Convocation Schedule

Graduates will check-in at the Joe Doupe gym, in the basement of the Brodie Building. We ask that graduates arrive at 1:00 pm in order to get their cap, gown and procession card. For some general tips on how to prepare for your Convocation, please review the emails that were sent to you in preparation of graduation.

Grad Photos

A UM photographer will be at the ceremony to take a photo of each graduate as they cross the stage and of the ceremony itself. Graduates will be able to order their photos through Artona.

Guests

Guests can attend in person or stream the ceremonies online.

For guests attending in person, the ceremony will be located in the Brodie Atrium, in the Brodie Centre at 727 McDermont Avenue. The doors will open at 1:00, and guests will be seated on a first come first serve basis.

You can view the ceremony schedules on our Convocation Dates and Times page.

We look forward to celebrating your graduation this Fall! Join the conversation online by using #umanitoba2023 to celebrate.

Parking

If you plan to drive to the ceremony, you will need to make your own parking arrangements. There are public parking garages and street parking available – you can view parking options on the Bannatyne Parking Map. There is no complementary parking provided.

The Bannatyne Campus is also well served by transit, you can visit Winnipeg Transit’s Website for details on bus routes.

Not Attending

If you are not coming to Convocation, you do not need to advise us. We will send your parchment through regular mail to your address listed in Aurora, two weeks after the ceremony.

Graduation Pow Wow

The Annual Traditional Graduation Pow Wow is held in the Spring. Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) graduates who participate in Fall 2023 convocation are eligible to participate in next year’s annual Traditional Graduation Pow Wow on May 4, 2024. You are also eligible to receive an Indigenous Graduation Stole* to wear at Fall convocation.

*If you attended the Graduation Pow Wow on May 6, 2023, this is a reminder to wear your Indigenous graduation stole at your convocation ceremony. Due to limited stock, there may not be extras to give out if you forget yours. If one can be given out to borrow, it must be returned. A deposit of personal ID such as a license or credit card must be made to ensure return. Decisions will be made daily. Thank you for your cooperation in advance.

More information will be sent out next term. Students graduating this fall can look for registration information next April on our Indigenous Student Experience page.

Students become members by signing up in Aurora; you can find more information here.   

In awarding these scholarships to students, the college community will gather on November 5th, including graduating students, alumni, and honorary guests, notably former Mayor Brian Bowman, who will be recognized at our annual convocation.    

Kicking off the day on November 5th will be the Founder’s Day service, where the college will recognize past college members honoring those who are no longer with us. Following this service, the celebrations will continue as the college welcomes alumni into the Robert Schultz Galleria for a luncheon recognizing alumni of 25, 40, 50, and 60 years with a special college gift.    

Following a morning of conversation and delicious food, the formal convocation will begin where the following individuals will be recognized:   

• 2022/23 Scholarship and Bursary Award Winners    
• Brian Bowman – Doctor of Canon Law – Honorary Degree    
• Senator Patricia Bovey – Doctor of Canon Law – Honorary Degree    
• Vincent Soloman – Honorary Fellowship    
• Dr. Brenda Cantelo – Retired Fellow – Fellows Recognition Award 

The college looks forward to celebrating the success of our students, fellows, and alumni on November 5th in the Robert Schultz Galleria and St John’s college chapel. 

Read more about our scholarship and bursary opportunities for UM students. 

NAVIGATING THE PLATFORM

On the day of the ceremony you’re attending, visit umanitoba.ca/convocation where you’ll find a link to enter the virtual ceremony. We highly recommend logging in 30 minutes before the ceremony starts. This will give you some time to explore the platform, get familiar with how it works and access all the fun Convocation features and activities.

