It is amazing how quickly time passes. The two main teaching semesters of the academic year are now over and we are entering the busy summer period. Many of you will concentrate on graduate student supervision and research. Others will concentrate on completing a book, editing a journal, writing important papers and preparing new courses and assignments for next year. Many will be attending conferences here and elsewhere. All these activities and the associated exchange of ideas are essential to the life of our university and community.

I would like to extend a hearty thank-you to faculty for your dedication and hard work over the past two semesters. Please talk about your work, especially your summer activities, with colleagues, students and people outside the university. The summer is often the busiest time of the year, but this is not well understood.

I also wish to thank staff members for their good work over the past two semesters. For them, the summer season represents an opportunity to catch up, improve systems and develop news ways of doing things. An example of the latter is MUNet 2, the installation of new hardware and software to improve communications on the campus.

However, I want to extend special thanks to all those members of the university community who helped make the Spring 2000 Convocation a fine success. Convocation is always a team effort. As you know, we faced serious challenges since the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre was unavailable due to the Viking Exhibition. There were some students and others who expressed concern that the gymnasium in the Physical Education Building could simply not provide the graduation experience that student and families had come to expect. Faced with this challenge, university employees from numerous units collaborated and transformed the gym and the former food court in the Thomson Student Centre into two fine spaces. I was impressed by the motivation and effectiveness displayed at all levels. In particular, I wish to recognize the efforts of the Division of University Relations (for planning the convocation ceremony), the Centre for Academic and Media Services (for providing audio and videotaping services), and the Department of Facilities Management (for reconfiguring the gym as well as a myriad of other tasks including grounds-keeping, parking and cleaning).

The students, their parents and friends who came to the St. John's Campus and Sir Wilfred Grenfell College said that they went away with wonderful memories of graduation. We can all be proud of Spring 2000 Convocation. It is also very gratifying to see that so many of our graduates have found good jobs or entry into excellent graduate programs. Congratulations to all of you for making this possible!

For me, the summer will also be busy. The investigative phase of the Priorities and Planning Process was completed earlier this year and the action plan needs to be finalized for in-depth discussion and implementation in the Fall. I want to see the completion of new collective agreements with CUPE and MUNFA. I want us to develop and announce plans for new academic initiatives (including the oil and gas initiative, co-operative education, international programs, entrepreneurship programs and international programs), and student initiatives (especially recruitment, retention and placement actions).

I will also take time to spend with my family and friends and to see more of our beautiful province. I hope that you will do the same and I wish you and your families a wonderful summer.

Axel Meisen
PRESIDENT AND VICE-CHANCELLOR

Visit the president's homepage at:  www.mun.ca/president