30 years ago
President announces retirement
January 1973 — Lord Taylor, president and vice-chancellor of
Memorial University, announces this month that he is retiring at the end
of the present academic year, on Aug. 31, 1973. In commenting on his decision,
he said he has undergone major surgery on several occasions in the last
few years and the strains that the president of a large university has
to face are steadily increasing.
25 years ago
Rare book acquired
January 1978 — A rare book relating to the early history of Newfoundland
is acquired by Memorial University’s Library. The 17th-century work
was obtained with the cooperation of the office of the Secretary of State
in Ottawa through the Cultural Property Export and Import Act. Titled
A Short Discourse on the New-Found-Land, the work was published in Dublin
in 1623 to promote investment in a scheme to establish a colony on ground
held by Lord Falkland, deputy lord of Ireland, near Renews on the Southern
Shore. Only four other copies of the book are known to exist, none in
Canada.
20 years ago
Institut Frecker dedicated
January 1983 — Memorial’s French-language institut in Saint-Pierre
et Miquelon is dedicated this month in honour of the late Dr. G. Alain
Frecker, a native of Saint-Pierre and former chancellor of Memorial University.
Dr. Leslie Harris, president of Memorial, officiates at the ceremony which
is attended by faculty and students of the institut.
15 years ago
First fisheries oceanography chair
January 1988 — The creation of a new chair in fisheries oceanography
is announced this month by Memorial’s president, Dr. Leslie Harris.
The chair is sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council, Fishery Products International Ltd. and National Sea Products
Ltd. A worldwide search will begin shortly to fill the chair, which will
be a cross-appointment in the physics and biology departments of Memorial’s
Faculty of Science. The chair will be based at the university’s Marine
Sciences Research Laboratory.
10 years ago
Concerns about pedestrian safety
January 1993 — In light of the recent death of a graduate student
as a result of being struck by a car on Elizabeth Avenue, and due to heavy
pedestrian traffic near the St. John’s campus, President Arthur May
has asked the city of St. John’s to carry out an assessment of the
traffic situation near Memorial University.
Five years ago
New regulations forgive hundreds
January 1998 — Because of Memorial University’s new re-admission
policy, 800 students who would otherwise have not been eligible to register
this January have been approved to sign up for classes. This is the first
semester of the recently-approved “forgiveness clause,” under
which student who do not meet regular requirements for continuance in
their programs are given academic warnings instead of being forced to
withdraw from the university for two semesters.
In other news, the books are finally closed on the case of former dean
of science Dr. Alan Law. An agreement is reached this month between Memorial
and Dr. Law in which the former dean will receive salary payments up to
June 2000 and the normal administrative leave payment that would have
existed at the end of his term as dean – an amount totalling $261,000.
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