Navigating change at Memorial University

When Janet Morrison started her tenure as president at Memorial University in August 2025, she knew she was joining at a time of unprecedented disruption – for universities generally and for Memorial in particular. Over the past year, the university has made progress in addressing some of those challenges, but difficult decisions remain. 

“I knew there were financial pressures. I knew that enrollment was shifting, that the demography of the province wasn’t in the university’s favor, and that there were some kind of operating issues that needed to be aligned. What’sbecome really clear to me over the last year is the scale and urgency of the moment we’re in – Memorial’s in,” said Dr. Morrison.  

In 2025-2026, a $25 million shortfall resulted in the university selling multiple properties, cutting some staffing and restructuring of their executive team. The university faces reducing enrollment, both domestically and internationally, forecasting a 12 percent reduction by 2030 on top of previous decreases. They are further tasked with addressing issues of overspending and inefficiency raised in a January 2025 report by Newfoundland and Labrador’s auditor general.  

In the spring, the province provided some relief with a small increase in funding. Dr. Morrison said that she thinks the provincial funding “clearly signals confidence in our current direction, in our commitment to making difficult decisions, but it comes with a clearly and explicitly expressed expectation that we will be fiscally accountable and that we will continue to navigate and implement change.” 

New operating budget 

Memorial released their 2026-2027 operating budget in May, the first overseen by Dr. Morrison. “It’s really about aligning Memorial’s current size, but also its future size and its cost structure,” she said. 

The recent budget includes a voluntary retirement program, which the university hopes will amount to between $7 and $9 million annually, depending on uptake. It also includes a six percent reduction for administrative units and a four percent reduction for faculties and schools. “The challenge in front of us is trying to contract in a way that still allows us to evolve or transform, and strengthen with some intended purpose,” said Dr. Morrison. “This isn’t really about incremental change,” she said. “It’s about fundamentally, deliberately reimagining how we operate so we can preserve what matters most.” 

The university has begun a review of its faculty and school structure. “We have a lot of faculties and schools at Memorial for our size, relative to our comparators,” she said. According to a university statement, the university has 18 faculties and schools, while the number of faculties, colleges and schools at comparator institutions range from five to 16. “That may be a good thing. It may be a bad thing. But it does need to be critically assessed.” While the review doesn’t include program offerings or courses, Dr. Morrison said she “would argue that quality assurance demands a critical lens on what programs we’re offering and how we’re offering them.”  

Faculty association calls for transparency, consultation 

The Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association (MUNFA) has called for more transparency and consultation from the university’s leadership. In a press release following the budget announcement, MUNFA said they had “serious concerns about further cuts to academic programs, job losses, and a lack of meaningful consultation” and called on the university “to meaningfully consult with faculty, and staff as it navigates the decisions ahead.” 

Dr. Morrison said she recognized that people care deeply about Memorial’s future and want to be involved. She said there have been regular updates to the university senate, town halls and open communications about their enrollment. But, she said, “I appreciate that, folks don’t think it’s enough. I’m not sure what enough looks like, but we will continue to reflect on feedback and try to do better.” 

Many of the challenges faced by Memorial are not unique. “This broader shift across higher education, demographic change, rising costs, changes in international policy, and really the growing expectations around our value, the lack of public trust or the erosion of public trust. It’s all converging at once,” said Dr. Morrison. However, as the only university in Newfoundland and Labrador and one of its largest employers, Memorial has a more complex relationship with its province than many other universities. “We play an essential role in this province as a driver of innovation and a builder of communities. We deliver the talent that the province depends on,” said Dr. Morrison. They also draw a significant majority of their students from the province. She said those facts inform her message to the province. “We need consistent, stable, adequate funding to continue delivering,” she said. “Ideally we need stable funding over a period of years.” 

Difficult decisions still to come 

Looking ahead, Dr. Morrison said, in the short term, “my priority is to bring clarity and focus.” She said that she thinks one of the most important things they can do “is to make intentional, disciplined choices about where we focus energy and resources.” In the longer term, “the goal is to position Memorial as a more focused, more sustainable Memorial that is very much aligned with student needs, with our research strengths and with the economic, social and cultural needs of Newfoundland and Labrador.” One of the hardest things, she said, “is the reality that we can’t do everything. Renewal is going to require prioritization, and I see that as an opportunity to sharpen our impact and strengthen what we do best”.  

The conversations are difficult, she said, “but I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Memorial community, and I believe individually and collectively, we understand the realities that we’re facing. We don’t necessarily like them, but we understand them.”