Dr. Vianne Timmons

This summer was an eye-opening experience. I put more than 7,500 kilometres on my car, travelling across the island and up to Labrador. It was a fantastic experience that really gave me a feel for the incredible reach and impact Memorial has on towns and industries throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, from aquaculture on the South Coast to mining in Central to shrimp processing in Labrador.

The main message?

They couldn’t happen without Memorial. I always knew our university was important to the province, but to see it in action was amazing. I’m better acquainted with the institution and with the province, and the people who love both.

Now, it’s time to turn our attention to the fall.

I am pleased to report that enrolment numbers increased slightly for the fall semester. Overall, enrolment is up 3.07 per cent compared to last year, which is great news. This generation has adapted to one of the most difficult periods in our lifetime. They are still optimistic about the future, and planning for it.

Limited forms of re-opening on campus may occur in a gradual, measured and safe manner that aligns with provincial health directives. However, with few exceptions, students will return to school remotely and staff will continue to work from home. It’s not ideal, but work has been ongoing all summer to make it the best it can be.

One of the recurring challenges I heard about on the road was dealing with unreliable internet connectivity, particularly in some rural and remote areas. One father in St. Anthony told me his daughter relocated to Corner Brook, 470 kilometres away, to access online courses.

We’re looking at ways to deal with this and exploring all options to help students deal with this critical problem. For example, Grenfell Campus is funding e-learning hubs in St. George’s (near Stephenville) and Plum Point on the Great Northern Peninsula to enhance web-based service.

Our Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning has been planning, preparing and supporting educators and students since the beginning of the pandemic. It has developed 50-plus new web resources for instructors, 12 new student resources and conducted a student technology survey to guide administrators and instructors in planning for the fall semester.

While our libraries are fully online, students would like them available for study space – more than 1,700 of them signed a petition asking for libraries to re-open. We’re going to make this happen in the near future, following health and safety guidelines.

Of course, time spent in classrooms or studying is only one aspect of a university education. Welcome activities, as always, will take place throughout the month of September. Academic, student support and student engagement representatives have been hard at work to deliver this important part of the fall term.

Workshops throughout the fall include a variety of career-related topics and the ever-popular trivia night is back.

Regardless of COVID-19 restrictions, we continue planning for the future and, to that end, we launched a new strategic planning process to engage all members of our community in defining our shared vision for Memorial.

There will be many opportunities to engage in this process throughout the fall and I hope you will take the time to do so. Your voice is important to the continued success of our university.

We have a new minister and a new premier. I made it a priority when I arrived to establish regular meetings and conversations with government members and I plan to continue that with the new leaders in place. Government relations is critical as we go forward, particularly with the post-secondary education review process still ongoing.

So, the next few months will be a busy time for us all and a lot of consideration is being given to what happens in the winter semester. We intend to make that decision in consultation with faculty, staff and students in the first half of the fall term.

Faculty and staff at Memorial have worked incredibly hard over the summer to ensure a successful fall semester for our students. I’m proud to be a member of the team.