Honour Roll Highlights
Business students capture national award
Members of ACE Memorial accepting the Frank Stronach Cup for most enterprising campus at the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) competition at the ACE National Exposition in Toronto.
A group of energetic and savvy students from the Faculty of Business Administration won the top prize at a national competition in Toronto and the right to represent Canada at a prestigious international event in Paris, France this fall. ACE (Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship) Memorial, a student-run youth entrepreneurship organization, beat out 43 groups from other universities and colleges from across Canada to win the prize at the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) competition in May. That event was part of the ACE National Exposition where ACE teams prepared and delivered in-depth presentations on their educational outreach projects. The group captured the Frank Stronach Cup for most enterprising campus. The group was to travel to France to September to compete against 45 groups from around the world for the SIFE World Cup.
Meanwhile, not only did ACE Memorial win the top prize at this competition but two of its members came home with top individual awards. Heather Comerford, an accounting student, won the project manager of the year award for a program called Project Passport which consisted of a series of seminars aimed at teaching multicultural citizens in the community the principles of business and entrepreneurship. And teammate Angela Dyke, a business student, won the John Dobson ACE Founder's Bursary for leadership, commitment and contribution to the ACE Memorial team.
Communicator captures top prize
The Communicator, Memorial University's employee newsletter, took home a Pinnacle Award on May 25 for best newsletter. Here, Managing Editor Ivan Muzychka, Editor Jeff Green and Graphic Artists Helen Houston and David Mercer pose for a congratulatory picture.
Memorial University's employee newsletter took home a top award at the fourth annual Pinnacle Awards Gala organized by the Newfoundland and Labrador chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators in May. The Communicator received a Pinnacle Award in the Newsletters (print) category. The awards honour excellence in communications leadership and recognize communications professionals in Newfoundland and Labrador for an original communication program or project. The Communicator, published four times a year by the Division of Marketing and Communications and the Department of Human Resources, won for “a publication designed, written and published to provide brief and timely information to target audiences while supporting an organization's objectives.”
Coach captures top award
Dr. Faseruk was honoured with the Dr. J Pierre Brunet Award for Best Coach at this year's John Molson MBA International Case Competition. Memorial's team placed 10th in the competition.
Memorial's Faculty of Business Administration was recognized at the 25th annual John Molson MBA International Case Competition at Concordia University as the most successful school in the competition's history. Now the team is home with another award that may provide the secret to Memorial's success at the most respected MBA case competition in the world. Finance professor Alex Faseruk received the inaugural Dr. J. Pierre Brunet prize for best coach, an award that honours a coach that has a history of success at the competition and has contributed to the overall spirit of the event. Dr. Faseruk has been coaching the Memorial team for 20 years.
Genesis Centre gets national award
CATAAlliance Innovation & Leadership Awards -- (L to R) Mr. Brian Wade, Gov't. NL, David King, Keelin O'Leary, GENESIS Centre, Dr. Christopher Loomis, vice-president (research)
Memorial University's Genesis Centre was nationally recognized this past year for the inventive ways in which it helps fledgling technology-based ventures get a healthy start in business. The centre was awarded the Information Technology (IT) Strategic Human Resource Leadership Award at the 21st national CATAAlliance Innovation Awards in June in Ottawa. The award, sponsored by the Software Human Resource Council, is given to an IT company or organization which enhanced its performance and reputation by leveraging human capital. Dr. Chris Loomis, vice-president (research) of Memorial, David King, president and CEO of GENESIS Group, and Keelin O'Leary, manager, Genesis Centre were on hand in Ottawa to accept the award.
Grenfell student returns from studying abroad; wins Pro Vice-Chancellor's Prize
Adam Baker
Adam Baker was awarded Sir Wilfred Grenfell College's Pro Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Undergraduate Scholarship for a paper he completed in History 3770: Women in Western Society and Culture II, titled “To decline to be the Other: The Historical Position and Intellectual Legacy of Simone de Beauvoir”. Mr. Baker will graduate with a bachelor of arts during Grenfell's Spring Convocation 2007 and is considering pursuing a graduate degree.
