Feb. 4, 2015 Volume 47 | Number 9
A m e m o r i a l u n i v e r s i t y o f n e w f o u n d l an d p u b l i c a t i o n
Registration Mail No. 40062527
Half a million raised for ‘work horse’ pianos By Jeff Green
chris hammond PHOTO
Slowly closing his eyes, Timothy
Music student Timothy Brennan is completing a piano performance major with a minor in composition.
Brennan glides his fingers across the shiny white keys of a newly refurbished piano in the School of Music. He instantly looks comfortable as his rendition of Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 quickly fills the room. It’s no wonder – the fourth-year music student practises upwards of three hours a day and 20 hours a week on some of the school’s pianos, many of which were in rough shape up until recently. A half a million dollars later, though, the bulk of the school’s pianos have been replaced or refurbished thanks in large part to private donors who gave to the Keys to Success fundraising campaign.
“It is important for young musicians like me to practise and perform and hone my technique,” said Mr. Brennan, who is from St. John’s and is completing a piano performance major with a minor in composition. He will graduate this spring.
“Piano majors are dependent on the School of Music to provide quality instruments for them to use.” – Timothy Brennan
See Piano on page 4
Better BA
Faculty of Arts enhances core curriculum By Janet Harron
The Faculty of Arts is implementing a revised core curriculum for the bachelor of arts, following approval by Senate on Jan. 13. Students will benefit from greater flexibility in selected courses, which will accommodate their schedules and increase their ability to graduate on time. The core curriculum is a set of courses required of all undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor of arts degree that specify foundational knowledge such as writing skills, cultural literacy and quantitative reasoning. The revisions ensure a clear path for acquiring arts-based knowledge and skills. Memorial’s bachelor of arts regulations had been some of the most
extensive in Canada. They were last updated in 1997. The change follows an intensive twoyear process within the Faculty of Arts, led by members of the Faculty of Arts’ academic planning committee. The committee was convened by Dr. Alex Marland, associate dean (undergraduate studies), Faculty of Arts. “We wanted our curriculum to properly reflect the skills, competencies and values our students graduate with and which are outlined in our recent ARTS 20/20 plan,” said Dr. Lynne Phillips, dean, Faculty of Arts. “Happily, this approach has also resulted in more flexibility for our students so they can explore diverse topics and still complete their degree in four years. “Thanks to the keen participation of
faculty, students and staff, including the Office of the Registrar, what Dr. Marland and the committee have achieved is a focus on quality over quantity – students will have fewer requirements to meet but there will be more substance to those requirements.” Some of the most important changes include replacing the humanities and social sciences requirements with a breadth of knowledge requirement that will provide students with the opportunity to choose exposure to a variety of ideas, methods and course content; replacing the research and writing requirement with a focused critical reading and writing requirement to ensure students obtain foundational,
university-level reading and writing skills; introducing a quantitative reasoning requirement designed to ensure students develop foundational knowledge and skills in numeracy, quantitative analysis, and logical reasoning; and adjusting the second language requirement to become a language study requirement designed to ensure students develop knowledge of the structure of a language other than English, and to foster awareness of the inherent link between language and cultural literacy. “I congratulate Dr. Phillips, and all those involved in taking on this Herculean task,” said Dr. Noreen Golfman, provost and vice president (academic), pro tempore.
3 H a r l ow d i a r i e s
6-7 R e a d i n g mat e r i a l
8 Artful history
See better on page 4
features
2
Ya f f l e Yo u r N e x t P r o j e c t
A non-profit group needs help evaluating its impact on girls and young women.
A student reports on her winter semester abroad at Harlow Campus.
The Gazette features some of the latest publications from Memorial’s authors.
Grenfell Campus celebrates the 40th anniversary of St. Michael’s Printshop.