Open Letter

To Dr. Vianne Timmons, President of Memorial University of Newfoundland

Regarding Memorial University's recent open-ended support for the oil and gas industry in Newfoundland and Labrador

Dr. Vianne Timmons, President and Vice-Chancellor

Memorial University of Newfoundland

Cc: Neil Bose (Vice-President Research), Kent Decker (Vice-President Administration and Finance), Jeff Keshen (Vice-President Grenfell), Glenn Blackwood (Vice-President Marine Institute), and Mark Abrahams (Interim Provost/Vice-President Academic)

May 28, 2020

RE: May 26 Virtual News Conference in Support of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Offshore Oil and Gas Industry


Dear President Timmons,

We welcomed your recognition of the central role Memorial University plays in advancing the interests of the province as a whole in your remarks during the May 26th news conference. However, we are concerned and dismayed at the apparently open-ended support for the offshore oil and gas industry.[i] This unusual move marks a departure from both Memorial University’s recent pledge[ii] to take action on climate change and the sanctity of academic freedom independent of corporate or political pressures. It also does not reflect the views and active commitments of many people in the Memorial community who teach, learn, and work at this institution.

Last month, in your inaugural Message from the President,[iii] you articulated many of our hopes for the province and Memorial: “universities should not reflect the world in which we live; rather, they should reflect the world in which we want to live.” We firmly believe this too. Public universities play an important role in society and the development of our economy.

However, your comments on Tuesday make us question how seriously senior leaders at Memorial take their commitment to combating the global climate crisis, and instead whether you are putting support behind the oil industry and the provincial government’s ill-defined calls for federal funding. This is particularly concerning at this time in history: 99.9% of climate scientists agree that global warming is caused by human activity[iv] and the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in Canada are the oil and gas and transportation sectors.[v] Canada is warming at twice the global average[vi] and Newfoundland and Labrador is particularly vulnerable. Indigenous communities in Labrador face even more dire conditions, as accelerated ice melt impacts people’s mental health and cultural practices.[vii] Only an urgent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and a transition to a sustainable, diversified energy economy can ameliorate this defining crisis of our time.

We are members of the university community with roles as educators, researchers, employees, students, and alumni. We strongly believe that public universities should work on behalf of the public good. We also believe that we have a responsibility as public employees and residents of Newfoundland and Labrador to speak up about issues that concern us.

In declaring a climate emergency, Memorial pledged to make decisions through a climate lens. Open-ended support for the oil and gas industry, without calling for concrete steps to reduce carbon emissions, violates our commitments to slowing down climate change and to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

A university must be independent if it is to protect intellectual freedom of thought and scientific integrity. We fear that this public, unqualified commitment to the oil and gas sector will have negative impacts on the intellectual freedom of current researchers and on our future ability to attract top talent. We care deeply about the world we will leave to our students and other young people, many of whom have been leaders in calls to address climate change.

Furthermore, seeking subsidy for oil and gas will lessen available funds for innovation in new, environmentally-sustainable industries and fields of study. Memorial has a central role to play in helping industry workers transition to new forms of employment in sustainable fields. Aligning Memorial University with oil and gas commits us to what will soon be obsolescence. Universities should be leaders in new thinking on “wicked” problems like global climate change, not tools for propping up damaging or outdated approaches.

We call upon you and Memorial University’s senior leadership to take the following actions:

1. Recommit to the MUN Crisis Pledge to take meaningful, measurable action on climate change, including:

a. Develop a Climate Action Plan for Memorial University that articulates a pathway to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050;[viii]

b. Mandate that climate change be explicitly factored into strategic decision-making at all levels of the university;

c. Provide tangible support for members of Memorial who are leading innovators against climate change and its harmful effects on local communities.

2. Avoid further statements of open-ended support for the oil and gas sector on behalf of Memorial University.

Like you, we love Newfoundland and Labrador and we are deeply committed to the role of public education in society. Memorial has a proud history of social development, technological innovation, and cultural creation. We aim to contribute to this legacy by making Memorial a beacon of positive change in these turbulent times of environmental and fiscal crisis. We look forward to working with you on these actions.