Grenfell College professor awarded 2006 Ireland Canada Travel Scholarship
Kristin Harris Walsh
Kristin Harris Walsh, assistant professor, folklore and social/cultural studies, has been awarded a $6,000 travel scholarship by the Ireland Canada University Foundation. The Ireland Canada University Foundation (ICUF) was established in 1993 by Newfoundlander Dr. Craig Dobbin O.C., and former President of Ireland Dr. Patrick Hillery, to encourage and facilitate scholarship links between Ireland and Canada. In particular, Prof. Harris Walsh was awarded the CHC Helicopter Corporation Scholarship. Prof. Harris Walsh applied for the scholarship for her first faculty research project, a study of Irish and Newfoundland step dancing. She will go to Ireland next summer for a three-week period.
National stroke award for Memorial neuroscientist
(L-R) Dr. Paul Morley, Dr. Dale Corbett and CSN board chair David Scott at the award ceremony in Quebec City.
Dr. Dale Corbett is the first winner of the Paul Morley Mentorship Award from the Canadian Stroke Network. The award recognizes significant contributions to the training of the next generation of Canadian stroke researchers. Dr. Corbett is a professor of Basic Medical Sciences at Memorial and holds the Canada Research Chair in Stroke and Neuroplasticity. He is actively involved in the Canadian Stroke Network as an investigator and member of the board of directors. In announcing the award, the Canadian Stroke Network wrote that the field of stroke research in Canada has been enhanced by Dr. Corbett's commitment to mentorship for students and researchers at all stages of their careers.
University research professor receives highest honour
Dr. Jeremy Hall, university research professor
Dr. Jeremy Hall has received the highest honour that the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador (PEG) bestows on its members. At its recent annual conference, PEG announced the recipients of awards for excellence in engineering and geoscience. The Award of Merit, presented to Dr. Hall, is given for valued contributions to the professions and the community. Dr. Hall has made significant contributions provincially, nationally and internationally to understanding the geosciences and, in particular, to the study of the Earth's interior.
O'Dea named to Order of Newfoundland and Labrador
Shane O'Dea
English professor Shane O'Dea has been named to the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. Also known for his work at preserving the built heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prof. O'Dea was one of eight named to the Order, now in its second year. Having distinguished himself as a teacher, scholar and preservationist, Shane O'Dea has also gained provincial and national renown for his service to the heritage community of Newfoundland and Labrador. He has been instrumental in researching, documenting and maintaining architectural heritage. Along with Prof. O'Dea, Tim Borlase, Tom Cahill, Desmond Dillon, Susan Knight, Ingeborg Marshall, Deborah Powers and Janet Story received the honour during a ceremony at Government House on Nov. 10, 2005.
Provincial team defends ROV title
It's all systems go as members of the Eastern Edge Robotics Team, representing the Marine Institute of Memorial University, complete the pre-mission checklist on their way to capture their second straight Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) championship at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, Texas. June 2006.
For the second straight year, the Eastern Edge Robotics Team, representing Memorial University, captured the gold at the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) center's International Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) competition held at NASA's Sonny Carter Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, Texas. The competition challenged teams to design, build, and operate an ROV to perform a series of tasks like those performed by an ROV in an industrial setting. Of the 16 teams competing in their class, Eastern Edge was one of only two teams to complete all of the tasks. The team was awarded first place overall as well as the Judges' Choice Award. The eighteen member team is comprised of post-secondary students from the Memorial University's Marine Institute, Faculties of Engineering, Science, and Kinesiology and the College of the North Atlantic.
National honour for director
Doreen Whalen
Doreen Whalen, the longtime director of Memorial's Division of Lifelong Learning, received an honorary membership to the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE) in late May. She was honoured for her outstanding contribution to the fields of adult learning and continuing education during her extensive career. The award comes on the cusp of her retirement. She's eligible to retire in November, marking more than 36 years of service with Memorial. Ms. Whalen started her career in continuing education in 1970, as the Division of Part-time Credit Studies' executive assistant. Over the next 21 years, she rose to become acting dean of the School of General and Continuing Studies. Following the dissolution of the school in 1986, she became the director of the Division of Continuing Studies Continuing Education, moving from there in 2001 to her current position as director of the Division of Lifelong Learning.
International honours for Memorial researcher
Dr. Fereidoon Shahidi in one of his labs on Memorial's St. John's campus.
