns about second-hand smoke.
“Restricting smoking to designated areas will help make Memorial University’s campuses healthier places to live, study and work,” school officials wrote in a statement.
The Board of Regents approved a new smoking policy on July 7 that bans smoking near doorways as of Aug. 1. and compels smokers in residences to use designated areas only.
Smoking is no longer permitted anywhere on the Marine Institute’s property.
Chinese student gets probation for stabbing
Memorial University may invite him back to campus
Qiang Tang, the 23-year-old Chinese student who stabbed a fellow English as a Second Language student in March got a sentence of 12-months probation today, with a condition that he must stay away from Memorial University unless he’s invited back.
Tang stabbed the fellow student after being accused of talking too loudly in class. He had originally been charged with aggravated assault, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault causing bodily harm.
“The fact [that] this occurred on campus was an aggravating factor as assaults in schools have been treated seriously by the court,” Judge David Orr said in court.
Defence attorney Rosellen Sullivan told the court that Memorial University will decide whether or not to allow Tang back on campus after their own investigation is completed.
Citizen and Immigration Canada will decide whether to deport Tang after its own investigation.
Student pleads guilty to stabbing
Chinese citizen attacked fellow student at Memorial
A Chinese student taking English as a Second Language at Memorial University pleaded guilty to stabbing another student Tuesday in St. John’s, reports CBC News. Crown and defence lawyers jointly requested that Qiang Tang, 23, serve 12 months of house arrest, plus probation. Tang was arrested in March at Spencer Hall after the attack.
Memorial names Alta. academic as president
Gary Kachanoski has a PhD in soil physics, was unanimously endorsed by university senate
The search for a new president of Memorial University of Newfoundland started with a national uproar over academic freedom and ended with the appointment of an Alberta soil expert.
Gary Kachanoski, who has served as vice-president of research at the University of Alberta, was named Wednesday to take over the school’s top job July 1.
The selection process for the prestigious post was revamped after accusations of political meddling erupted last year.
There was outrage and disbelief in the national academic community after the former education minister personally interviewed – and rejected – two candidates. They included perceived front-runner Eddy Campbell, who was acting president at the time and has since moved on to become the University of New Brunswick’s president.
Joan Burke was shuffled out of the education post last April, but Premier Danny Williams said the cabinet overhaul had nothing to do with the presidential search.
He also said his government would stay out of the selection process in future.
Provincial law gives cabinet the authority to approve or reject the search committee’s pick, but approval had long been considered a formality.
Bob Simmonds, head of Memorial’s board of regents and its search committee, took pains Wednesday to stress the government’s hands-off stance.
“This process was absolutely, completely objective, professional, transparent, fair and without any interference – from not just government, from anybody.”
Kachanoski, who was born in Manitoba and raised in Saskatchewan, said he did not meet with anyone in the government prior to getting the job.
He holds a PhD in soil physics and was inducted into the Canadian Conservation Hall of Fame in 1997 for his dedication to soil and water conservation.
Kachanoski was chosen from an undisclosed short list by a 12-member selection panel that included students, faculty, the board of regents and the public. It hired an executive search firm and advertised nationally and internationally for candidates, Simmonds said.
Memorial recycling program may have compromised privacy
Old faxes used to make new notebooks could have contained confidential information
A paper recycling project has been suspended at Memorial University in Newfoundland amid concerns that old faxes used to make new notebooks contained personal information.
The university in St. John’s is attempting to contact people whose privacy may have been compromised. The notebooks were made from the blank sides of discarded paper collected at the university.
An investigation has found the paper containing confidential information came from fax machines operated by the Memorial University Students Union.
The province’s privacy commission has been called in.
- The Canadian Press
Memorial picks another acting president
University’s current academic vice-president will take over July 1
Memorial University has appointed its second acting president since the Newfoundland and Labrador government was accused of interfering with its presidential search last year.
Chris Loomis, currently the school’s academic vice-president, will take over as president on July 1.
His appointment comes after Eddy Campbell, who was the university’s previous acting president, was named president of the University of New Brunswick.
Campbell became entangled in the controversy that surrounded Memorial’s presidential search last year after he confirmed he was one of two candidates dismissed by the provincial government for the job.
