1997-04-03. MUN Gazette, vol. 29, no. 16

              Memorial
University of Newfoundland
Publications Mail
Registration No. 551 988
Volume 29 Number 16
A MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWTOUNDLAND PUBLICATION
April 3,1997
Campaign begins with
campus kick off
By Karen Leonard
Memorial University of
Newfoundland launched
the largest fund-raising
campaign in its history on March
25. The university aims to raise
$50 million for improved student
services and facilities* and scholarships — $25 million is to be
raised from the private sector, and
the provincial government said
it would match that amount.
However, during the official
launch of the campaign, held in
the Physical Education Building
I gym, Premier Brian Tobin
announced that the government
would match raised funds dollar-
!for-dollar beyond the $25 million
target.
"And I issue a challenge,
i John. If you exceed the
$25 million, we'll go
on matching you dollar-
for-dollar."
To date The Opportunity Fund
has raised $14.5 million in private
sector pledges, for a total of $29
million in matched funds. Premier
Tobin's announcement was welcomed with a large round of
applause from the roughly 800
people in the audience for the
launch. The premier, addressing
Chancellor John Crosbie, challenged Memorial to surpass its $25
million goal.
"The people of this province
will match dollar-for-dollar, all of
the funds raised for this campaign," the premier said. "That is a
$25 million investment in the
young men and women in this
province. And I issue a challenge,
John. If you exceed the $25 million, we'll go on matching you
dollar-for-dollar."
While a large crowd of students, faculty, staff, alumni and
friends crowded into the Physical
Education Building gym for The
Opportunity Fund launch in St.
John's, thousands of people in the
Avalon region tuned in to a live
broadcast of the event, courtesy of
Cable Atlantic.
President Arthur May emceed
the event, and many special guests
attended in addition to the premier,
including Education Minister
Hatchery
announced:
Just for the
halibut 3
Roger Grimes, Chancellor John
Crosbie, Mayor John Murphy and
members of the campaign's volunteer leadership team.
"This is a tremendous turnout,"
Gordon Slade, executive director
of The Opportunity Fund, said
during the event. "It's important
that the university community is
behind this campaign, and the
enthusiasm shown here today certainly reflects that!"
Kevin Smith, director of
Alumni Affairs and Development,
noted that the University Appeal
portion of the campaign has been a
success.
"We are delighted with the positive response from faculty, staff
and pensioners to our call for support of The Opportunity Fund," he
said. "It's encouraging to see so
many demonstrate their concern
for, and support of, this institution."
The Physical Education Building gym and lobby were made festive for the event. Volunteers from
Student Housing and Food Services, and the Student Alumni
Association at Memorial helped
decorate with banners, and claret
and gold balloons and ribbons.
Two of the University Appeal
co-chairs, Gerard Hayes of Student Housing, and Dr. Margaret
Brosnan, Biochemistry, unveiled
the campaign sign, which will be
erected on the comer of the Prince
Philip Drive and Westerland Road
in St. John's and used to track the
progress of the campaign.
The conclusion of the festivities
was a piece of cake — literally.
The Opportunity Fund cake was
generously donated by Nova
Services and decorated by Chef
Tim Hills. The Opportunity Fund
launch will be televised again on
Cable 9 on Wednesday, April 16 at
9 p.m.
The Opportunity Fund launch
will be celebrated at Sir Wilfred
Grenfell College in Comer Brook
on May 8, with the opening of the
new student centre annex — a
direct result of the campaign's
efforts to improve student services.
(For more information on The
Opportunity Fund at Memorial,
look inside for our special supplement.)
Dr. Roch Carrier Anne Meredith Barry        Helen Fogwill Porter        Darryl Diamond Fry
Geoffrey Alan Perry Dr. Otto Tucker Gertrude Crosbie Romeo LeBlanc
Honorary degree recipients named
Hundreds of graduates will
be rewarded for their hard
work and commitment at
this year's spring convocation
ceremony. Approximately 1,800
degrees will be awarded at eight
sessions of convocation. Nine graduates will be rewarded for outstanding achievement accomplished over a lifetime — honorary
degrees will be conferred upon: Dr.
Roch Carrier, writer, and director
of the Canada Council; Anne
Meredith Barry, artist; Helen
Fogwill Porter, writer; Darryl
Diamond Fry, business leader and
Memorial alumnus; Wilbert H.
Hopper, former chair of Petro-
Canada; Dr. Otto George Tucker
and Geoffrey Alan Perry for their
commitment to strengthening the
ties between Newfoundland and
the West Country of England;
Gertrude Crosbie for years of dedicated volunteer service; and Gov.
Gen. Romeo LeBlanc, for his contribution to public life.
The Sir Wilfred Grenfell College session of spring convocation
will be held on May 9 in Comer
Brook, and the remaining seven
sessions will be held from May
28-30 at the Arts and Culture
Centre in St. John's.
Dr. Roch Carrier
Dr. Roch Carrier is a respected
Canadian writer. His works have
been translated into many languages, and taught in university
classrooms across the country,
including at Memorial.
Dr. Carrier was bom in Sainte-
Justine-de-Dorchester, Que., in
1937. During his career he has
been a student, scholar, teacher,
columnist, reporter, novelist, short
story writer, and children's author.
He holds a PhD in French literature from the University of Paris.
His first novel, Jolis Deuils, was
published in 1964 and won the
Prix litteraire de la Province de
Quebec. He has written many
well-known novels, including La
Guerre, yes sir! (1968), Fin (The
End) in 1992, and Petit homme
tornade in 1996. He is known to
many as the author of the short
story The Hockey Sweater.
Dr. Carrier is a recipient of
the Stephen Leacock Medal for
Humor, an officer of the Order of
Canada, and a member of the
Royal Society of Canada. He holds
honorary degrees from Universite
de Moncton and York University.
He was appointed director of the
Canada Council in 1994.
Dr. Carrier will receive an honorary doctor of letters degree at the
Sir Wilfred Grenfell College session of convocation.
See HONORARY, page 4
Budget offers mixed bag
By Pam Frampton
No news is sometimes bad
news. This was the case
when the provincial government budget was announced
March 20 and contained no
mention of relief measures for
Memorial University with regard
to the Harmonized Sales Tax
(HST) introduced this month.
Memorial's president, Dr.
Arthur May, told the Gazette that
together he and Wayne Thistle,
vice-president (finance and administration), contacted every senior
government official with the
power to intervene to explain how
the replacement of the Goods and
Services Tax and the Retail Sales
Tax with the HST would cost the
university about $800,000 more
per year.
"We obviously got nowhere on
that, no doubt because government
didn't want to open the possibility
of other groups making special
pleas, but we aren't going to
let it die," Dr. May said. "That's
$800,000 each year in the life of
the institution that we're going to
have to come up with; it's an
amount equal to, for example, the
money we spend each year on the
Memorial University Career Experience Program, which provides
relevant, on-campus jobs for our
students."
The budget has left Dr. May
with mixed feelings. On the one
hand government reaffirmed its
commitment to match funds raised
by the university through its
Opportunity Fund — money
which will be used for improved
student and academic services and
scholarships. On the other hand,
while the university's funding
See BUDGET, page 3
Inside!
Read all about
The Opportunity
Fund