One of Memorial University's busiest researchers can add another honour to his name. In July, Dr. Fereidoon Shahidi, University Research Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, was elected the Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology (FIAFoST) by the International Union of Food Science and Technology, the umbrella organization encompassing relevant societies from around the world. The award is the hallmark of recognition for outstanding contributions to the advancement of science and technology of foods with its global impact. Dr. Shahidi was also recognized as one of the top 25 most highly-cited scientists in the area of agricultural research. He ranked seventh on the list which was published by ScienceWatch in its July/August 2006 issue (Vol. 17, No. 4). If that weren't enough, Dr. Shahidi was also recognized for publishing the most papers – 165 – for the period of 1996-2006. Dr. Shahidi's current interests focus on nutraceuticals and functional foods, including antioxidants, lipids and bioactives in plant and marine resources.
Professor receives the highest academic accolade in Canada
Dr. Ronald Rompkey has been elected a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada.
Dr. Ronald Rompkey, University Research Professor in the Department of English, was elected a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) in July. The honour is considered the highest academic accolade in the country. Dr. Rompkey was among 82 new Fellows chosen this year. The RSC elects members from all branches of learning who have achieved national and international recognition by publishing learned works or original research in the arts, humanities and sciences. Founded in 1882, the RSC currently has a membership of about 1,800 Fellows. In electing Dr. Rompkey, the RSC cited his diverse literary accomplishments in 18th-century literature, medical life writing and the French travel narrative. Much of his work has focused on the literature, arts and culture of Newfoundland. He is the author of a biography of Sir Wilfred Grenfell and the editor of several other publications, including Reginald Shepherd & Helen Parson Shepherd: A Life Composed, which was named the Best Atlantic Published Book for 2006.
Grenfell profs inducted into Hall of Honour
Two Grenfell College professors were been honoured by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. Profs. Michael Coyne and Ken Livingstone, co-founders of Sir Wilfred Grenfell College's Division of Fine Arts, were co-inducted to the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's Hall of Honour in St. John's on May 6. Prof. Livingstone, head of the fine arts division, and Prof. Coyne, a visual arts instructor, were responsible for the creation of Grenfell College's first degrees – fine arts programs in visual arts and theatre. The first class of fine arts students graduated in 1992. “The work of Profs. Livingstone and Coyne changed the face of Grenfell College and the cultural and artistic landscape of the province,” said Dr. John Ashton, principal of the college. “Our theatre and visual arts graduates have become the backbone of several theatre festivals and arts organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador and across the country. They are the future of our province's tourism and cultural industries. That Profs. Coyne and Livingstone are being recognized in the company of Hall of Honour icons like Al Pittman, Christopher Pratt and Emile Benoit is entirely fitting.”
University research professor receives highest honour
Dr. Jeremy Hall, university research professor
Dr. Jeremy Hall recently received the highest honour that the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador (PEG) bestows on its members. At its recent annual conference, PEG announced the recipients of awards for excellence in engineering and geoscience. The Award of Merit, presented to Dr. Hall, is given for valued contributions to the professions and the community.
Dr. Hall has made significant contributions provincially, nationally and internationally to understanding the geosciences and, in particular, to the study of the Earth's interior.
Adding it up: top honours for math
Dr. Serpil Kocabiyik is one of several members of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics recognized for excellence.
Two dedicated professors from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics were honoured with prestigious awards this past year. Helping lead the way was Dr. Serpil Kocabiyik, professor of mathematics, who became the latest winner of the Arthur Beaumont Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Applied and Industrial Mathematics Society. The honour was presented during the society's meeting June 18 in Toronto. Dr. Kocabiyik was the first woman to become a professor in her department in September 2005. She's also part of a three-member team from Memorial who were awarded a Canadian Foundation for Innovation grant valued at more than $116,000 for an in-depth project. She'll be joined by Drs. David Pike (lead applicant), associate professor of mathematics, and Paul Peng, associate professor of statistics, for a project titled Resources for Large-Memory Computational Problems in Mathematics and Statistics.
Her colleague, Dr. Brajendra Sutradhar, a noted Canadian researcher in statistical science and a University Research Professor at Memorial, was made a Fellow of the American Statistical Association at an awards ceremony this August in Seattle, Wash.
Grenfell professor wins teaching awards
Dr. Geoff Rayner-Canham receives his award from APICS member Prof. Lois Bateman, also head of science at Grenfell College.
