Welcoming the new students
Laura Robinson
At least three courses in the School of Arts and Social Science have welcomed non-traditional students this term.
Early in the semester a four-week English course titled “L.M. Montgomery in Context” examined the author who created “Anne of Green Gables.” This course was open to the public to take either for a certificate or to audit. Given Japan’s love affair with “Anne of Green Gables,” it’s no surprise that one of the students who attended the course was an English as a Second Language from that country.
Two other Humanities and Historical Studies courses focused on “Indigenization: The Indian Act” and “Indigenous Peoples and Colonialism.” Both these courses are livestreamed from a Grenfell Campus classroom to the Labrador Institute, but anyone in the world with an internet connection is able to join in — for instance, a sociology professor in Costa Rica tunes into “The Indian Act” each week.
Meanwhile, a partnership between Grenfell Campus and the Labrador Institute in Happy Valley-Goose Bay has culminated in special second-year offerings that allow Labrador residents to fulfill second-year requirements closer to home, while earning credits toward the Certificate in Aboriginal and Indigenous Studies. Through a combination of online and on-campus courses, students in Labrador can join classes at Grenfell Campus, and vice-versa.
Laura Robinson is the Dean for the School of Arts and Social Science at Grenfell Campus
A good representation
Michele Piercey-Normore
Faculty and students in the School of Science and the Environment regularly attend conferences to explain their research findings to national and international audiences. Students often accompany faculty to enrich their experiences and make important career connections with other researchers.
For instance, Sylvester Aboagye and post-doc Dr. Richard Ndjiongue, attended the 2018 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with Grenfell faculty member Dr. Telex Ngatched. They gave presentations on their new results related to device-to-device communications, visible light communications, and heterogeneous networks. These are three key enabling technologies for the next-generation (5G) wireless networks.
Math student Dylan Ruth attended a large conference in Baltimore, MD, with math professor Dr. Yevgeniy Vasilyev, where he attended presentations on mathematical logic, number theory and mathematical physics, and met many mathematicians from around the world.
Meanwhile, Dr. Garrett Richards, a faculty member with the Environmental Policy Institute, attended an energy research summit in Happy Valley-Goose Bay that was hosted by the NunatuKavut Community Council. His research program is focused on the roles of experts in energy debates and his goal was to acquire feedback on questions around energy research that would be valuable to communities in Labrador.
Finally, student Nate Biedak attended a fisheries conference in London, Ont., with environmental studies and sustainability professor Dr. Robert Scott. Their presentation was on antipredator armour among populations of threespine stickleback to better understand fish behaviour in fisheries management.
We are proud of our faculty and students who represent Grenfell Campus and Corner Brook around the world.
Michele Piercey-Normore is the Dean for the School of Science and the Environment
Exciting times
Todd Hennessey
Winter is an exciting time for students in the School of Fine Arts. Our fourth-year theatre students are currently in England, enjoying their time at the Harlow Campus, seeing shows in the West End of London (one of the main theatre centres in the world), taking in workshops, visiting museums and travelling throughout Europe. In addition, they are rehearsing their fourth-year final production, which they’ll bring home to us and perform on the stage of the Fine Arts theatre. It is the culmination of four years of hard work and commitment.
Meanwhile, our fourth-year visual arts students, many of whom also had an opportunity to study at Harlow Campus, are preparing for their graduate exhibition, a truly wonderful event that celebrates four years of artistic achievement and success, marked by an opening event that brings out family, friends, and supporters of our students; it’s a special and emotional night that I look forward to every year.
These two undergraduate degrees were Grenfell’s first, graduating our first students in 1992. Today, I’m happy to report we’ve added a master’s program in fine arts. The MFA (visual arts) offers students a flexible course of study tailored to their individual area of research. Students will have access to studios, research facilities, and faculty across a range of disciplines within visual arts. Students will be able to complete the degree with a combination of on-campus and online courses.
You can learn more about all our programs at www.grenfell.mun.ca/school-of-fine-arts.
Todd Hennessey is the Dean of the School of Fine Arts
