30 years ago
Biologists from meet at Memorial
January 1972 — An international advisory group conference attended
by 11 scientists is held at the university this month to consider a collaborative
project between MUN’s Centre for Environmental Biology and a French
research group in West Africa. The local scientists plan to bring together
large quantities of parasites of Newfoundland blackflies for transportation
to West Africa for experiments against the blackfly that transmits the
disease River Blindness.
25 years ago
Labour leader donates papers
January 1977 — The personal records of Walter Sparks, long-time
labour leader in the province, are an important addition to Memorial’s
archives. The gift includes all of Mr. Sparks’ personal papers and
documents covering his years as an active member and organizer of the
trade union movement in Newfoundland. He organized the Brotherhood of
Railway clerks in the province in the 1930s and was one of the founders
of the Newfoundland Trades and Labour Council, now the Newfoundland and
Labrador Federation of Labour.
20 years ago
New library introduced
January 1982 — Instructional and orientation tours are held this
month to introduce the new Queen Elizabeth II Library to faculty and students.
The major part of the move from the Henrietta Harvey Library to the new
library took place between semesters. Collections that had been stored
in the building on O’Leary Avenue are placed on two top shelves,
and the bottom shelves are from the main library; the collections will
be interfiled as quickly as possible.
In other news, winter 1982 registration figures show an increase of 13 per cent from 1981 figures.
15 years ago
Enrolment up again
January 1987 — Preliminary figures show 11,743 undergraduate
students at the St. Johns’ and Corner Brook campuses, up about 400
students from the year before.
A new degree program, the master of philosophy in humanities, is approved by Senate. Designed for students in any discipline, the program will begin in September 1986.
10 years ago
Researching infant vision
January 1992 — Drs. Russ Adams and Mary Courage of MUN’s
Department of Psychology have spent the past eight years gathering data
on how babies see. From colour vision in newborns to visual problems with
Down syndrome children, the two psychologists have compiled a large body
of data on vision in young children. They are now developing a new test
for children with vision problems.
In other news, austerity measures taken last spring to counteract a funding shortfall of more than $7 million are successful. At the last Board of Regents meeting, the university was able to present a balanced budget for 1991-92.
Five years ago
Grads excel in national exams
January 1997 — Students in the Faculty of Business Administration
frequently make headlines as a result of their success at national and
international academic competitions. They also do well in exams —
for the third time in four years, Newfoundland students who wrote the
national chartered accountancy exams have achieved the highest pass rate
in the country.
