September 2009 The Nunatsiavut Government contracted Memorial University’s School of Social Work to deliver a fully-accredited, four-year bachelor of social work degree program in Labrador.
Sept. 10, 2010 Memorial University’s Board of Regents has accepted a recommendation that will give Sir Wilfred Grenfell College a new name. The new name will be Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland. The recommendation stems from the Task Force on a Renewed Governance Structure for Sir Wilfred Grenfell College.
May 25, 2012 Memorial officially opened the Arts and Science Extension at the Grenfell Campus. The $27.2-million expansion to Grenfell's Arts and Sciences Building was generously funded by the federal and provincial government.
Aug. 12, 2012 Memorial University of Newfoundland announced an update on the progress of Dare To: The Campaign for Memorial University. To-date, over $62.8 million has been committed to the university in support of this campaign from alumni, friends, corporations and foundations, exceeding the campaign’s initial $50-million goal. The overwhelming response to the Dare To campaign will enable Memorial to create substantially higher numbers of student scholarships, bursaries and awards now, and into the future. Thus far, 1,173 students have received new scholarships, bursaries and awards as a result of this campaign, with thousands more to receive funding support in future years. In addition to support for students, Dare To has enabled Memorial to establish eight new research chairs and two new postdoctoral fellowships, as well as significant funding for research in a variety of key areas. The university has also received support for various key infrastructure projects, including labs and research centres in various disciplines and across all three campuses in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nov. 13, 2013 A generous gift of $1 million from Drs. Angus and Jean Bruneau has led to the creation of the Bruneau Centre for Excellence in Choral Music (BCECM). The Centre is funding projects that will stimulate excellence in choral music-making across the province, nationally and internationally.
2014 Memorial University’s genesis as a living memorial to the sacrifices of those who fought in the First World War was highlighted this year as Memorial began its five-year WW100 commemoration program.
March 2014 Grenfell Campus's landscape changed with the opening of the Residence Complex, the latest addition to its student housing community. Tom Marshall, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, unveiled a ceremonial plaque to officially open a new 200-room residence that increased Grenfell’s capacity to house up to 600 students. The $23 million complex was made possible by contributions from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Oct. 8, 2014 Memorial University has officially named the new residence complex on its St. John’s campus. The 500-bed facility has been named Macpherson College and its two wings are Cluett Hall and Shiwak Hall. The names chosen commemorate the efforts of two Newfoundlanders and one Labradorian who served during the First World War. The complex, Macpherson College, was named for Dr. Cluny Macpherson, who invented the gas mask used by British/Newfoundland troops, and whose family farm once occupied the land on which Memorial’s St. John’s campus sits today. Cluett and Shiwak Halls are named for Frances Cluett, one of Memorial’s earliest alumnae who served with the Voluntary Aid Detachment, and John Shiwak, an Inuit hunter who came to be known as one of the best snipers in the British forces.
May 1, 2015 Memorial University officially opened the Craig L. Dobbin Genetics Research Centre on May 1. This state-of-the-art genetics research centre builds significant capacity for Memorial researchers to continue their important work in this area. The genetics research centre is named in honour of the late Craig L. Dobbin, a successful Newfoundland businessman and philanthropist. The naming is in recognition of a landmark gift from Elaine Dobbin that will support undergraduate student bursaries, graduate student scholarships, two post-doctoral fellowships and a research fund in the Faculty of Medicine.
Oct. 27, 2016 Memorial placed second among Canada’s medical/doctorate universities for research income growth over a 15-year period, according to data released by a national publication. Research Infosource says Memorial ranks number two with a gain of 204.6 per cent for research income from fiscal years 2001-15. With that increase, Research Infosource reports that Memorial is listed among its prestigious $100 Million Club. It also reports that Memorial ranks number two on its Top 10 Universities by Growth list for the last year.
March 2, 2017 The Marine Institute has introduced new graduate degrees in fisheries science that will foster the next generation of fisheries researchers. The School of Fisheries will deliver three program options in the fall of 2017: master of science in fisheries science (fisheries science and technology); master of science in fisheries science (stock assessment); and doctor of philosophy in fisheries science.
Oct. 27, 2017 The family of the late Dr. Melvin Woodward has donated $1.13 million to Memorial’s Faculty of Business Administration to help existing and aspiring student entrepreneurs develop their innovative business ideas. The donation, which led to the creation of the annual entrepreneurial competition called the Woodward Cup, came from Peter, Melvin and Tana Woodward in memory of their father, a respected business owner.
September 2018 After purchasing the former Battery Hotel in St. John’s in March 2013 and undertaking extensive renovation and construction, Memorial named its newest campus the Signal Hill Campus. Externally focused Memorial units moved into the new campus, including the Harris Centre, the Gardiner Centre, Genesis and the Office of Public Engagement. The building also became home to graduate student residences along with a conference centre, the MUN Pensioners Association and Business and Arts NL.
Sept. 6, 2018 A $7-million contribution from Emera Inc. to Memorial University will support innovation and entrepreneurship programming in Newfoundland and Labrador. In recognition of this investment, the public engagement and innovation space at Memorial University’s new Signal Hill Campus will be named the Emera Innovation Exchange.
Dec. 12, 2019 The Board of Regents of Memorial University of Newfoundland announced the appointment of internationally renowned academic and scholar Dr. Vianne Timmons as the 13th president and vice-chancellor of Newfoundland and Labrador’s only university, effective April 1, 2020.