Flashback
(May
18, 2000, Gazette)
Remembrances
of Memorial past...
30 years ago
Honorary
degrees conferred
May 1970 — Honorary
degrees are awarded this month to Mrs. A. B. Perlin, Dr. Crawford
B. Macpherson, Professor Chester Small, the Right Honourable
the Lord Shakleton and Dr. Maud Karpeles. The university’s
first doctor of philosophy degrees were conferred on two graduates:
Helen E. Bradbury of St. John’s received her PhD in Biology
and Leona M. Deorksen of Grand Falls became the first PhD in
English.
25 years ago
Over
$1 million from NRC
May 1975 —
National Research Council awards to faculty members of the university
total over one million dollars for the first time. These awards
were made as a result of 125 operating grants, six equipment
grants and one travel fellowship.
20 years ago
Basque
research funded
May 1980 — Research
on the 16th century Basque who established whaling stations on
the Labrador will be continuing for at least the next three years
with the help of a $173,696 grant from the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council. The work is being carried out at
Red Bay by Dr. James Tuck, Anthropology, who heads up a team
of Memorial anthropologists, historians and folklorists.
At
the 1980 spring convocation, six honorary degrees are awarded
to the Hon. R. S. Furlong, A. Millicent Loder, A. Ernest Pallister,
Dr. Harry D. Roberts and the A. L. Penney. Just over 1,000 students
graduated during this convocation, which was presided over by
Chancellor Paul Guy Desmarais.
15 years ago
NAPE
strike settled
May 1985 — Striking
maintenance and security workers voted to accept a new contract
after eight weeks on the picket lines. About 145 workers ratified
an agreement May 10 following a marathon bargaining session.
The new contract will span a period of 30 months and begins with
a $750 payment, three increases of two per cent each over a 12-month
period, and in the third year workers will receive a $500 addition
to their salary scales and a further two per pay hike.
In convocation news, five sessions at the Arts and Culture Centre
see 1,300 degrees conferred, with five honorary degrees. The
honorary graduates were Dr. William Carew, Dr. G. G. L. Henderson,
Dr. Morris Zaslow, Dr. Anna Templeton and Dr. Elliott Merrick.
10 years ago
Memorial
names new president
May 1990 —
The new president and vice-chancellor of Memorial will be Dr.
Arthur W. May. He succeeds Dr. Leslie Harris, who will retire
in August. Dr. May was born and raised in St. John’s and
has served in a number of positions with the federal department
of fisheries, including deputy minister from 1982-86. He is currently
president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
A
record number of students receive degrees at the 1990 spring
convocation. About 1,800 graduate and undergraduate degrees are
conferred, along with six honorary degrees. The honorary degrees
go to Paul Guy Desmarais, Jan Furst, James Donald Hatcher, Francis
Norman Hughes, Kathleen Macpherson and Roseann Runte.
Five years ago
Transfer
of Aquarena approved
May 1995 — The
provincial cabinet has approved Memorial’s request to acquire
the Canada Games Park, including the Aquarena and the track and
field complex, from the City of St. John’s. The city will
provide an annual operating subsidy of $250,000 for a three year
period and furnish capital funding this year to a maximum of
$200,000 for structural repairs to the Aquarena.
In other news, the President’s Awards for Exemplary Service are created to recognize those employees who have demonstrated a commitment to continuous service excellence within the university community. The awards include a cash prize of $1,000.
At convocation, more than 2,000 undergraduate and graduate degrees are conferred at eight sessions of convocation, including one in Corner Brook. Eight honorary degrees are given to Thomas Vincent Curran, John Frederick Dewey, Victor Ling, Satya N. Nandan, Cyril Francis Poole, Nancy Riche, Gregory Power and Bertha Wilson.