Sincerely,


**LAST UPDATE JUNE 8, 2020 12 PM**
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Rachel Webb Jekanowski
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Florida International University

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Academic Staff - Field Education
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Alumni
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Associate Professor
Archaeology

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Public Services Librarian
Health Sciences Library

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Memorial University

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Alumni

Lindsay Bryan
Associate Professor (retired)
Department of History

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Department of Biology

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Department of Political Science

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Assistant Professor
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School of Science and the Environment, Grenfell Campus

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Professor Emeritus
Department of Economics

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Matthew Milner
Adjunct Professor of History
Department of History

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Department of Biology

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MA Candidate
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Student
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Professor
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Assistant Professor
Archaeology

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Danica Brockwell
Student

Johnathan Lander
Alumni
Association for New Canadians

Darrell Roberts
Student
English

Luke Quinton
former student
Arts

Steven Butt
Alumnus
Business Administration

Robin Messenger
Student

Russell Adams
Professor
Faculties of Science and Medicine

Shawn Kavanagh
Alumnus
Department of Political Science

Emily Denief
Alumni
Department of Biology

Jessica Broderick
Alumni

J Drew Hancock-Teed
Masters Student
Linguistics

Ian Hutchings
Alumni

Noelle Pendergast
Alumni
Religious Studies

Katie Crane
Graduate student
Department of Folklore

Emily Amaral
Student
Communication Studies

Tiffany Cheeks
Alumna
Mathematics and Statistics

Kris Poduska
Professor & Head
Physics & Physical Oceanography

Miranda Burrage-Goodwin
Alumni
History

Laura Harris
alumni
Education

Stephanie LeGresley
Student
Political Science

Maggie Atkinson
Associate Professor
Memorial University

Cameron Pollett
Student
Social Sciences and Humanities

Jaimie Hale
Alumni
Education

Sierra Walker
student
English and Biology

Sigan Sun
student
Department of Engineering and Applied science

Liam Richardson
Student
History and religious studies

Atanu Sarkar
Faculty
Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine

Yanitza Trosel
Ph.D. student
Physics and Physical Oceanography

Mary Alliston Butt
Alumni
Alumni of Department of Biology

Yanitza Trosel
Ph.D. student
Physics and Physical Oceanography

Abigail March
Alumni

Katie O’brien
Alumni
History

Turkuler Durgut
PhD Candidate
Department of Theoretical Physics

Katherine Gallagher
Associate Professor (Retired)
Faculty of Business Admintration

John Schouten
Canada Research Chair (tier-1) in Social Enterprise
Faculty of Business

Megan Burt
Graduate Student
Department of Religious Studies

Tyler Eddy
Faculty
School of Fisheries

Robert Deering
PhD Student
Department of Geography

Andrea Hawley Clarke
Alumna

Kaitlyn Charmley
Graduate Student
School of Ocean Technology

Christian Samson
Alumni
Marine Institute

Kirsten Morry
Alumni

Clodie Deschenes
Staff

Stephanie Gallant
Graduate student
Chemistry

Lucas Knill
Student
Grenfell Campus/SSE/BEAS

Jack Daly
Alumni
Geography

Andrew Way
Alumni

Natasha Pennell
Graduate Student
Master of Arts in Environmental Policy

Allison Groenen
Student
BEAS

Jennifer Armstrong
Alumni, student and staff
Faculty of Medicine

Lynn Moore
Alumni

Brennan Lowery
PhD student
Interdisciplinary PhD program

Mayra Sanchez
Student
Environmental Policy Institute

Connor Whalen
Alumni

Angela Drake
Administrative staff

Andrew Doucette
Graduate student

Katherine Sutton
Student
Marine Institute, Food Safety Student

Ali Mujahid
Student

Michael Philpott
Alumni

Michelle Porter
Student
Department of English

Mark Trainor
Alumni and Master's Student
Department of English

Kim Dreaddy
PhD student
Faculty of Medicine

Madeline Shaw
Student
Department of History

Isaac Ottenheimer Byrne
Alumni
Political Science

Gabrielle Forsey
Alumni
Science

Michelle LaCour
Alumnus
Music

Simon Taylor
BA student
Department of English

Allison Bennett
PhD student
Department of History

Aileen Worrall
Alumni

Matt Barter
Student
Political Science and Sociology

Rob Parsons
Alumni
Faculty of Medicine

Patrick Jeffrey
Alumni
History and Philosophy

Luke Battcock
Student
Political Science and Geography

Hannah Scott
Student
Sociology

James MacLean
Associate Professor of French (retired)
Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Sien Van den broeke
Alumni
Environmental Policy Institute

William Small
Student
Commerce

Mollie Symons
Student
Department of Political Science

Kenneth Sharpe
Alumni

Jasper Pritchard
Student
Archaeology

Sarah Leonard
Student
Humanities and Social Sciences

Lukas Bosch
Graduate student
Environmental Policy

Darrian Washinger
Student
Boreal Ecosystems and Agricultural Science (BEAS)

