Thirteen dedicated individuals have been chosen to join co-chairs Dr. Ian Sutherland and Emily Wooley on the facilitation team for the strategic planning process.

Following a call for people to submit their names and reasons for wanting to be part of the team, more than 100 expressed interest in the process.

“We were thrilled,” said Dr. Sutherland. “We were hoping to get a diverse group of people who are invested in the future of Memorial and that’s exactly what we got. Choosing the 13 was extremely hard.”

A winning team

Members of the team are below.

Dr. Carlos Bazan, faculty (Engineering)
Dr. Jan Buley, faculty (Education)
Dr. Angie Clarke, staff (Student Affairs, Marine Institute)
Dr. Majid Eghbali-Zarch, faculty (Business Administration)
Tyson Gerard-Bennett, elementary school principal, sessional instructor (Education)
Penny Kennedy, staff, Campus Enforcement and Patrol
Saranya Shadash Babu Soorja Kumary, undergraduate/international student (Science)
Keir McIssac, staff, (Office of the Registrar)
Dr. Paula Mendonça, staff (Research)
Dr. Delores Mullings, faculty (Social Work)
Ryan Murphy, graduate student (Business Administration)
Dr. Boluwaji Oguyemi, faculty (Medicine)
Bert Riggs, Library (retired), sessional instructor (English)

“I want to welcome each of the individuals and thank all those who put their name forward for consideration,” said Ms. Wooley. “Clearly the future of Memorial is on the minds of many and together we’ll create an inspirational vision of what we want the university to be.”

Consultation process begins

The team held its first meeting last week; beginning in October, it will move forward with a robust consultation process.

Starting remotely (and possibly fully remotely), a series of forums will be held.

Consultations will take many forms including, but not limited to, surveys and virtual meetings/sessions, and will include faculty, staff, and students; external stakeholders, such as the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador; diverse community groups and representatives; and alumni.

Submission can also be made via email.