The Office of the Auditor General has delivered its audit report on Memorial University to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

It has not yet been shared with the university.

Memorial has co-operated fully with the auditor general and we thank the Office of the Auditor General for its work. We also thank Memorial’s employees for their tireless efforts to ensure the audit team had access to the information they requested.

We are committed to responding to recommendations made within the report, with the ultimate objective of serving the people of Newfoundland and Labrador through education, research and public engagement, while being responsible stewards of public money.

We must be transparent about how we operate and be accountable to our governing bodies, the Senate and the Board of Regents.

At the same time, autonomy is paramount for all universities, to ensure freedom of teaching, learning, research and thought.

The auditor general’s review period, Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2022, was a time of significant challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are confident that there will be lessons to learn from the audit findings.

We are equally confident that changes implemented since the review period are improving our operations and supporting our academic mission.