Rylan Command
Graduate student
School of Ocean Technology, Marine Institute

Morgan Manuel
Student
Department of Geography

Roshayne Mendis
Student
Environmental Policy

Claudia Friedetzky
Graduate student
Environmental Policy

Terilyn Barnes
Alumni

Valerie Webber
PhD Candidate
Community Health and Humanities

Simon Pope
Alumni

Adam Case
Alumni
Political Science Department

Marianne Alacoque
Alumni

Christina Pretty
Alumni

Daniel Humber
Graduate Student
Department of Engineering and Applied Science

Jasmine Paul
Undergraduate

Anika Bursey
Alumni (‘19)

Curtis Bryan Robinson
Alumni
History

Leah Burt
Alumnus and instructor
Humanities and Social Sciences

Erin Stevens
Alumni

Alisan Genc
graduate student
Philosophy

Alexandra Hayward
Alumni

Matthew Hynes
Alumni
Computer Science

Jordan Ford
alumni

Frédéric Cyr
Adjunct Professor
Physics and Physical Oceanography

Shivam Arora
PhD Student
Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Robin Messenger
Student
School of Social Work

Elizabeth-Anne Malischewski
Former lecturer
Department of English

Colin Scott
Alumni, MUN; Lecturer, McGill University, University of Manitoba
Department of Political Science

Lindsay Gover
Student
Political Science

Christopher Cogan
Per-course Instructor
Department of Geography

Sigrid Kuehnemund
Alumni
Biochemistry

Gerald Gover
Alumni
Biology

Allan Goulding
alumnus/staff
ITS

Yolande Pottie-Sherman
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography

Nicholas Hartmann
Alumni
Department of Folklore

Quentin Holbert
Alumni
Formerly History (Student), and Information Technology Services (employed)

Kyle Johnson
Student
History and Political Science

Sarah Smith
student
faculty of business

Abbey Robertson
Student
Marine Environmental Technology

Maggie Hynes
Student
HSS

Kate Westcott
Student
Department of Education

Gioia Montevecchi
MSc Alumni
Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine

Gary Hayward
Alumi

Devin Curtis
Alumnus

Erica Hayward
Student
Faculty of Medicine

Jeremy Gillam
Alumni
History

Emily Murphy
Student

Julie Sircom
Associate Professor
Environmental Science, Grenfell Campus

Casey Carew
student

Eric Ignatz
PhD Student
Ocean Sciences

Stephen Chislett
Alumni

Roxanne D. Button
Alumni (BA '88)
Design Synergies Architecture

Brent Morgan
Alumni

Bethany Rossiter
Undergraduate Student
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

Kirsten Green
Student

Patrick Bégin
Alumni

Coady Gillard
Student
Pharmacy

Bonnie Hayward
Alumni

Jenn Brown
Graduate Student/Alumni
GDBA, BFA Theatre

Aedon Young
Doctoral candidate
Education

James Baker
PhD, Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Alumni, PCI
Sociology/Political Science

Allyson Ricketts
Student
Nursing

Christine Morey
Student
Faculty of Nursing

Glenn Stockley
Alumni B. Eng. 1982
Consultant

Patrick Handrigan
Former Employee - The Works (MUN)
Aquatics

Bryn Tapper
Student
Archaeology

Mitchell Williams
alumnus
Music

Justin Tobin
Student
Folklore

Shannon Woodrow-Winnett
Music Education Student, Music Alumni
Music '14, Music Education '21

Nathan Butt
Student
Chemistry

Arielle Przybysz
Student
Biology and Geography

Maren Ellis-O'Leary
student
Sociology

Ravindra Bhenchot
Alumni
Mechanical engineering

Deirdre Cameron-McKenna
Undergraduate Student
Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Liam McCarthy
Alumni
Departments of History and Archaeology

Ashley Balsom
Alumni
Psychology

Alex Zahara
PhD Candidate
Department of Geography

Genevieve Gauci
Grad student
Education

Joshua Handrigan
Alumnus

Heather Penney
Post-doc and MUN alumni
OSC

Sara Dorman
alumni

Zachary Koszegi-Faulkner
Alumni

Heidi Janes
Alumni

Stephen Hextall
Student
EPI

Sara Mackenzie
Associate Professor
Department of Linguistics

Kathleen Burt
Alumni
Education

Russell Cochrane
Alum

Gerard Lahey
alumni
Engineering

Jane Brodie
Alumna
Faculty of Engineering & Faculty of Medicine

Nathan Wilson
Resident Physician
Faculty of Medicine

Matthew Liberty
Student
Department of Folklore

Olivia Moores
Student
Geography

Randi Burke
Alumni
Department of Geography

Haley Moriarity
Student and Research Assistant
Faculty of Business Administration

Katherine Fournier
Student

xénia laffely
Alumni

Matthew White
Alumni

Jane Kenny
Student
Department of Geography

Laura Tarrant
Student, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Mark Stacey
alumni

