innovation — making a difference

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Albert Einstein, physicist

Elizabeth Behrens, librarian, Ferriss Hodgett Library, and Dr. Geoff Rayner-Canham, chemistry, SWGC, pose beside the books that have been collected for Kabul University Library.

At the Kabul University Library in Afghanistan, the only copy of the Columbia Encyclopedia has so many bullet holes that it is unreadable. A world away, at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, a group of professors collect academic textbooks to help alleviate the loss.

It's just one example of Memorial University's long tradition of giving back to the community, and one of the many ways we use our resources and research to help make a difference.

Like many communities across the nation, Memorial welcomed stranded passengers on 9/11, offering shelter and assistance to some of the 13,000 unexpected visitors whose flights were diverted here that day. Later we helped travellers establish a bursary for international students, in honour of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. Then came the call for books to replace ones destroyed in the Afghan conflict. Once again Memorial rallied to the cause.

	Stranded passengers on their journey home

As a university that was founded in memory of those who gave their lives for freedom, we feel a sense of responsibility. In a year that began on an unimaginably horrific note, we were only too happy to help.