Memorial graduate wins Nobel Prize for Mathematics? Maybe. Maybe not. The continued success of Memorial University and The Opportunity Fund will ensure that if there ever is a Nobel Prize for Mathematics a Memorial graduate will have the opportunity to win it.
The Opportunity Fund, the largest fund-raising campaign in Memorial's history, was publicly launched in March 1997 and support from corporations, the university community, alumni and friends has been outstanding. With $22.6 million pledged to date, the campaign is heading into the final stretch and is only $2.4 million away from achieving its private sector goal of $25 million. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is behind the campaign 100 % matching private contributions on a dollar-for-dollar basis, bringing the total goal to $50 million.
The Opportunity Fund was established to achieve three primary objectives: to increase scholarships and fellowships ($15 million), to enhance teaching and research initiatives ($10 million), and to improve student services ($25 million). "Since we started work on the campaign we have asked for support from local companies, national corporations and foundations, and their response has been excellent," said Gordon Slade, executive director of The Opportunity Fund. "Now, as we look to our alumni and every Newfoundlander and Labradorian, it is essential that they not only understand the importance of Memorial to our economy today, but also see the many future possibilities that a strong university will help create -- the possibilities that we can make a reality by supporting The Opportunity Fund."
As a result of The Opportunity Fund, Memorial has been able to triple the number of early entrance scholarship offers to high school students this year. New research chairs have been established in a variety of fields including earth sciences, women in science and engineering, and information technology. Changes in the landscape of Memorial have also been evident since the campaign began. The Student Centre Annex in Corner Brook opened in May 1997, construction on the University Centre in St. John's began in September and the facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 1999, and plans are being finalized for the proposed Field House athletics complex.
Funds have been designated to all of the campaign's three objectives, with scholarships and fellowships leading the way with private sector pledges of over $6 million. Teaching and research initiatives have seen contributions of $4.9 million and the student services component has over $4.4 million pledged. Undesignated gifts stand at $4.2 million and another $2.8 million has been allocated by donors to a variety of other categories, including contributions to Memorial's Harlow campus and gifts-in-kind.
As for the Nobel Prize -- it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?