The province’s former education minister said she personally interviewed and rejected the presidential candidates.
But she denied accusations from some faculty and the university administration that the government violated the school’s autonomy.
Under provincial law, the cabinet has the authority to approve or reject an independent search committee’s selection for Memorial’s president, though approval has long been considered a formality.
- The Canadian Press
Who should be Memorial’s next president?
Newfoundland university puts out call for nominees
Do you think you know someone who’d make an excellent university president? Newfoundland’s Memorial University, under advice from their executive search consultant, has decided to open up their nomination process.
For more information, click here.
N.L., feds to spend $55m on post-secondary infrastructure
College of the North Atlantic will get a new campus in Labrador City
Government funding of more than $55 million was announced today for infrastructure projects at post-secondary institutions in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Several projects involving the College of the North Atlantic include construction of a new campus in Labrador City.
Work is also slated for a Memorial University location in Corner Brook.
The provincial government is spending $31 million while Ottawa will contribute $24 million.
The money will be spent over two years.
- The Canadian Press
N.L. education minister shuffled after Memorial controversy
Faculty had accused minister of violating the school’s autonomy in search for pres
Newfoundland and Labrador’s education minister has been shuffled to a newly created government department after she became embroiled in a controversy surrounding Memorial University’s presidential search.
Joan Burke will become the province’s minister of child, youth and family services, a cabinet position created during last month’s throne speech.
Premier Danny Williams said Burke’s move came because of her accomplishments and experience during her time as education minister, and had nothing to do with her involvement in the search for Memorial University’s president.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that nothing would be further from the truth,” he said.
Some Memorial University faculty members accused Burke of violating the school’s autonomy after she said last year she personally interviewed and rejected two candidates for the school’s top job.
Burke and Williams have denied allegations that they infringed on the school’s autonomy.
Darin King, the new education minister, avoided answering reporters’ questions whether he would become as involved as Burke in the university’s current presidential search until Williams responded.
Williams said it was the school’s board of regents that asked for the government’s involvement during the last search.
“This time it is my understanding we will not be asked, nor will we be seeking to be involved in interviews, and if we are asked, we will not get
involved,” he said.
Since his government was first elected in 2003, Williams’s cabinet has grown from 13 to 17, an increase he said was necessary.
“We’ve expanded it not because of a preference just to bring people into cabinet, to be quite honest with you,” he said. “It’s to try to deal with the massive duties and obligations that we have.”
- The Canadian Press
Ottawa announces $7.9m for research at four Atlantic universities
Dalhousie University set to get $5.2 million for five renewed research chairs
Four universities in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are getting $7.9 million from Ottawa to fund eight research chairs.
The money is part of a $5.1-billion spending package for science and technology announced in the federal budget.
Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear says $1.4 million will go toward one new chair at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.
Professor Kevin Kelloway is studying effective workplace leadership and what can be done to predict and prevent workplace violence and aggression.
Meanwhile, Dalhousie University will get $5.2 million for five renewed research chairs, Acadia $500,000 for one new chair and Memorial University will get $500,000 for one new chair.
Goodyear says two chairs will also get more than $321,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
- The Canadian Press
BOOM DE YA DA! Student Politics
The phrase “that’s been done before” comes to mind.
As a recovering former student activist turned professor of post-secondary education studies, I continue to maintain a keen interest in the student press and student politics, especially on my own campus. Only two of five executive positions are being contested in the on-going Memorial University of Newfoundland Students’ Union (MUNSU) election. One of the candidates, Cameron Campbell, has an entertaining campaign advertisement up on YouTube.
Have a look. It’s quite creative, though I’m not really clear on the platform. It’s very reliant on love:
Learning limitations and educational attainment
People with disabilities still face barriers to post-secondary education
Today is Disability Awareness Day at Memorial University of Newfoundland. A campus Disability Awareness Information Fair and a Panel Discussion have been organized to educate students, staff and faculty about disability issues.
According to the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) conducted by Statistics Canada, approximately 631,000 (2.5%) Canadians aged 15 years and older report having a learning limitation. Just over one in five (22.4%) considered their learning limitations to be severely limiting, while the remaining 77.6% regarded their limitations to be mild.
