The 1990s were a particularly bleak period in Newfoundland and Labrador history. Not only did the decade kick off with an economic downturn that inspired austerity budgets around the world, but the cod moratorium of 1992 had a profound social, cultural and economic impact that changed the province forever.

It was during these uncertain times that Dr. Art May became president of Memorial University.

While he is often remembered as a president who helped guide the ship through troubled waters, he was also at the helm during significant changes that shaped the university into the institution we know today.

Dr. May was born in St. John’s in 1937. He earned both his bachelor of science and master of science degrees from Memorial. He then went on to complete his PhD in marine sciences at McGill.

His professional career was deeply rooted in fisheries science and public administration. He served as a fisheries scientist and manager involved in significant research and policy developments. From 1982 to 1985, he was the deputy minister of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and played a crucial role in shaping Canadian fisheries policies.

Subsequently, Dr. May served as president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) from 1986 to 1990, overseeing the promotion and support of research in natural sciences and engineering across the country.

He was named Memorial University’s Alumnus of the Year in 1983 and received an honorary degree from Memorial in 1989, just one year before becoming the university’s president.

Though the university faced difficult financial circumstances during Dr. May’s presidency, it also managed to achieve significant milestones.

Grenfell Campus grew and began offering multiple full-degree programs, expanding the university’s vital presence on the west coast.

And in 1992, just months before the moratorium began, Memorial University joined forces with the Marine Institute (MI).

 

Entrance to the Arthur W. May Building at The Launch in Holyrood. Photo from the Marine Institute.

 

At the time, MI was already a world leader in fisheries and marine training with an international reputation.

Dr. May helped bring MI into the fold while ensuring the institute maintained its unique identity.

Memorial brought its own oceans expertise into the equation, and when the two institutions united, MI’s programming evolved as the institute began offering advanced degrees and could benefit from the research that exists at the very core of such programs.

The Marine Institute was now positioned to do more than simply react to the social and economic changes taking place. It was positioned to guide the changes into a new era of ingenuity and prosperity for the province.

Dr. May’s involvement with MI preceded his time as president and continued long after his retirement.

From 1988-89, Dr. May was a member of the institute’s Board of Governors and served as the board’s final president.

He helped design the institute’s first research chair, and from 2002 to 2012, he was the founding chair of One Ocean, the senior liaison committee between the fishing and offshore petroleum industries.

He was also the founding chair of the Research Advisory Committee for the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research and was committed to expanding the university’s research capability in fisheries ecosystems.

The advancements at Grenfell and the affiliation with MI led Eddy Campbell, former interim president of the university, to state that Dr. May had played a major role in “building the modern Memorial.”

Dr. May died of cancer in 2014.

It may be a coincidence that the Marine Institute joined forces with Memorial University in the same year that the moratorium was imposed on the Northern cod fishery, but if anyone understood the timeliness of the merger, it was Dr. May.

With his background in fisheries science, he knew the impact the moratorium would have on Newfoundland and Labrador and, therefore, knew equally well just how important the Marine Institute would be for the future of the province in the wake of such monumental change.