He characterized the history between the countries as a “low-level boiling feud that erupts every once in a while.”

You can read the entire article and see the interview with Len at CTV Winnipeg.

The University of Manitoba, as it exists now, was established in 1877 through an act of provincial legislation to allow various colleges in Manitoba to confer degrees to their students. These colleges, operating in various neighbourhoods and municipalities, worked together through an affiliation with the UM to increase their programming and adopt the degree programs present in Eastern Canada at the time. The original founding colleges were the Catholic St. Boniface College in St. Boniface, Manitoba; the Presbyterian Manitoba College in Winnipeg, Manitoba; and the Anglican St. John’s College in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Old St. John’s College at the turn of the century, courtesy of Archives and Special Collections

At its inception, UM was more like a network of affiliated institutions collaborating on educational matters such as mandatory courses and graduation criteria- but operating in a diverse way according to the linguistic and denominational needs of the communities they served.

The UM continued to expand, with more colleges joining the university such as the Manitoba Medical College in 1882, the Methodist Wesley College (later United College) in 1888, the Manitoba College of Pharmacy in 1901, and the Manitoba Agriculture College (the current administration building) in 1906. The latter was the beginning of the Fort Garry Campus.

Astute students may make two observations. Wesley College? Doesn’t that share a name with the Wesley Hall at the University of Winnipeg? That is correct! In fact, Wesley College and Manitoba College merged to become United College which, in 1967, became the University of Winnipeg. Another college, Brandon College, which joined in 1938, also became its own institution in 1967 as Brandon University. More recently, the Université de Saint-Boniface (USB) became its own institution in 2011. Throughout its history, different institutions have joined or left UM depending on their educational needs. St. Andrew’s College, for example, is one of the newest additions to UM network, while USB remains affiliated with UM. In some instances, the affiliation process isn’t as simple as just joining. The Catholic St. Paul’s College, for example, joined UM in 1931 when the Catholic Church bought the former Manitoba College building, before eventually relocating to the Fort Garry Campus. As illustrated, UM is much, much more than just the Fort Garry Campus.

Another observation astute students may have made related to the Fort Garry Campus. Despite the Agricultural College joining in 1906, the UM has operated since 1877. Where, then, was the UM? Until the 1960s the UM actually had a downtown campus on Broadway. Its centrality made it a stone’s throw from many of the colleges affiliated with the university. The building sadly no longer exists, and Memorial Park is where the campus once was. All that remains are some of the stones from the foundation which are outside of the Armes Building. See if you can spot them by the date inscribed on the stone next time you have classes there. In addition to the Broadway campus, the UM also made use of the former Law Courts as the university grew.

Today, UM has four colleges with their own student associations and student services: St. Andrew’s College, St. John’s College, St. Paul’s College, and University College. Consider joining one of the colleges to find your community on campus. UM also has numerous campuses and programs providing education and research opportunities across the city of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba.

This has been but one quick dive into the history of UM. The Archives and Special Collections has compiled a list of web resources with information on UM’s past. For students wanting to engage with UM’s past, the Archives and Special Collections are located on the third floor of Elizabeth Dafoe Library and can be contacted at archives[at]umanitoba[dot]ca. Thanks to the dedicated work of archivists and researchers, students in the present can better understand what it was like for students in the past, and to connect the programs and education of UM in a larger chain of post-secondary education in the province and Western Canada.

To listen to the full conversation you can find the link here.

Dr. Harmeet Chawla, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences

“These findings provide us with a better understanding of how modern-day bread wheat emerged and adapted to growing conditions around the world, and also contribute to advancing research aimed at improving current wheat crops,” says Chawla.

Emerging in the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East between eight and eleven thousand years ago, bread wheat resulted from the interbreeding of durum wheat and the wild grass Aegilops tauschii.

The study reveals that this initial hybridization event to place around on the banks of the southern Caspian Sea. This created a genetic bottleneck making the new bread wheat lineage distinct from its wild grass relatives.

