(June
13, 2002, Gazette)
Flying on his own
First-year volleyball player Mike Arns recently received some exciting
news, a telephone invitation from national team head coach Larry McKay
to try out for the junior men’s volleyball team later this month.
The 6’4” rookie had an outstanding season with the Memorial
University Sea-Hawks, leading the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference
in kills, finishing fifth in league scoring, and eighth in digs. The rookie
power hitter from Topsail, NF, capped a great season by being named an
AUS second team all-star and by capturing all-rookie team honors.
Mr. Arns will head to Edmonton to participate in a selection camp from
June 28-30 to compete for a spot on the national team roster. Following
the camp, Coach McKay will select a 12-man roster, plus two alternates.
Those successful in making the team will stay and train in Edmonton until
July 19, at which time the team departs for exhibition play in the US.
The team will then travel to Kelowna, BC, to participate in the NORCEACA
championships, which is the qualifying tournament for the 2003 World Championships.
Sea-Hawks coach Mike Hayes was delighted with the news, marking the announcement
as “a great opportunity for Mike and a boost for our entire program.
Mike was the only player selected east of Montreal, which bodes highly
of his athletic ability and talent.”
Board reports to government on name
Memorial’s Board of Regents has recommended to the provincial government
that the name of the university be shortened to Memorial University.
The university's name is defined by an act of the legislature and the
provincial government had asked the board to provide advice on the future
of the university's name in light of the change of the province's official
name to Newfoundland and Labrador.
The recommendation is contained in a letter from Edward Roberts, chairman
of the Board of Regents, to Sandra Kelly, minister of Youth Services and
Post-Secondary Education.
Late last, year the board struck an ad hoc committee that included representatives
of students, faculty, staff, alumni and the board that subsequently engaged
in two rounds of extensive public consultation on the issue.
The chairman said the shortened name retains the recognition of the university
as a living war memorial. “The university was founded in 1925 as
Memorial University College to honour those who served in the First World
War,” he said. “We retained that recognition in 1949 when the
name was changed to Memorial University of Newfoundland — so this
isn't the first time the name of the institution has been changed. We
retain that important distinction with this change, as well.”
“The one thing we were determined to do in this process and which
we pledged to the Royal Canadian Legion, among others, was to ensure that
the name would continue to include the word ‘Memorial,’”
he said.
Now that the Board of Regents has made its recommendation, Mr. Roberts
said it will be up to the government to decide how to proceed.
Tuition reduction for fall semester
Memorial University's Board of Regents has announced a reduction of 10
per cent in tuition fees for Canadian graduate and undergraduate students,
starting in September 2002. Tuition fees for students in the Faculty of
Medicine and the Marine Institute, as well as fees for international students,
will be frozen for another year.
The tuition reductions were made possible by the provincial government's
allottment of $3.5 million in this year's budget specifically to enhance
the affordability of university education.
“Following its budget announcement, the government hosted a roundtable
discussion with student, university and government representatives to
discuss how to best use this extra funding,” said Dr. Axel Meisen,
Memorial's president. “The minister subsequently requested that the
Board of Regents use the $3.5 million for the purpose of this reduction
in tuition fees.
“With this measure, tuition fees for most undergraduates will be
reduced to $2,675 per year, making Memorial among the most affordable
universities in Canada,” said Dr. Meisen.
Cancer meeting in June
The first annual meeting of the Colorectal Cancer Interdisciplinary Health
Research Team will be held in St. John's June 24-26. This will be the
first time both teams, from Memorial University and the University of
Toronto, will be able to meet face-to-face and discuss the progress of
the past year.
About 18 people from the Toronto group will be in town to meet with their
counterparts at Memorial to discuss progress and strategies for the upcoming
year. Last year the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) granted
$5 million over five years to this inter-disciplinary, multi-site study
of the causes and impact of colorectal cancer.
The Newfoundland share of the funding, which is over $2 million, includes
an allocation to enhance the ability of the cancer registry at the Newfoundland
Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation to rapidly collect information
about newly diagnosed cancer.