Aaron Fifield
Student
History

Brenda O'Brien
Alumni

Alycia Leonard
Alumni

Sarah Gordon
Assistant Professor
Folklore

Michael Lonardo
Collection Development Librarian (retired)
Queen Elizabeth II Library

Katie Gillespie
Alumni

Jessica Gibson
Graduate Student
Religious Studies

Sage Northcott
Student
Undergrad

Barbara Dos Santos
Student
Gender Studies

Jeremy Nolan
Student
Communications

Meriel Fitzgerald
Alumni

Kiera Walsh
Alumni
Geography

Roberta Frampton Benefiel
Water Protector
Grand Riverkeeper Labrador

Denise Cole
Water Protector
Grand Riverkeeper Labrador

Madison Pretty
Student
School of Social Work

Megan Tobin
Student

Robert Way
Alumni (MSc & Postdoc)
Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University

Katie Power
Student
Fisheries and Marine Institute of Newfoundland

Stephanie Davis
Alumni
Nursing

Alex Bruff
Student
Education

Emma Boddie
Student
Education

Nicholas Bendzsa
Alumni
Classics

Matthew McCarthy
Alumni

Andrew Taylor
Student
Business Administration

Jenna Walsh
Student
Engineering

Mary Shorlin
Student
French

Benjamin King
Student
Ocean Sciences

Peter Roth
alumnus

Jackie Bauman
grad student
environmental policy

Brooklyn Bartlett
Student
Psychology

Glenn Day
Student
Philosophy

Ryan Bergen
student
Biology

Brad Glynn
Alumni
Faculty of Education

Colleen Power
alumni
B.A. - French/English Double Major

Alex Wicks
Almuni

Alison Eaton
Alumni

Gary Hood
Alumnus
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

Christian Winsor
Student
History

Danielle O'Connor
Alumni

Emma Power
Alumni

Silvana Pereira
PhD student in Chemistry
Memorial University

Cheryl Schulz
Alumnus
Resident of NL

Aaron Connors
student
classics

Isabel Ojeda
Student
Political Science

Andrew Dunsmore
Student

Michaela Croke
Alumni
Humanities and Social Sciences

Zhe Shi
Alumni
Faculty of engineering

Nick Mercer
Alumni
Environmental Policy Institute

Linda Cullum
Assoc Professor (retired)
Sociology And Gender Studies

Chelsea Malayny
Alumni
Science/Education

Judith Vogt
Student
School of Science and the Environment

Katelyn Barker
Alumni
Business

Tarun Sheel
MUNFA Executive
Mathematics

Michael Willcott
Student
Sociology

Alanna Husch
Alumnus
Faculty of Medicine

Karen Berglander
Grad Student
Ethnomusicology


**UPDATED AS OF JUNE 8, 12 PM**



[i] For instance, “the oil and gas industry and Memorial University are intrinsically linked” and “we all share a common goal and that is to make sure we continue to build a dynamic oil and gas industry.” Statements made at 23m25s and 26m08s in the press conference. Virtual News Conference in Support of NL Offshore Oil and Gas Industry, 26 May 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBJLRVmSaGI.

[ii] Memorial University Crisis Pledge, signed 27 September 2019. Memorial University Climate Action Coalition, http://muncac.ca/about/. “Climate crisis response: Senior leaders pledge support for fighting climate change,” The Gazette, 27 September 2019, https://gazette.mun.ca/campus-and-community/responding-to-climate-crisis/.

[iii] “A message from the President,” The Gazette, 1 April 2020, https://gazette.mun.ca/campus-and-community/a-message-from-the-president/?_ga=2.2928953.86198731.1587995023-67346547.1585333310.

[iv] James Powell, “Climate scientists virtually unanimous: Anthropogenic global warming is true.” Bulletin of Science Technology and Society 35 (2016): 121-124, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0270467616634958. CORRECTION: consensus within climate science is between 97-99.9% that human activity is the cause of global climate change. Cook et al., "Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature," Environmental Research Letters 8.2 (2013): https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024024.

[v] “Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” the Government of Canada, 15 April 2020, https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/greenhouse-gas-emissions.html.

[vi] Canada’s Changing Climate Report, the Government of Canada, 2019, https://changingclimate.ca/CCCR2019/.

[vii] “Trapped ‘like a caged animal’: Climate change taking toll on mental health of Inuit,” CBC News, 27 May 2017, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/inuit-climate-change-health-1.4110299.

[viii] The University of British Columbia’s 2020 Climate Action Plan could offer a useful model for our approach. UBC Sustainability, https://sustain.ubc.ca/campus/climate-action/climate-action-plan.