The robust adaptability of the new grain allowed cultivation to spread rapidly across a wide range of climates and soils, feeding the rise of sedentary civilization in the region. Further hybridization by farmers across this increasing agricultural region then led to improvements in gluten producing the elastic and fluffy bread dough we know today.

Harmeet Chawla is an assistant professor of plant genomics whose research focuses on genetics of nutrition and disease resistance in agriculturally important plants like canola, oats and wheat.

“In my research program I seek to leverage genomics and genetic engineering to design climate change resilient crops for Canada and the open-source data made available by the OWWC is helping us to identify genes that will protect wheat crops,” says Chawla. We also hope to mine this wild grass species for climate resilient genes that can be bred into elite wheat cultivars.”

Read the full publication in Nature.

Spring 2024 Bachelor of Arts honours graduates Light Uchechukwu and Catherine Nadine St. John are no exception. The Faculty of Arts connected with each of them to ask about their time at UM:

What degree and program are you graduating with?

Light Uchechukwu: I’m graduating with a B.A. Honours degree in psychology. I have always loved learning about human behavior and how our minds function. I have a strong passion for learning and speaking out about mental health, and I’ve always wanted to help people who are struggling. 

Catherine Nadine St. John: I’m graduating with a B.A. Honours degree in history. I really, really love history- the reasons are too long to list here! I must thank Dr. Jorge Nállim, who encouraged me to do an honours degree, which was invaluable to me, and I really enjoyed it.

What is one thing that stands out to you from your time in the Faculty of Arts?

LU: Working alongside Dr. Kristin Reynolds, my thesis advisor during my last year. I learned a lot about research, specifically qualitative research. (Ed. Note: Her thesis is being refined for a first-authored publication.)

CS: It’s absolutely the community I had with my fellow students and in the history department generally. I’ve done nothing alone!

What are your plans for the future?

LU: To do my master’s degree in psychology. Throughout my time at UM, I have developed a love for research and would love to keep participating in different projects. I also hope to become a practicing psychologist.

CS: To pursue an MA in environmental history at UBC, which I’m both excited about and scared for! Thanks to all the professors who helped me apply for graduate school and offered advice on my applications.

What experiences outside the classroom were you most grateful for?

LU: The time I got to spend with my teammates (Ed note: Light was the captain of the Bisons women’s volleyball team). Getting to play the game we love at UM and playing in big games such as the CanWest Championships are moments that will stay with me forever. My team made my time here at UM the best I could ever ask for.  

CS: I love the U of M, partly because I know I was incredibly lucky. My cohort was really close, and it was great to make so many friends! I’m grateful for all the other students I met through UMHiSA (UM history student’s association). My time at the university would have been a lot lonelier without it. I’m also grateful for the URA, which allowed me to work with both Dr. Roisin Cossar and Dr. Kiera Ladner, which was really invaluable research experience. I’m continuing my work with them this summer, and it’s been very fun. 

Tell us about one of your favourite moments in the Faculty of Arts.

LU: Taking the Science of Intuition class with Dr. Launa Leboe-McGowan. I will always remember the conversations, content, and people in that seminar. We had great discussions on the science of human intuition, and I remember continually leaving that class wanting to share everything we discussed with my friends and family. 

CS: I don’t know if I can narrow my favorite specific thing, so I’ll pick a broad thing: all my seminars! In no specific order, Jocelyn Thorpe’s class on Canadian environmental history is why I’m doing the MA program I am, Jorge Nállim’s classes are why I’m learning Spanish, David Parent’s class on Urban Indigeneity was awesome, as was Jordan Howell’s class, David Churchill’s, Esyllt Jones’, Jennifer Dueck’s, and Orysia Kulick’s. Thanks for all of your help and teaching!

Any final messages?

