Contributors lining up for Sidney A. Hann Memorial Scholarship

A new Marine Institute scholarship is quickly garnering support from companies, organizations and individuals connected to the aquaculture and seafood processing industries

Thursday, January 13, 2011

MI’s newest scholarship is named after Sidney Hann, who served as an instructor at the Marine Institute for 29 years. He taught a variety of courses to thousands of students who went on to pursue careers in the seafood processing and aquaculture industries, with many eventually making significant contributions in their fields. In 1992 Hann was awarded the Marine Institute’s Teaching Excellence Award.

“The School of Fisheries thought it would be appropriate to honour Sid Hann with a scholarship. We are still in the early days for the development of the scholarship, but we are off to a great start,” said Carey Bonnell, head, School of Fisheries, Marine Institute. “This new scholarship will help a Marine Institute student financially and we look forward to presenting it to a hard working scholar this spring. We will consult with the family of Sid Hann before finalizing the scholarship requirements.”

One of the most recent donors to the Sidney A. Hann Memorial Scholarship is the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA). Cyr Couturier, a research scientist at MI and a director on the board of NAIA, said his organization is happy it can contribute to a scholarship that will honour Sid Hann and offer financial assistance to a worthy student.

“Sid was a friend of the aquaculture industry and seafood processing in general. Plus a lot of the people working with NAIA are former students of Sid’s,” said Couturier. “There’s a real shortage of qualified people in seafood processing and aquaculture, so if this scholarship helps recruit people to those programs and helps get people to work in these industries, we’ll be very pleased.”

David Bonnell, former head of MI’s School of Fisheries who retired in 2009, speaks fondly of Hann’s abilities and passion as an instructor and credits Hann for impacting the careers of many aquaculture and seafood processing professionals. “Sid’s teaching method was dynamic and innovative and proved successful in captivating the interests of his students and encouraging them to wholeheartedly participate in both classroom and laboratory sessions,” said David Bonnell, who has spearheaded the campaign to raise funds in support of the Sidney A. Hann Memorial Scholarship. “His overwhelming enthusiasm and passion for the subject matter served to encourage many of his students to attain rewarding careers in the seafood and aquaculture industries. In fact, many of those students hold very senior leadership roles within these industries today.”

Hann had extensive knowledge of the seafood and aquaculture industries and his insights and views were regularly sought after by professionals in these sectors. He was highly regarded throughout the province for his in-depth understanding and grasp of the complexities of the fishery and on several occasions was commissioned by federal and provincial agencies to produce audio, visual and print materials to assist Canada’s seafood industry.

Sidney A. Hann passed away on June 10, 2010 at the age of 64. “Sid was instrumental in the late 1960’s in developing a crab fishery within this province. A number of Sid’s friends and colleagues feel that there would be no more fitting a memorial to him than to establish a scholarship at the Institute in his name,” said David Bonnell.

Individuals, organizations and associations interested in contributing to the Sidney A. Hann Memorial Scholarship can do so by forwarding their donation to the Marine Institute, P.O. Box 4920, St. John’s, NL, AIC 5R3, Attention: Charles Dyke.