In 2006, just one-third of people with a learning limitation had completed education beyond the high school level. A total of 14.7% had obtained a community college or non-university credential, 10.6% obtained a trade or apprenticeship certification, 4.4% held a bachelor’s degree, and 4.0% completed university education beyond the bachelor’s level.
The PALS results demonstrate that learning limitations affect a person’s education in numerous ways. The proportion of individuals who reported that their limitation influenced their choice of careers was 59.3%. A further 53.1% required more time to finish school, 35.6% had to discontinue their education, 34.1% had their education interrupted for long time periods, and 17.4% incurred additional educational expenses due to their learning limitation.
As difficult as it may be to believe, people with disabilities still face barriers to post-secondary education such as limited physical access to facilities and a lack of institutional sensitivity to their unique needs. In addition to reducing their chances of gaining and keeping employment, their lack of access to educational opportunities ultimately limits their participation in Canadian society.
Former chair of NL college board calls for free tuition
Ex-CEO says province should use Irish model for post-secondary education
Responding the Educational Policy Institute’s recent proposal that colleges and universities increase tuition fees by up to 25 per cent, a former chairperson of the College of the North Atlantic Board of Governors is instead calling for the implementation of free tuition in Newfoundland and Labrador following the model used for post-secondary education in Ireland.
Vince Withers, former President and CEO of NewTel Communications (now part of Bell Aliant) and an honorary graduand of Memorial University, told a St. John’s talk radio show that he “can’t understand why anyone would call for a dramatic increase in tuition fees”. Withers went on to say that he doesn’t believe that Premier Danny Williams will consider lifting the province’s fee freeze, which has been in place for over a decade.
Province won’t interview Memorial’s presidential picks
After controversy last year, university chairman says process will be “open, transparent and accountable”
The Newfoundland and Labrador government won’t interview candidates for Memorial University’s presidency, the chairman of the school’s board of regents said Thursday.
“The minister of education will not be involved in interviews,” Bob Simmonds said at a news conference. “The process we will follow in finding a new president for Memorial University – and please note these words – will be open, transparent and accountable.”
Simmonds said the independent search committee tasked with finding Memorial’s next president will decide on a preferred candidate and pass that recommendation on to the government, as was done in the past.
The controversy surrounding Memorial’s presidential search erupted last year after Education Minister Joan Burke said she personally interviewed and rejected candidates for the position.
Burke’s involvement sparked accusations from some faculty and the university administration that the government violated the school’s autonomy – an allegation she has denied.
Under provincial law, the cabinet has the authority to approve or reject an independent search committee’s selection for Memorial’s president, though approval has long been considered a formality.
In many other provinces, universities don’t need the approval of their provincial governments to select incoming presidents.
Simmonds said if the government were to reject the search committee’s recommendation for president, he would quit his post.
Memorial’s acting president Eddy Campbell was one of the two presidential candidates that the provincial government dismissed. He has been recommended for the presidency of the University of New Brunswick and is expected to take office this summer.
Memorial has been without a full-time president since December 2007, when Axel Meisen announced his resignation earlier than planned.
- The Canadian Press
Questions about Grenfell autonomy delay
Memorial campus was supposed to be independent by fall 2008, but isn’t yet
In April 2007, the Newfoundland and Labrador government announced that Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, a campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland in Corner Brook, would become an autonomous university by the Fall 2008 semester.
In April 2008, the provincial government announced that it was setting aside $500,000 for the implementation of a new governing structure for the college. Otherwise, it appears that little headway has been made toward fulfilling the pledge of full university status. Last summer, the minister of education announced that Grenfell’s planned autonomy would have to be delayed to a later date.
This issue has been the subject of some debate in the province, along with questions about Memorial University’s autonomy to govern its own affairs and the minister of education’s involvement in Memorial’s stalled presidential search process. As the CBC reports, faculty and students at Grenfell are raising questions about their delayed independence.
Memorial University’s loss is UNB’s gain
Campbell accepts UNB presidency a year after rejection by Newfoundland gov’t
Memorial University’s acting president has been recommended to take on the presidency at the University of New Brunswick, a year after the Newfoundland and Labrador government rejected him for Memorial’s top job.