Dr. Geoff Rayner-Canham won two top awards for his teaching this past year. Firstly, he received a President's Award for Distinguished Teaching. He has been a faculty member of Sir Wilfred Grenfell College since 1975 and from early in his career demonstrated excellence in his teaching. In 1980, the Chemical Institute of Canada awarded him the Polysar Award for outstanding contribution to chemistry teaching in a two-year college. In 1985, the Manufacturing Chemists Association awarded him the Catalyst Award for excellence in chemistry teaching. In 2003 he won the Sir Wilfred Grenfell College Award for excellence in teaching. He has also offered leadership in teaching development at the local level, offering workshops and seminars, mentoring new faculty, and serving on the Teaching Committee at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College for several years. On the national level he has served on the executive of several societies which are concerned with chemistry education. This past year, Dr. Rayner-Canham was also named a winner of the 2006 Science Communication Awards Program of the Atlantic Provinces Council on the Sciences (APICS) as the scientist who best communicates scientific research to the public. The awards committee noted Dr. Rayner-Canham's 30 years of communications, which have focused on chemistry and chemistry teaching. He was praised for building up chemistry teaching in Western Newfoundland and Labrador, beginning three decades ago, and is still commended by teachers for his continuing help and accessibility.
Through his “Chemistry is Everywhere!” show, he has reached tens of thousands of students and teachers, including those in isolated communities in Labrador that can be reached only by plane or coastal boat. Also noted by the committee was his extensive communication of chemistry through high school curriculum development, school textbooks and courses for non-scientists. His historical research and writing about women in chemistry were also judged to be very significant contributions.
Mentor of the Year award for Newfoundland pediatrician
L-R: Dr. Trish Feener, a resident in pediatrics, presented the award to Dr. Chuck Hobeika, along with Dr. Sharon Peters, chair of the Atlantic Region Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada selected Dr. Chuck Hobeika, FRCPC, as a Mentor of the Year for 2005 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to medical education, the high standards of care he has demonstrated to students, peers and patients, and his long history of fostering excellence in the pediatric training program at Memorial University. Dr. Hobeika was an associate professor of Pediatrics at Memorial University for over 30 years until his retirement in 2001. He remains on staff at the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre, holding one to two clinics a week.
Graduate student awarded prestigious fellowship
Darcy McMeekin
Memorial University graduate student Darcy McMeekin was one of three candidates selected from across Canada for a prestigious national one-year fellowship in advancement this past year. Offered by TD Meloche Monnex (TDMM) through the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) each advancement fellowship includes a $25,000 cash award. The fellowship will enable Mr. McMeekin to develop his advancement skills within AAD for one year, effective May 8, 2006. During that time he will assume projects including the development of a student alumni chapter, the management of communications technologies, and the creation of new affinity partnerships. The latter will help generate new revenues for scholarships and offer new benefits to alumni, students, faculty and staff.
Grenfell visual arts professors inducted by national organization
Prof. Don Foulds and Prof. Marlene MacCallum
Prof. Don Foulds and Prof. Marlene MacCallum of Grenfell's visual arts program were recognized for the importance of their contributions to the cultural life of Canada in May.
The two professors were inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in Halifax at the academy's 126th Annual General Assembly. Profs. Foulds and MacCallum had their work displayed at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia as part of a new members' exhibition. Elected by their peers, Profs. Foulds and MacCallum have been recognized for their significant contribution to the visual arts in Canada. Their artwork – Prof. Foulds' sculptures and Prof. MacCallum's printmaking – is well recognized for its excellence and innovation on provincial, national and international levels.
Prestigious award for music group
Dr. Doug Dunsmore directs the Chamber Choir during Festival 500 in July 2005.
Memorial University's Chamber Choir has won bragging rights to a national award.
The ensemble, under the direction of veteran musician Dr. Doug Dunsmore, captured the top award in the University Choir category Tuesday, May 2, during the CBC/Radio Canada National Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs. Memorial placed first in its group while the University of Saskatchewan placed second. The contest was open to amateur groups who rehearse regularly and whose individual members do not receive a professional fee. A panel of internationally-renowned choral experts judged each group. Memorial's Chamber Choir is made up of students, faculty and the community at large and was first formed in 1975.
Marine historian wins international fellowship
Dr. Sean Cadigan has been awarded a Ritter Memorial Fellowship by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.
