Creating a University is a collection of memoirs by more than 30 former faculty and staff of Memorial University — a series of “MUNographies,”— about personal and professional experiences working at Newfoundland’s only university. It is something of a Memorial University family reunion, without a drunken uncle.

In the years covered by this volume, primarily 1950 to 1990, few Memorial faculty were Canadians, let alone Newfoundlanders. These “come from aways” arrived in the middle of a post-colonial cultural renaissance, which saw a movement toward new interdisciplinary studies, and laid the groundwork for many of the programs and courses that are offered at the University today.

Roberta Buchannan was born in South Africa, educated in England, and immigrated to Canada in 1964. She lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and teaches women’s studies and English literature at Memorial University. She is actively involved in the local feminist community and in various writers’ groups, including the Writer’s Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Newfoundland Writer’s Guild.

She co-wrote and performed in The Meeting (feminist satire and performance poetry) produced by east coast women and words: performed “Kali Poems” in Actordanz (Neighborhood Dance Works) and made a guest appearance with “Tomato Poem” in Live Soap, directed by Janice Spence: all at the L.S.P.U. Hall in St. John’s.

Roberta Buchanan's profile page

Stephen Harold Riggins' profile page

"MUNographies' are delightfully and informatively personal."

Joan Sullivan, The Telegram

"This collection of memoirs...attests to the resilience and sense of community among the faculty especially in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. While by no means a comprehensive history, its authors collectively provide personal glimpses of what it was like to build a university on the edge of the Atlantic."

Linda Kealey, Acadiensis

"While the book was a buzz kill in the campus myth department...the disappointment was offset by great anecdotes about the school’s history."

Aaron Williams, Atlantic Books Today