Memorial University expanding to create Labrador campus in Happy Valley-Goose Bay

Labrador is getting its own fully accredited university campus, as Memorial University is transitioning the Labrador Institute into a full-fledged Labrador Campus. 

MUN's president told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning on Thursday it's an exciting development for the university — and herself.

"It's a significant milestone for Memorial's presence in Labrador, and … as someone who grew up in Labrador. I am over the top excited," said Vianne Timmons. 

Founding dean Ashlee Cunsolo said the campus will be transformative for Labrador in ensuring people can stay in the region and still have access to quality university education.

The creation of the School of Arctic and Sub-Arctic Studies in 2020 was one of the final steps in establishing the Labrador Campus, which Cunsolo said is the culmination of years of work and advocacy.

"This is something that's been a dream in Labrador for generations," Cunsolo said. "We really want to create a community campus here that offers the education that is reflective and responsive to people in the North that really supports what people want to learn."

The board of governance for the Labrador Campus is meant to encompass the priorities of the area, she said. The academic council and curriculum committee both have three voting members each from Nunatsiavut, the Innu Nation, and the NunatuKavut community council. 

"That committee will really help guide us and grow us as we move forward. You know, we're just at the beginning, we're just getting started," Cunsolo said. "We want to make sure that we do it right and we do it together."

Jodie Lane, the Nunatsiavut government's director of education, said she hopes the campus has a cyclical offering of programs. 

"Not only are there opportunities to offer existing courses, but there's development of brand new courses and programs and course offerings," Lane said. "We're going to be able to meet the needs of Labradorians so much more effectively because it's right here."

Kanani Davis, CEO of the Mamu Tshishkutamashutau Innu Education Board, said people can get lonely and homesick when they go away to school, but with a campus in Labrador, they can stay closely connected to their families and their cultures. 

The Labrador Campus will be housed at the former provincial courthouse on Hamilton River Road in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, with renovated classrooms and with a bigger library and community space than the Labrador Institute's building.

It will also expand on the Labrador Institute's programming, with a nursing program and the first year of the engineering program starting in the fall. Other programs will be announced in the coming years, Cunsolo said.

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