• Once you log in, you’ll land in the event lobby; think of this as the reception hall. From here, you can find links to anywhere you’d like to go in the event space. If you ever get lost, you can always return to the lobby by clicking the University of Manitoba logo at the top left of your window.
• Start by watching the “Welcome to Convocation” video. Look for the screen that says “Start Here.”
• Then, start exploring by using the navigation boxes at the bottom of the screen or the small menu at the top right of your window.
• To connect with fellow attendees in real time, use the yellow chat button at the bottom right of the screen. To find someone, click on their name or type their name in the chat’s search bar.
• The ceremony program can be found on the poster board in the centre right of your screen. The program contains a list of all graduates, award winners, Honorary Degree recipients and messages from UM’s President and Chancellor.
• The live stream will change in real time before each ceremony, so if you log in to the virtual space before or after your event, another ceremony may be streaming. To replay a ceremony after the fact, all ceremonies will be archived after Convocation concludes.
• Above all, don’t worry about missing the start of the ceremony. When it’s about to start, a banner will appear on the screen prompting you to head to the main stage. Once the ceremony has started, you can pause it, but you cannot start the ceremony before the posted time.

ENGAGING WITH THE CONTENT

Convocation’s virtual component isn’t just a live stream; it’s an interactive experience! Here are some of the things you can explore on the platform:

• Take a selfie at the virtual photo booth! Add stickers and a graduation cap, then share the picture on social media. Don’t forget to tag the UM social media channels (@UManitobaand @UMStudent) and use #umanitoba2023.
• Visit the awards gallery to see the medal winners and teaching award recipients.
• Get to know Honorary Degree recipients by reading their citations.

If you have trouble navigating any part of the virtual platform or experience any technical difficulties, don’t hesitate to ask a question in the live chat and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Congratulations to this year’s class of UM graduates and enjoy your day!

GOVERNOR GENERAL’S SILVER MEDAL

Emily Morrison, Kinesiology and Recreation Management

Growing up in Hartney, Manitoba, Morrison was active in all manner of sports like figure skating, volleyball, softball, and dance while also harbouring a keen interest in math and science. Studying Kinesiology at UM was “the perfect combination” of her interests. Morrison is now graduating with a bachelor of kinesiology and the Governor General’s Silver Medal, awarded for outstanding achievement at the undergraduate level.

As part of her degree, Morrison completed the Option in Aging, gaining knowledge on how to best serve Canada’s aging population. Her experience with sports, and the injuries that often result, helped her understand the struggles of not being able to participate in activities you enjoy.

“I hope to help people get active and remain active by sharing the knowledge I have gained, including the benefit that physical activity can have on health and wellbeing. More specifically, its potential to prevent or delay chronic disease development and its benefits for the older adult population,” explains Morrison.

She had the opportunity to do so firsthand in her Leisure and Aging class. “I interviewed my grandma multiple times over the course of two months. I learned about the barriers that she faces to physical activity, considered her interests and what is accessible to her living rurally, and used my knowledge from this class and others to work with her to come up with ideas for how she can overcome those barriers and stay active.”

To complement her studies, Morrison volunteered with St. Amant’s adult recreation program and assisted with research studies on balance control and youth athletes. She was also part of the Bisons track and field teams from 2020-2022 competing in triple and long jump.

Morrison plans to pursue a master’s degree in physical therapy and build a career on helping individuals restore their optimal physical function and return to engaging in the activities they love.

UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA GOLD MEDAL

Kaylene Normand, College of Rehabilitation Sciences

Kaylene Normand wasn’t sure which of the many healthcare fields she wanted to pursue. This fall, she is graduating with a bachelor of respiratory therapy and UM’s Gold Medal, awarded for highest standing in an undergraduate faculty, college or school.

Her motivation is personal, as she explains: “Growing up with poorly controlled asthma, I was familiar with the frustrations and fear that came along with chronic respiratory disease. My asthma often prevented me from participating in activities the way that I would have liked to and made me feel left out as a child. It’s my hope that as a respiratory therapist, I can help people with respiratory disease get the appropriate treatment so that they can do the things they love without having to worry about being able to breathe. Overall, I chose to pursue respiratory therapy because I wanted to help people with respiratory disease improve their quality of life.”