Dr. Sean Cadigan, a professor of marine history at Memorial, was awarded the 2006 Ritter Memorial Fellowship from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, Calif., in April. Dr. Cadigan is the second Canadian and the first person from Newfoundland and Labrador to win this prestigious international research award, which will provide him with a working grant of $15,000 US. He planned to travel to the Scripps Institution in fall 2006 to give a major public lecture and conduct seminars, offering insight into how marine sciences and the treatment of knowledge have affected the Newfoundland fishing industry. The William E. and Mary B. Ritter Memorial Fellowship honours the founder and first director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and his wife. Its purpose is to bring to the institution pre-eminent scholars whose research enlarges and deepens the understanding of the history of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences.
Biology student nets major award
Jessica Bossé is the latest Memorial student to study in the United States with a Killam Fellowship.
Memorial University biology major Jessica Bossé spent time this past year studying south of the border at a leading liberal arts college after winning the prestigious Killam Fellowship Award. She is the fourth Memorial student to receive this award in recent years and the third to select Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts for the 2005-2006 academic year. Memorial University President Dr. Axel Meisen said this year's award underscores Memorial's high-calibre students and programs. Ms Bossé has an outstanding academic record and has received a number of major scholarships, including the Millennium Excellence Award in recognition of her achievements. She is enthusiastic about the opportunity to study in the United States and hopes that her experiences will help her in dispelling myths in Canada and the U.S. about American and Canadian cultures, respectively. A talented musician, she also intends to pursue her musical interests during her studies. Smith College is the largest undergraduate women's college in the U.S. with an enrolment of 2,800 students from every state and across 60 countries.
The 2005-2006 academic year marked the third anniversary of the Killam Fellowships Program, which was created through a partnership between the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States (the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program) and the American Killam-Rodgers Trusts.
Business student receives Sobey award
Nicholas Lane
Business student Nicholas Lane had a busy year. He graduated in May with his B.Comm. (Co-op) degree and during the winter semester spent time in parts of Norway and Canada, with a stop in Nova Scotia where he received the Frank H. Sobey Award for Excellence in Business Studies. Mr. Lane was one of six students in Atlantic Canada to receive the award for the 2005-2006 academic year. Valued at $10,000, the scholarship honours business students who have a minimum average of 85 per cent and who contribute to their university and their community. Mr. Lane was a member of Memorial's Intercollegiate Business Competition team and competed in the MIS category of the annual competition held at Queen's University in January. In February, he travelled to Norway as part of Memorial's team at the Network of International Business Schools Competition.
Golfman to lead national humanities and social sciences federation
Dr. Noreen Golfman has been named president-elect of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.
More than 25 years after she delivered her first academic paper at a Canadian Federation for the Humanities conference, Dr. Noreen Golfman became president-elect of the national advocacy body this past year. Dr. Golfman, a professor of English and the associate dean of graduate studies, says she can draw a line straight from that first paper to her upcoming presidency. “It was a very important event in my career in terms of entering a community of scholars, which allows one to have a much bigger, much richer conversation than you would otherwise have,” she said. Over the years, Dr. Golfman has become an active and dedicated participant in the Canadian Federation of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Known for its annual Congress of the Learned Societies, which brings thousands of academics together, the federation represents more than 30,000 scholars in universities, colleges and organizations throughout Canada. Its aim is to foster research and teaching, promote the importance of the social sciences and humanities, and lobby for improved federal support. Dr. Golfman will succeed Dr. Don Fisher, an educational sociologist from the University of British Columbia, when she begins her two-year term as president in November 2006.
Lieutenant-governor receives master of arts degree in history
Lieutenant-governor Ed Roberts
He made history as one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s noted politicians, and now, as the province’s lieutenant-governor, he made history again. Forty years after he started his last year of law school, Edward Roberts sat down in a Memorial University classroom in September 2003 to begin work on a master of arts degree in history. On May 24, during the university’s spring convocation ceremonies, he received his MA. This was the first time a lieutenant-governor of Newfoundland and Labrador earned a degree while in office. When he moved to Government House in 2002, Mr. Roberts was determined to manage the work of completing a master’s degree, a goal he’d long considered, around the obligations of his vice-regal office. For his final project, Mr. Roberts completed a 40,000 word examination of the fishing regulations imposed by Sir William Coaker, founder of the Fishermen’s Protective Union and later a member of the Liberal-FPU Coalition government led by Richard Squires. Mr. Roberts also received an honorary doctor of laws in 2003 from Memorial University in recognition of his contributions to public life and to the university.