The Board of Regents has appointed Dr. Noreen Golfman as provost and vice-president (academic) pro tempore effective Sept.1, 2014.

Currently the dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Dr. Golfman will serve in her new role until the search for a new provost/VP(A) has been successfully concluded, which is expected to occur in 2015.

“I would like to extend my thanks to Dr. Golfman for agreeing to take on this senior academic leadership role,” said President Kachanoski. “Under her leadership, we can expect continued progress in key strategic areas, achieving the aspirations outlined in our frameworks, and the goals in the strategic research intensity plan and the enrolment plan, among others key strategies.”

The Board of Regents has further approved the appointment of Dr. Faye Murrin to serve as dean, School of Graduate Studies pro tempore during Dr. Golfman’s term as provost/VP(A) pro tempore. Dr. Murrin currently serves as the associate dean, School of Graduate Studies.

The appointments come after the announcement in July that Dr. David Wardlaw, provost/VP(A), will retire in 2016 and not seek a second term in the role.

Dr. Noreen Golfman has served as dean of graduate studies at Memorial since June 1, 2008. Under Dr. Golfman’s leadership, the school has experienced tremendous growth. Enrolment was up by 5.3 cent in 2013, and 14.3 per cent over the past two years. In the last decade, the number of graduate students has doubled to a total of 3,565 graduate students. A number of new programs were created during her term as dean, including five new doctoral programs and eight new master's programs.

A professor of English, Dr. Golfman holds a PhD from the University of Western Ontario. She recently served two terms as president of the Canadian Federation of Social Sciences and Humanities, a national education advocacy group. She is currently president of both the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies and the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools, and a member of the advisory committee to the Canadian studies program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Active in Canadian cultural issues and experienced with the media, Dr. Golfman is the founding director and chair of the St. John's International Women's Film Festival, vice-chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation and chair of the board of the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. Since 2011 she has co-chaired the board of directors of Business and the Arts N.L., an organization that brokers relationships and funding between the arts and the corporate/private sectors. 

In addition to publications in scholarly journals, Dr. Golfman writes on the arts and culture in popular venues, and she has worked as a commentator, reviewer/performer for CBC radio and television.

In 2011 she received the President’s Award for Exceptional Community Service from Memorial University.