The beginning of the academic year is filled with enthusiasm and anticipation as thousands of students come to our university in search of a fine education and innovative scholarship. Faculty and staff are also refreshed and eager to go.

As a newcomer to the university, I have been particularly impressed with the dedication and hard work many of you have devoted to Orientation Week. Orientation helps us connect with students and shows that we want them to have an excellent start. Undertaking university studies can be daunting, especially for new students, and students need your support to succeed. The effectiveness of your efforts is demonstrated in many ways including three recent major achievements:

• The enrollments at the St. John's campus and Sir Wilfred Grenfell College are virtually the same as last year, even though the number of high school matriculants continues to decline in Newfoundland and Labrador;
• The waiting lists for most courses have been eliminated or largely reduced compared with last year;
• We have attracted excellent new students, faculty and staff.

I therefore wish to express my sincere thanks to all of you for such excellent work.

If Memorial University is to grow and thrive, faculty and staff also need support. I am committed to providing it and I have already spoken with many of you. Over the next weeks, I will visit numerous faculties, schools and units because I want to learn about your ideas, concerns and opportunities.

We enjoy the support of the people and government of Newfoundland and Labrador. However, we cannot take them for granted. In particular, we need to communicate our scholarly work better inside and outside the university. There are many ways of doing so. I encourage faculty members to talk to students and colleagues (academic and non-academic) about their research and scholarly work. Many of you already speak to community groups and the media about your work, and many of you lend your expertise to the community. (Editor's note: see article on page 10 to learn more about Memorial in the news.) This is excellent because it shows parents, politicians, business and community leaders, prospective students and others the significance of the work occurring at our university. Every time we communicate effectively, we strengthen the bond with the outside community. Their questions and comments also let us learn about their interests and help us orient our work.

Dr. Evan Simpson, vice-president (academic) and pro vice-chancellor, and a small group of colleagues are in the process of engaging the outside community in the Planning and Priorities Process. This process started about a year ago and I encourage all members of the university community (staff, students and faculty alike) to provide further input and to seek the advice of your relatives, friends and colleagues. The process will result in setting the university's directions for the future. I want to be certain that your input is received.

I am most grateful for the tremendous support, good counsel and friendship which have been extended to me since arriving in our province. It is a joy to be a member of Memorial University and our community! With best wishes for this academic year,

Axel Meisen
President and vice-chancellor

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