Gazette, 2007-11-01

              November 1,2007
Volume 40 Number 5
Publication Mail
Registration No. 40062527
A Memorial University of Newfoundland Publication
Business smarts
Business student
and ACE Memorial
team member
Lisa Smart is
helping organize
an international
fair.
Fall convocation
Memorial held fall convocation in Corner
Brook and St. John's. Orations, photos and
other details are inside.
MUNdays on camera
MUNdays was a
week of fun and
spirit at Memorial.
Check out some
of the action
with our photo
feature.
#M    "J
Faculty of Medicine anniversary
Going strong at 40
by SHARON GRAY
THE DECISION TO BUILD a medical school at
Memorial University was "the most important single
step ever taken in the century and a half history of
health care" in Newfoundland and Labrador. This key
message from Lt.-Gov. Edward Roberts led off his talk
Oct. 22 during the 40th anniversary celebrations of the
founding of the Faculty of Medicine. He went on to give
an absorbing account of the behind-the-scenes battle to
get funding to build the Health Sciences Centre, a fight
that was almost lost.
The lieutenant governor was one of many speakers
during the day of commemoration that offered firsthand accounts of the early days of the medical school
and tributes to the founding dean, the late Dr. Ian
Rusted. The Dr. Ian Rusted Founders Chair in Medical
Education was launched, and there was also the launch
of a new virtual exhibit, The Early Days of the Medical
School at Memorial University.
The speech by Lt.-Gov. Roberts revealed the previously unknown story of the many problems and obstacles that almost kept the medical school from
becoming a bricks-and-mortar reality. The provincial
government's support for the medical school was
dependent on receiving substantial assistance from the
federal Health Resources Fund. As parliamentary assistant to Premier Joseph Smallwood at the time, Mr.
Roberts and then-university president (pro tern) Mose
Morgan had drafted carefully-crafted words for the
premier's declaration that "subject only to the receipt
of such support, we are prepared to commit the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to the
necessary expenditures without in any way impairing
the university's other operating and capital budgets."
Getting that federal support proved difficult. The
consensus among advisors to the provincial government
and the university was that a new hospital to replace the
General Hospital plus a Health Sciences Centre would
cost $40 million. "My colleagues and I, acting on the
advice of our financial advisors, concluded that we
needed $30 million from Ottawa," said Lt.-Gov.
Roberts. "That was the problem."
Using a per capita formula, the amount of federal
funding fell about $10 million short, even after Mr.
Roberts (who was then provincial minister of health)
negotiated an agreement for $10.5 million of the $25
million Atlantic Provinces portion of the fund. At that
point, the role played by John Munro, the minister of
national health and welfare, became pivotal. There was
$75 million in discretionary monies in the Health
Resources Fund and despite strong opposition from
within the federal cabinet and most of the provinces, Mr.
Roberts and others eventually convinced Mr. Munro to
give $ 10 million to Newfoundland and Labrador.
"The government could not have built the medical
see MEDICINE AT 40 on page 3
GaZette    November 1, 2007
Smashing pumpkins
Students in the English as a Second Language program got in the Halloween spirit with a
pumpkin carving last Friday.
Memorial's president to step down
MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY'S PRESIDENT, Dr.
Axel Meisen, will finish his term eight months early in
order to accept an appointment as chair of foresight with
the Alberta Research Council (ARC). The university's
Board of Regents has accepted Dr. Meisen's resignation
which takes effect Dec. 31, 2007.
The board also announced that Dr. Eddy Campbell,
Memorial's vice-president (academic), will serve as acting
president, effective Jan. 1, 2008, until a new president
is recruited.
Gil Dalton, chair of the Board of Regents, made the
announcements following a board meeting Oct. 18. Mr.
Dalton thanked Dr. Meisen for his outstanding leadership
of the province's university since 1999.
"Axel Meisen has given so much to Memorial in his
time as president; his legacy of careful planning, strategic
growth and continuous quality improvement, plus his
special focus on innovation, will stand the institution in
good stead as it moves forward. We wish him well in the
upcoming new phase of his career," said Mr. Dalton.
Dr. Meisen said that he is gratified by the developments he has been able to oversee at Memorial during
his eight years at the helm.
"It has been both professionally and personally satisfying
to see the many positive developments that have occurred
at the university during my term," said Dr. Meisen.
"Amongst the most satisfying developments are
the increase in our student enrolment, the success of
our graduates, the increase in annual research funds
to approximately $90 million and improvements to
our infrastructure.
see PRESIDENT on page 2
www.mun.ca/marcomm/gazette