2007-2008

News Release

REF NO.: 231

SUBJECT: $12,500 scholarship to build Newfoundland-Ireland connection

DATE: July 9, 2008

Note to editors: This release replaces previously issued release Ref. # 230 which omitted important information. Please use this one.
 
            A new scholarship for business students is building linkages with Ireland and honouring the memory of prominent St. John’s businessman Craig Dobbin.
            The Craig Dobbin Memorial Scholarship for master of business Studies at the Waterford Institute is unusual. The $12,500 annual scholarship will go to a recent Memorial business graduate to study in the master of business program at the Waterford Institute of Technology in Waterford, Ireland. After the first year, the scholarship will be awarded to a student at the Waterford Institute to participate in the Memorial MBA program. The scholarship will be awarded like this on an annual rotating basis.
            This scholarship, funded through the Ireland Business Partnerships, the Department of Education, the Ireland Newfoundland Partnership, Patrick O’Callaghan and Craig Dobbin’s family and friends, was created in memory of Craig Dobbin, who passed away on Oct. 7, 2006. Craig Dobbin received an honorary doctorate from Memorial in 2000.
            Dr. Dobbin’s ancestors came from Waterford and at least three of them were mayors in medieval times. Their names can still be seen on a plaque in City Hall. With this connection in mind, the Craig Dobbin Memorial Scholarship was created to foster linkages between Newfoundland and Ireland through business research and development.
            Students will be expected to conduct research in areas related to Ireland and Newfoundland business.
            Dr. Gary Gorman, dean of the Faculty of Business Administration at Memorial, said this scholarship is a great opportunity for students. “The creation of this scholarship is a huge benefit to Memorial University and the entire province. Our students have the opportunity to study at the Waterford Institute, and we in turn benefit from having the Waterford students as a part of our community,”
            Dr. Thomas O’Toole, dean of the School of Business at Waterford Institute of Technology, welcomed the scholarship and paid tribute to the Ireland Business Partnerships and the Dobbin family. “It is a great honour to be part of a scholarship named after such a great business leader as Mr. Dobbin. Students will be challenged in a positive way to live up to his memory. The scholarship promotes learning and exchange at graduate level and as such the creation of new knowledge. The links between the Waterford Institute and Memorial are strong and this scholarship will further cement these relationships.”
            The inaugural scholarship will be awarded in 2009.

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