MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY
Structure Review Report Completed

A message from Dr. Jennifer Lokash, provost and vice-president (academic)

In May 2026, the Board of Regents directed university administration to review Memorial University's faculty and school structure.

The purpose of the review is to identify opportunities for consolidation and expense reduction while maintaining a focus on student success, preserving and enhancing academic and research excellence, and fulfilling Memorial's obligation to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Faculty and School Structure Review Working Group, with representation from academic leadership, faculty, staff and administration, was established in June to conduct the review. Since that time, the committee has been engaging the university community through surveys, town halls and information sessions, online feedback forms, engagement sessions across multiple employee groups and ongoing dialogue. Deans also led sessions within their faculties and schools to discuss the illustrative models after they were presented to the university community.

I am pleased to share that the group has completed the review report, which is available here.

The report summarizes research, engagement findings, environmental scanning, illustrative organizational models and recommendations for future work. It is important to emphasize that the report is one step in this process: it does not recommend immediate structural changes and does not represent a decision on Memorial's future academic structure. 

After reviewing the findings and hearing from the community, its principal recommendation is that additional analysis, consultation and refinement are required before any specific structural changes can responsibly be considered.

The working group is grateful to members of the university community for their keen interest in this important work and for generously sharing their time and perspectives to help shape the future of Memorial. To date, more than 2,000 students, faculty and staff have participated. The Memorial community's deep engagement in this process helped shape the report's observations and recommendations.  

This report was shared simultaneously with Senate and the Board of Regents on Thursday, Oct. 29. On Nov. 10, there will be a special meeting of Senate to consider its recommendations. The working group looks forward to receiving Senate's guidance, to harnessing the momentum created and ultimately to delivering on the project's mandate and commitments to build a sustainable future for Memorial.  

Next steps will involve financial, implementation and risk analysis to determine the feasibility of the report's presented scenarios. This work will begin this month, and the university community will have opportunities for input into the process.

At its core, this work has been guided by a commitment to maintaining a strong, sustainable university that is well positioned to meet future opportunities and challenges while continuing to advance its academic and research priorities. 

I look forward to further engagement with the university community on this important work. Your perspectives, experiences at Memorial and contributions to the analysis are critical to helping inform a thoughtful, evidence-based path forward.

As this work continues, we remain committed to listening to our community, sharing information openly and ensuring that consultation remains a meaningful part of the process.