Part of her studies included participating in research projects. Normand received an Undergraduate Research Award to join a team at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba investigating the developmental origins of chronic lung disease. She also assisted with a literature review regarding the long-term effects of COVID-19 and was listed as second author – her first publication.

Normand sees research experience as invaluable to her future career and hopes to continue to contribute to the growth of the respiratory therapy profession in this area.

“The hospital is a frightening environment as a patient, and often a place where people feel that they lose their autonomy and control. The way that I believe I can best combat this is to help patients and their families become well informed by providing them with high quality education; something that I can do best via being involved in research initiatives and learning from other health-care providers with different areas of expertise.”

Morrison will graduate during the Fort Garry Convocation ceremonies on Oct 17. Normand will graduate during the Bannatyne Ceremony on Oct 26. Find out more about Fall Convocation 2023.

The pair will receive the title for demonstrating outstanding distinction in research, scholarship, creative endeavours, professional service and teaching. Up to 3 Distinguished Professors may be named each year, with no more than 25 full-time professors allowed to hold the title at once. Distinguished Professors are appointed by the University’s Board of Governors on the recommendation of a selection committee, which is chaired by the university’s President and Vice-Chancellor.

This year’s recipients have made significant and meaningful impacts in their fields, gaining worldwide recognition in the process.

Dr. Lori Wilkinson

Dr. Wilkinson’s action-oriented research has been highly influential on policies throughout the world, especially those pertaining to refugees and migrants who are often overcoming significant trauma. As the Canada Research Chair in Migration Futures, Dr. Wilkinson and team are working to generate and share immigration and refugee research to support policy decisions and programming to ultimately help newcomers smoothly transition to living in Canada.

As founder and director of Immigration Research West, with $13 million in grants spanning three continents over the last two decades, Dr. Wilkinson is a highly sought-after expert by governments and not-for-profit organizations. She has assisted governments in Canada, France, Germany and Sweden with the resettlement of Syrian, Yazidi and Afghan refugees and served on the boards of newcomer organizations in five Canadian provinces.

Dr. Wilkinson goes to great lengths to ensure that her work is available and understandable to the organizations that could benefit from it the most. Her philanthropic approach to her sociological endeavours makes her a wonderful teacher and mentor, a prolific expert and an award-winning scholar.

As a professor, Dr. Wilkinson has supervised numerous graduate and post-doctoral students, many of whom have been international students. She was named Professor of the Year in 2008 and received a Teaching Excellence award from the Faculty of Arts in 2017, demonstrating the highest aptitude and raising the international profile of UM.

Dr. Can-Ming Hu

Dr. Hu came to the University of Manitoba in 2005. As an esteemed instructor and pioneering researcher, he used his contacts in China, Germany and at UM to attract over 60 first-rate graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and visiting scientists, many of whom have gone on to take faculty positions.

Dr. Hu was named an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Distinguished Lecturer in 2018. During that year, he would give an astonishing 53 lectures in 8 different countries, at some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including the University of Paris-Saclay, Johns Hopkin and MIT. Dr. Hu and team also managed to publish eight papers and two patents in 2018.

Dedicated not only to his research, Dr. Hu is also an exemplary teacher, having taught all levels, from first year to graduate courses. Widely respected and consistently highly rated, he has mentored numerous graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. In the spirit of learning collaboration, Dr. Hu has also hosted several international workshops, including Magnetic North in Canada and the International Symposium on Quantum Hall Systems and Quantum Materials in Germany.

Dr. Hu’s tenacity and deep commitment to research have led to influential publications and patents, along with millions in research funding and cutting-edge training opportunities for students at UM and throughout the world.

Author David Robertson and palliative care researcher Dr. Linda J. Kristjanson will be recognized for their distinguished achievements in the arts and scholarship.

Discover their impact and watch them address the graduates at each of their ceremonies as they receive UM’s highest honour, beginning on Oct. 17.

Dr. Linda J. Kristjanson
BN, MN (Manitoba), PhD (Arizona), AO
Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 3:00 p.m.

