March 2000 The Smallwood Centre, the $16-million university centre, opens. Under its roof, student government and student services have a common and modern home. The six-storey building also houses a food court, retail shops and office space for student clubs and societies.
June 2000 Memorial’s largest-ever fundraising campaign to date, The Opportunity Fund, concludes. The campaign exceeds its goal of $50 million, raising almost $60 million. Over $29 million from individuals, corporations and groups in the private sector were matched dollar-for-dollar by the provincial government.
Sept. 6, 2002 Memorial officially opens the Bonne Bay Marine Station. Built on the site of Memorial's 30-year old biology field station, this $3.2 million facility now serves as a teaching centre for university marine biology and environmental studies students, a research complex and a marine interpretation centre for the public.
Oct. 22, 2002 The $13-million Field House, the centrepiece of The Works recreational complex, which includes the Aquarena, specialized facilities in the university's School of Human Kinetics and Recreation and outdoor sports pitches, officially opens.
January 2003 The university’s Senate names former Memorial president, Dr. Arthur May, president emeritus. The title of president emeritus is granted for outstanding service and achievement to the university in a leadership capacity.
November 2003 According to the Association of Atlantic Universities 2003-04 preliminary survey of enrolments, Memorial University has the highest enrolment of all Atlantic Canadian universities. An increase of four per cent in both full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate enrolment over the previous year puts Memorial’s student body at 17,278.
March 2004 Memorial University researchers lead an elite group of major players in computation-based research in Canada with the announcement of $9.9 million for an Atlantic Canadian high performance computing (HPC) network. The Canada Foundation for Innovation awarded $9,934,611 to Memorial University to establish the Atlantic Computational Excellence Network (ACEnet).
May 11, 2004 Memorial’s Senate approves a new diploma program in police studies at the St. John’s campus to begin in fall 2004. Earlier in the year, the provincial government announced that it would train 75 new officers for the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) over the next three years.
Oct. 1, 2004 The Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development (The Harris Centre) is launched at a ceremony attended by Dr. Leslie Harris, in whose honour the centre is named. The centre is tasked with co-ordinating and facilitating the university's educational, research and outreach activities in the areas of regional policy and development.
Sept. 20, 2005 The Inco Innovation Centre, an $18 million facility built with funding from Inco Ltd. and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency officially opens. The facility houses state-of-the-art teaching facilities, including a 325-seat lecture theatre, research laboratories, project rooms and offices for graduate studies and research.
March 17, 2005 The Petro-Canada Hall is officially opened in the School of Music thanks to $1.2 million donation from Petro-Canada. The hall is a beautiful and sophisticated rehearsal and teaching facility with special Internet technology that allows students and professors to rehearse and perform, in real time, with musicians anywhere else in the world.
April 27, 2005 The Landmark Graphics Visualization Laboratory opens. The equivalent of a scientific IMAX theatre, the lab allows researchers and students to view complex data in four dimensions, three spatial dimensions plus time. The $20-million facility was made possible by support from Landmark Graphics, IBM Canada and Panoram Technologies Inc., along with the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) through the Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF).
July 21, 2005 The Board of Regents confirms the appointment of Glenn Blackwood as executive director of the Fisheries and Marine Institute (MI). Mr. Blackwood took up the new position on Sept. 1, 2005.
Dec. 10, 2007 The largest single donation from living individuals in the university’s history is presented by Drs. Angus and Jean Bruneau. The gift of $1,030,643 will offer life-changing opportunities for students in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science with the creation of the Angus Bruneau Student Leadership and Innovation Fund in Engineering (or Angus Bruneau Student LIFE Program).
Dec. 20, 2007 Dr. John Crosbie, chancellor of Memorial University, is named the new lieutenant-governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Dec. 31, 2007 Dr. Axel Meisen steps down as Memorial’s seventh president and vice-chancellor to take up a new position with the Alberta Research Council. Dr. Eddy Campbell, Memorial’s vice-president (academic), will serve as acting president until a new president is recruited.
February, 2008 Researchers at Memorial University discover the gene responsible for ARVC (arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy), a deadly genetic heart condition highly prevalent in Newfoundland and Labrador. An interdisciplinary research team in cardiac genetics from Memorial, led by Drs. Terry-Lynn Young, molecular geneticist; Patrick Parfrey, clinical epidemiologist; and Sean Connors, cardiologist; has identified the genetic cause of the disease. This discovery, published in the Feb. 28 online American Journal of Human Genetics (co-first authors Nancy Merner and Kathy Hodgkinson), could lead to more interventions and, eventually, a cure for this deadly disease.
October, 2008 Memorial University students become world champions, winning the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) competition in Singapore. June 26, 2008 Recently retired as Canada’s Chief of the Defence staff, Gen. Rick Hillier is appointed as the university’s new chancellor by Premier Danny Williams.
July 1, 2009 Dr. Christopher Loomis is appointed as president and vice-chancellor pro tempore while the search for a new permanent president continues. Dr. Loomis succeeds Dr. Eddy Campbell who has left Memorial University to become the 18th president of the University of New Brunswick.
Nov. 18, 2009 Memorial’s Board of Regents announces the appointment of internationally-renowned academic and scholar Dr. Gary Kachanoski as the next president and vice-chancellor of Memorial University.