1990-04-19. MUN Gazette, vol. 22, no. 17

              Gazette
Volume 22    Number 17
April 19, 1990
Partners dinner recognizes business
Canadian business
advised: look to global
opportunities
Canadian businesses, including those
based in Newfoundland, must become less introspective and start to look
at global opportunities. That was one of
the main messages delivered by Partners
Dinner keynote speaker Sir Graham Day,
chairman of Cadbury, Schweppes pic, a
global confectionary and soft drinks company; chairman of Rover Holdings pic,
an automobile manufacturer; and director
of a number of other major corporations
in the United Kingdom and Canada.
Sir Graham spoke extensively on the
subject of the 1992 European economic
and trading union to the large group of
private sector, government and university
representatives at the annual Partners
Dinner. The event is sponsored by
Memorial's business faculty, and recognizes the contribution of the local business community to business education in
the province.
Awards presented
Dr. Rick Roskin, dean of the Faculty of
Business Administration, hosted the annual dinner and awards ceremony. In addition to the presentation of the 1990
Entrepreneurship Award to Francis and
Eileen Kelly, operators of Trinity Loop
Park, certificates of appreciation were
also presented to a number of businesses
which have been particularly active in
their involvement with Memorial's co-op
education program. These included Peat
Marwick Thorne, Ernst & Young,
Deloitte & Touche, Doanne Raymond
and Mobil Oil Canada.
Dr. Alex Faseruk of the business faculty also used the occasion to present an
honorary lifetime membership in the international Financial Management Association to Dr. Leslie Harris, president,
in appreciation of his jyork
Memorial's business faculty.
Entrepreneur award
to tourism operators
It was just an old section of train track,
encircling a droke of woods in the middle of the wilderness — rusting away, unused and seemingly unwanted. That was
until one day when Francis and Eileen
Kelly came along and saw distinct commercial potential in the old railway line.
The year was 1986, and since then the
Kellys have transformed this forgotten
piece of Newfoundland railway lore into
a highly-successful tourism operation
known as the Trinity Loop Park.
Earlier this week Mr. and Mrs. Kelly
were recognized for this achievement by
being named recipients of the 1990 Newfoundland Entrepreneurship Award. The
announcement was made at the annual
Partners Dinner sponsored by Memorial's
Faculty of Business Administration.
The park is a tourist attraction built
around the only visible train loop in North
America. Situated on the old Bonavista
trunk line, the loop was designed to
enable trains to make the steep grade at
Trinity as they passed on towards
Bonavista. In addition to the railway, the
park has grown to include water attractions, cabins, camping and a number of
other activities.
Gar Pynn, director of the Atlantic
Entrepreneurial Institute and Memorial's
P. J. Gardiner Institute, made the presentation to Mr. Kelly and praised him for
his efforts in developing the successful
business which last year attracted over
35,000 visitors and employed 22 people
at peak operation. Mr. Pynn pointed out
that the business has doubled in just four
years of operation, largely due to the
Kellys' acumen, entrepreneurial drive and
instinctive marketing strategies.
Measures to counter shortfall
President expected to
present budget
The university budget for the 1990-91
fiscal year is expected to be
presented by President Leslie Harris to
the Board of Regents at the board's
scheduled April meeting this week.
The president is required to present a
balanced budget to the board and, for the past
several weeks, Dr. Harris and senior administration officials have been evaluating
the proposed budget for the year in light of
the government support for Memorial
recently announced in the provincial budget
At press time, Dr. Harris said work
was continuing on the submission. "We
still do not have the final document ready
for submission to the board, but we are
working towards it," he said. "I am still
hoping to make a presentation to the
board at the meeting if we have a balance
by then. If not, then we will have to wait
until the next meeting on May 10."
Will talk to government
Dr. Harris said that the actions the university would have to take to balance the
budget would be discussed with government "There is no formal requirement for
us to go back to government," he said.
"They give us a grant and we are required
to balance our budget based on that grant.
If we can't, then we obviously have to go
back to them. However, I will be talking
to government about the actions we are
taking to achieve a balance."
Several weeks ago an interim hiring
freeze was initiated and Memorial began
a process which eventually cut $7.5 million from what Dr. Harris described as essential capital operating expenses and requests for faculty and staff appointments.
These measures left the university considerably short of balancing the budget and
the president explained that Memorial officials were then asked to start looking at
programs and operations for further cuts.
He also warned that in addition to cutting
back, the university would also have to
look at revenue-generating mechanisms
including raising tuition, which he
described as "a last-ditch alternative."
Freeze thaws slightly
Dr. Harris said that the university has
eased up somewhat on the hiring freeze
which was implemented immediately
after the provincial budget was announced. "Where there was an absolute
freeze, we are now recommending to the
board that some critical appointments be
made, based on the recommendations of
the various deans, directors and department heads."
Dr. Harris explained that until the board
is presented with the estimates and has an
opportunity to evaluate and approve the
budget, there can be no firm decisions
made as to what direction the university can
take in view of the funding shortfall.
Drama students performed at the ceremony officially renaming the Little
Theatre in Memorial's Arts and Administration Building the Robert G. Reid
Theatre (see story, p. 3). Featured in an excerpt from Rosencrantz and Guil-
denstern were John Taylor (L) and Michael Nolan.
INSIDE
Sports camps 3
Folklore/French field
trip to Port-au-Port 4,5
Muscle in medicine, research 6
Music school revives old operas...8
Sciencefare ...8