OCTOBER 2000

Acadian novelist receives honorary degree

Memorial conferred an honorary doctorate on Acadian novelist and playwright Antonine Maillet at the fall convocation on Oct. 20. Since the publication of her first novel in 1958, Dr. Maillet has become a prolific and critically-acclaimed writer, publishing more than a dozen novels and as many plays, a number of which have been translated into English. In the 1970s, she taught folklore and literature at Laval and Montreal universities and later taught at American universities.

First ever faculty strike

For the first time in the history of Memorial University, the union representing 765 faculty and librarians went on strike. On Oct. 20, 2001 the union executive held a strike vote that garnered 61 per cent support from the 547 members who voted. Negotiators for the university's administration and the Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association worked through the night of Oct. 30 in an effort to develop a contract. However, the union opted for strike action and set up their picket lines early on Oct. 31. The two sides reached a tentative agreement on Nov. 12. At a special meeting Nov. 14, Senate unanimously approved a number of remedies to minimize the impact on students of the disruption in academic activities between Oct. 31 and Nov. 12.

Memorial's outstanding faculty honoured

The top teachers and researchers at Memorial were recognized this month. Distinguished teaching awards were presented to Dr. Jean Finney-Crawley, Biology, and Dr. Rick Johnstone, Sociology.

Meanwhile, Dr. Maynard Clouter, Physics, and Dr. Danny Summers, Mathematics, were honoured with the designation of University Research Professor. The President's Award for Outstanding Research went to Dr. Trevor Bell, Geography.

Noted historian visits Memorial

Renowned labour historian Dr. David Montgomery travelled through Atlantic Canada, with stops at the University of New Brunswick, Université de Moncton, Dalhousie and Memorial delivering a series of lectures and seminars in the area of the history of work and the working class. At Memorial he gave a public lecture titled Empire, Race and Working-Class Mobilizations, and presented a seminar the following day on New Directions in the Writing of Working-Class History in the United States. His public lecture emphasized the way in which world structures of economic and political power have affected the actions that working people have taken on their own behalf, and the way government policies regarding labour and social questions have developed.