Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN, is a public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and Harlow, England. Memorial University offers certificate, diploma, undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate programs, as well as online courses and degrees.
Founded in September 1925 as a memorial to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who died in the First World War, Memorial is the largest university in Atlantic Canada; it is also Newfoundland and Labrador's only university. As of 2018, there were 1,330 faculty and 2,474 staff, supporting 18,000 students from nearly 100 countries.
History
Founding
At its founding, Newfoundland was a dominion of the United Kingdom. Memorial University began as Memorial University College, which opened in September 1925 at a campus on Parade Street in St. John's. It was founded to honour the war dead from World War I, to provide a way of educating school teachers for the local religious schools, and to offer students higher education locally. Before that, there was no high-ranking post-secondary education in the dominion; students often went to Canada, the United Kingdom, or the United States. Students were first admitted into a non-degree program in 1925. The original location on Parade Street in St. Johns was established with the help of a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.The college was established as a memorial to the Newfoundlanders who had lost their lives on active service during the First World War. It was later rededicated also to encompass the province's war dead of the Second World War.
The first president was John Lewis Paton. It offered the first two years of university studies. MUC's initial enrolment was 57 students, which peaked at over 400 in the 1940s. In 1933, it merged with the adjacent Normal School and took responsibility for teacher training.
Early period
The period from the founding in 1925 until 1949 in Newfoundland was chaotic, reflecting Newfoundland's shifting economic and political situation, from the last flowering of independence to depression and life on the dole. The 1940 discovery of Newfoundland as a strategic military asset brought a new period of prosperity.Newfoundland gave up dominion status in 1934, ending self-government in exchange for British Commission of Government rule as a crown colony. Newfoundland remained a crown colony until it joined Canada as a province in 1949.
The post-Confederation government elevated the status of Memorial University College to full university status in August 1949, renaming the institution to Memorial University of Newfoundland. Memorial University was established by the Memorial University Act.
The enrolment in Memorial's first year was 307 students.
Expansion
In 1959, Memorial pioneered the Extension Service as a model for field education and community development.In 1961, enrolment increased to 1400, and Memorial moved from Parade Street to its present location on Elizabeth Avenue.
On 8 March 1965, the government of Newfoundland announced free tuition for first-year students enrolled at Memorial University in St. John's.
The Faculty of Medicine of Memorial University of Newfoundland was established in 1967, and the first students were admitted in 1969. It admits approximately 80 students into the M.D. program each year and also offers MSc and PhD programs.
Memorial maintains a campus in Harlow, England which opened to students in 1969. This campus has been a popular location for internships in education, and now offers credit courses, work terms, and internships in a number of areas. The campus accommodates approximately 50 students.
Memorial established the Institut Frecker in St. Pierre in 1973, to offer one-semester French immersion programs. It was housed in a building provided by the Archdiocese of St. Pierre until 2000. Now known as the Program Frecker, it is run from the FrancoForum, a language teaching facility owned by the government of St. Pierre. The program is partially supported by the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador.
In September 1975, a campus was opened in Corner Brook; it was first renamed Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in 1979 and renamed again in 2010 as Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland. 1300 students attend Grenfell, which offers full degree programs in several disciplines and partial programs in many other subjects which can be completed at the St. John's campus.
In 1977, the Memorial University of Newfoundland Educational Television Centre implemented the Telemedicine project.
In 1992, the Institute of Fisheries and Marine Technology in St. John's became affiliated with Memorial University as the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland. Today, it is named the Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland. It offers both degree and non-degree programs.
In the early 1990s, open-source collaboration between the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Computing and Communications produced the LabNet system, which today remains the underlying network of computers at Memorial.
The modern day
In 2008, the university's hiring process for incoming presidents came under scrutiny for political interference by the province's education minister, Joan Shea.In May 2021, the Board of Regents of Memorial University recommended that the institution should proceed with officially changing its name to Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. However, changing the university's legal name will require an act of the province's House of Assembly, and has not yet taken effect.
In September 2019, the Memorial University Senate voted unanimously to create a degree-granting campus in Labrador. Memorial University subsequently established the School of Arctic and Sub-Arctic Studies in 2020. A campus in Happy Valley-Goose Bay was expected to offer courses in fall 2022.
In October 2023, a report by the Auditor-General found several concerns with the University's operations and expenses.
Presidents
- John Lewis Paton
- Albert Hatcher
- Raymond Gushue
- Moses Morgan
- The Rt. Hon. The Lord Taylor of Harlow
- Moses Morgan
- Leslie Harris
- Arthur May
- Axel Meisen
- Eddy Campbell
- Chris Loomis
- Gary Kachanoski
- Vianne Timmons
- Neil Bose
- Jennifer Lokash
- Janet Morrison
Chancellors
- Viscount Rothermere of Hemsted
- Lord Thomson of Fleet
- G. Alain Frecker
- Paul G. Desmarais
- John Crosbie
- Rick Hillier
- Susan Dyer Knight
- Earl Ludlow
Motto, shield, and arms
Academics
Schools and faculties
Memorial has seven faculties and seven Schools. These offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs.Memorial's Faculty of Business Administration is recognized as a leader in Canadian business education with a high ranking, offering programs at undergraduate and graduate levels, including a bachelor of commerce, international bachelor of business administration, bachelor of business administration, master of business administration, master of employment relations and Ph.D. degrees.
Students can choose to specialize in the following engineering disciplines: Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering, Engineering Management, and Process Engineering.
The St. John's campus is home to the Faculty of Medicine, co-located with the Newfoundland Health Science Center General Hospital. The Faculty of Medicine grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in medicine while also providing residential and advanced training. It is one of only four medical schools in Atlantic Canada (the others are Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, University of New Brunswick Medical Training Centre and Université de Moncton Medical Training Centre.
The Department of Biochemistry has a dietetic program accredited by the Dietitians of Canada, and the university's graduates may subsequently become registered dietitians.
Queen's College, an affiliated College of Memorial University, offers diploma and degree studies in theology, pastoral studies, church history, and related programs. It is an associate member of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada with 166 students.
The university operates the Bonne Bay Marine Station in Gros Morne National Park.
Research
Research at Memorial University spans six faculties and six schools on the St. John's campus, three at the Grenfell Campus, and three at the Marine Institute, covering a broad range of basic, interdisciplinary, and applied research topics. It also includes centres in marine learning that study ocean technology, aquaculture, sustainable fishery, and offshore safety. Over 40% of Memorial's research is ocean-related.Memorial University joined with Dalhousie University and the University of Prince Edward Island to form the Ocean Frontier Institute, a collaborative research initiative aimed at harnessing the potential of the world's oceans. Memorial University is a member of the University of the Arctic, an international cooperative network of universities, colleges, and other organizations concerned with education and research in Arctic region. Memorial is also a member of the International Association of Universities, Universities Canada, Association of Commonwealth Universities, Canadian Virtual University, and the Canadian Bureau for International Education.
In 2009, Memorial University launched Yaffle to provide researchers and community partners an opportunity to connect and exchange ideas, expertise, research interests, and publicly engaged activities in an open and accessible way. Yaffle is managed by the Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development at Memorial University.