In a message posted Tuesday on Memorial’s website, Eddy Campbell said the University of New Brunswick’s presidential search committee is unanimously supporting his candidacy for the position.
“While my belief in the strength and potential of Memorial University and our students, staff, and faculty remains as strong as ever, I am excited by this new opportunity and eager to explore it further,” Campbell wrote.
“I will be travelling to New Brunswick next week to meet with a wide variety of people within the UNB community as well as the external community. Both parties will be in a position to make a final decision following that visit.”
New Brunswick’s endorsement comes almost a year after the Newfoundland and Labrador government rejected Campbell’s application for Memorial’s presidency.
Faculty members at Memorial accused the government of violating the school’s autonomy – an allegation the provincial government denied.
Education Minister Joan Burke has not elaborated on why she rejected Campbell, except to say she did not want to “settle for anyone.”
Under provincial law, the cabinet has the authority to approve or reject an independent search committee’s selection for Memorial’s president, though approval has long been considered a formality.
In many other provinces, universities do not need the approval of their provincial governments to select incoming presidents.
Memorial has asked the government to amend that law, but Premier Danny Williams has rebuffed calls to change it.
- The Canadian Press
University seeks musical masterpiece
Memorial looking for an opus to accompany its 100th convocation; no “soft wedding music.”
In celebration of its 100th convocation, Memorial University has issued a request for proposals for a masterpiece of ceremonial music, reports The Telegram.
The university says the piece must be flexible, adaptable and able to stand the test of time. The university’s current score has been criticized as “soft wedding music.” Tom Gordon, director of MUN’s school of music, says the new piece should be solemn but contemporary.
The piece must be able to be extended or abbreviated, and three arrangements must be written: one for a brass quintet, one for trumpet and organ/piano, and one just for the organ.
Composers must be MUN alumni or present or former residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. They will also need to submit a portfolio of their work, resume, and a sketch of what they would do if awarded the commission.
Submissions will be reviewed by a three-member jury consisting of at least one composer and the university’s organist, and judged on originality and the piece’s compatibility. The winning composer will get $7,000 plus preparation costs.
Memorial U presidential search gets new chairman
After much controversy, high-profile lawyer aims to improve relations between the provincial government and faculty
An outspoken lawyer known for his independent streak has been enlisted to restore relations between Memorial University faculty and the Newfoundland and Labrador government after the school’s search for a president became mired in controversy.
Bob Simmonds, a high-profile defence lawyer based in St. John’s, was appointed the new chairman for the university’s board of regents, Education Minister Joan Burke announced Tuesday.
“I don’t expect my character to change overnight, so I would hope that if I have any gifts that I would bring those gifts and abilities to this job as I have to any other,” Simmonds said in an interview.
Simmonds takes over for Gil Dalton, who came under fire earlier this year from faculty after a government official said he provided a list of candidates for the university’s top job to Burke. That triggered accusations of political interference and soured the relationship between Memorial faculty and the provincial government.
“I would hope that my practice as a lawyer would be beneficial in that regard and that I’ll be able to build trust and respect,” said Simmonds, a 1976 Memorial graduate.
“I’m aware of the issues that have gone on before, or at least from what I’ve read in the press, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to assist and resolve any issues that might still exist.”
Memorial University Faculty Association president Ross Klein said he was cautiously optimistic after hearing of Simmonds’s appointment.
“It’s certainly a positive move because it’s a nice, clean break from the things that had happened before with the search and what appeared to be improper intrusion by government into the decision-making,” Klein said.
“We would just hope that with the new chair of the board, and particularly Bob Simmonds being the personality that he is, that the board would move forward in a very positive way and that we’ll see the appointment of a president in a short time.”
Police charge student with threatening MUN professors
Police say an 18-year-old female student was charged with two counts of uttering threats
Police in Newfoundland have charged a student in relation to two recent threats against professors at Memorial University.
Police say one professor received a threat this week, while another received a similar threat online earlier this month. Police say an 18-year-old female student was charged with two counts of uttering threats, but didn’t release any details on the nature of the threats.
She has been released and is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 4, 2008.
- The Canadian Press
