Iris Petten said the appointment of six new members to Memorial’s Board of Regents is “great news” for the university.

The chair of the Board of Regents was reacting to news today that the province has made six appointments to the university’s governing body through its new independent appointments commission process, appointing the following community members to the board: Margaret Allan, Michelle Baikie, Glenn Barnes, Joe Dunford, Karen McCarthy and Eleanor Swanson.

Biographies of the new members are available on the provincial government website.

‘Critical role’

The announcement was made by Gerry Byrne, provincial minister for Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

“I am pleased to appoint these passionate, dedicated members of the Memorial University Board of Regents and am confident their service in this critical role will benefit the university and our province,” said Minister Byrne.

“These new board members will complement our current group of highly committed people who volunteer their time and talent to support Memorial University’s mission,” said Ms. Petten.

“We are very fortunate to have such dedication within our governance structure.”

President Gary Kachanoski added: “I and my senior leadership team look forward to working closely with these accomplished community-minded individuals.”

The management, administration and control of the property, revenue, business and affairs of Memorial University are vested in the Board of Regents.

The board consists of 30 members: three ex-officio members (the chancellor, the president and the provost); six members elected by the alumni association; four members who are full-time students; and 17 members selected by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council.