The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has publicly released the auditor general’s review of Memorial University for the period April 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2022.

The report contains eight recommendations.

Memorial University accepts all recommendations.

We will continue to work together, as president and board chair, to ensure the recommendations are addressed appropriately and the conditions for success within the Canadian university sector continue to be met.

Memorial University is committed to serving the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and using public funds wisely. Over the last several months, we have been focused on enhancing transparency and improving operations. Since the audit period, there have been significant changes at Memorial and we are already working to address the concerns that have been raised. This work will continue.

A summary of some of the changes since 2019 is available online.

We must be transparent about how we operate and be accountable to our governing bodies, the Senate and the Board of Regents. There is also an accountability relationship with the provincial government.

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

Memorial co-operated fully with the Office of the Auditor General while the review was underway, and we would like to express our gratitude to Memorial University employees who ensured the audit team had timely access to the information they requested. We would also like to thank the auditor general and her team for their diligence throughout this process.

We are committed to working through this process with transparency. As our work to respond to the auditor general’s findings continues, information will be posted online.

Sincerely,

Neil Bose

Glenn Barnes