President’s message: Reflections on the year

What do white blobs and common scab have in common? In 2024, they introduced thousands of readers of the New York Times, the BBC and other international media outlets to research expertise at Memorial.

It just goes to show that while we pride ourselves on our cold ocean research – and so we should with PhD students like Emmeline Broad discovering a unique coral garden off Fogo Island – our research interests and expertise are incredibly varied. We look to the past, with researchers finding the oldest known fossil in the world, and to the future, with Memorial being named number one in Canada for its percentage of studies leveraging AI to improve research.

Teaching and learning go hand-in-hand with research at Memorial, and faculty and staff are always looking for ways to improve the student experience.

The Bachelor of Arctic & Subarctic Interdisciplinary Studies is a new undergraduate program within the School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies.

It is the first undergraduate program of its kind in Canada and is a rare offering throughout the Circumpolar North. The program follows a unique structure with students learning through two six-week interdisciplinary modules each semester, as well as through student-directed learning options.

Thanks to donors, another program that rolled out in 2024 that takes learning outside the classroom is called Limitless Leadership, which offers leadership-themed workshops, one-to-one coaching and professional networking to women at Memorial. It helps future leaders get a head start in leadership skills development, and an understanding of the environment in which they will lead.

Public engagement has been a core part of who we are from the very beginning, when John Lewis Paton added a biology course to the curriculum, and organized a travelling library, because he thought it would help the fishery. So it made sense last year when the Office of Public Engagement undertook a review of our first Public Engagement Framework and will soon produce the 2025-2035 Public Engagement Framework.

The new framework focuses on: How do we conduct public engagement well? It has re-focused goals and highlights diversity and responsibility to place, and includes greater emphasis on relationships and building connections both within the institution and with our public partners.

Building connections with public partners was in strong focus in 2024, as two of the biggest celebrations at Memorial in our generation are happening in 2025 with our 100^th anniversary celebrations and the 2025 Canada Summer Games. Launch events were celebrated to bring our community together in preparation for what will be a truly historic year.

In 2024, there was much to celebrate; and though I plan to retire in April, I know there’s great things in store for our university in 2025.

Neil Bose
President and vice-chancellor