Dr. Linda Kristjanson has taught us how to have the most difficult conversations, and how to compassionately care for patients and their families facing grim certainties.

Every day, her impact is felt around the world. It began in 1991 when her dissertation exposed the challenges people face when dealing with palliative care. She uncovered the questions and concerns families had but couldn’t bring themselves to ask or say. She illuminated a new field of query and went on to improve palliative care for all.

The University of Manitoba spotted the enormity of her talent early on. In 1993 it recognized her with the University of Manitoba Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation Rh award, which is given to early-career researchers showing exceptional promise.

Today, Dr. Kristjanson is considered a pioneer in the field of palliative care, celebrated for the vast contributions she has made. In 2012, for instance, she received the Bethlehem Griffith Research Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also received the Canadian Nurses Foundation Ross Award for Nursing Leadership in Research, and was named the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s Balfour Mount Professorship in Palliative Medicine, as well as Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and an Officer of the Order of Australia.

Dr. Kristjanson is one of the most highly cited researchers in her field and she has procured more than 110 grants totaling more than $30 million dollars from organizations in Canada, the USA and Australia. This is an outstanding sum matched by few other nursing research scientists.

She is a gifted collaborator, having published with 150 different authors across a number of countries, including at her first alma mater where she has an ongoing relationship with UM’s Manitoba Palliative Care Research Unit.

Indeed, her connection to this university has remained strong throughout her career. Before leaving Canada in 1997 to build a program in palliative care at Edith Cowan University in Australia, she served as the co-director of the Cancer Nursing Research Centre at UM.

She left her mark on generations of palliative care nurse researchers in Manitoba and across Australia where she has led and taught for many years. She has done the same on the global stage too, through her involvement with 47 boards and committees, including the International Palliative Care Society, which she founded.

The University of Manitoba is proud to award a Doctor of Science, honoris causa, to professor Linda Kristjanson for her distinguished achievement as a scholar, leader, and a humanitarian who has improved health care everywhere.

David A. Robertson
BA (Winnipeg)
Thursday, October 19, 2023, 3:00 p.m.

David Alexander Robertson is a voice for a new generation, one that smites the stigma of mental illness and unveils truths so that Reconciliation can follow.

As a Cree boy going to school in Winnipeg, Mr. Robertson felt disconnected from his heritage, partly because his school did not teach about Indigenous cultures and histories. But he also found that textbooks on these (or any) matters were uninviting and vapid, unlike comics, which captivated him. Thinking that other children may also be disconnected from their history and textbooks like he was, he began writing graphic novels that not only enthrall, but teach. He firmly believes that understanding Indigenous cultures and Indigenous peoples’ place within Canadian history is imperative for all Canadians.

Today, having written more than 25 books, some of which are now widely used in classrooms across the country, he has brought Indigenous characters and voices into curriculum that for too long had excluded them. His book When We Were Alone, was recognized with many awards, including the 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award, and his other works, like The Misewa Saga series, have been a hit with young readers.

Mr. Robertson’s voice is an important one that is helping to spark change. His novels delve into issues of identity, family, connection, and relationships. They offer an open and frank examination of colonialism’s ongoing impact as well as systemic and overt racism.

He also weaves themes of mental health into his writing and his public speaking, providing people with a foundation to understand mental health struggles and see that speaking about it is as normal as talking about having the flu.

His books are nationally known and critically acclaimed, winning numerous awards. Indeed, Mr. Robertson’s memoir Black Water: Family, Legacy and Blood Memory earned the 2020 Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, won the Alexander Kennedy Isbister award for non-fiction, and was named Book of the Year by the Globe and Mail and Quill & Quire. He also received the 2021 Writers’ Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award.

Mr. Robertson asks people of all ages to think, to understand, to imagine, and to help build a better society. The University of Manitoba shares this vision. For his outstanding contributions in the arts and distinguished achievements, the University of Manitoba is proud to award a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, to David Alexander Robertson.