LU: If I could go back, I would tell my first year self to be more outgoing, step out of my comfort zone, and talk to people. The people you meet are the best part of your degree.

CS: Congratulations everyone! Be excellent to each other!

Uchechukwu and St. John will convocate along with over 600 other Faculty of Arts undergraduate students in two ceremonies on June 4, 2024.

University Gold Medal
Logan Hiebert
B.A. (English)

The University Gold Medal is an opportunity to honour the best in the undergraduate graduating class of each faculty. A gold medal is awarded to the undergraduate student in the Faculty of Arts who has achieved the highest standing. This year’s recipient is Logan Hiebert. Logan is graduating with a B.A. general degree with a major in English and a minor in psychology. She is also the winner of the 2024 Governor General’s Silver Medal for the undergraduate student who achieves the highest academic standing in a Bachelor degree program at UM.

Logan’s love of literature and the confidence she gained going through the English program led to a welcoming, encouraging and enjoyable degree experience. “I am most grateful for the way my professors helped me to succeed outside of the classroom,” shared Logan. “A number of them encouraged me to grow as a student and a writer and to pursue further education.” She will cherish this as she moves on to study law at Dalhousie University this fall.

“My favourite class of my degree was, without a doubt, Writing Romantic Women with Dr. Michelle Faubert,” shared Logan. “I genuinely loved every text that we studied, and although the class was one of the most challenging of my degree, it was also the most rewarding.”

Reflecting upon her time and success in the Faculty of Arts, Logan reminds students just starting out in their education that even though university is definitely hard work, it is important to remember to “relax.” “Grades mean less than you think, and they say nothing about who you are as a person. You are not your grades.”

Faculty of Arts Honours Medal
Madissen Sitka
B.A. Honours (Psychology)

Madissen Sitka is this year’s recipient of the Faculty of Arts Honours Medal awarded to the student with the highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts four-year Honours Degree Program. Madissen is graduating with a major in Psychology.

Like many honours students, Madissen developed a passion for research during her undergraduate degree. She began volunteering in the Hearts and Minds Lab in 2021, where her interest in child, family and maternal mental health flourished. This fall, she will continue her research journey pursuing a master’s in clinical psychology at UM. “Being an active part of a community that celebrates and encourages student research and cross-faculty collaboration has allowed me to accumulate a vast set of research and interpersonal skills and make lifelong friends,” said Madissen. “I am extremely grateful for the mentorship, advice and support of faculty, research assistants and graduate students in the Hearts and Minds Lab and sincerely look forward to continuing to collaborate with this group in the future.”

One of Madissen’s favourite moments was presenting her undergraduate honours thesis in April. “It was exciting to present and share the piece of research I had been working so hard on for several months to peers, professors and my parents! It was really special to share this moment with the two people who have offered unconditional love and support throughout my undergraduate journey.”

Faculty of Arts Advanced Medal
Hunter Lupyrypa
B.A. Advanced (Psychology)

The award for the highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts four-year Advanced Degree Program goes to Hunter Lupyrypa. During her undergraduate degree, she majored in psychology and minored in sociology.

Studying at UM opened Hunter’s eyes to “the complexity of the world around us, and the idea that it is possible to become an expert in truly any subject – giving me a deeper appreciation of the idea that every job, and every role is truly so important.”

Hunter came into university thinking she would do something within the field of science or healthcare. Because university offers the chance to explore different areas, she took the opportunity to try math, finance, criminology and more. Over time, she discovered an interest in observing people and in understanding the things occurring around her. The combination of studying psychology and sociology and witnessing the impact counselling/therapy has had on people close to her has led her to pursue a master’s in counselling psychology next. “I fully believe in taking your time to figure out what it is you want to pursue long term,” said Hunter. “And, even once you’ve made that decision, it is okay to still be unsure at times! There are so many things out there and not everyone’s path needs to look the same.”

Faculty of Arts General Medal
Joshua Brandt
B.A. General (English)

Joshua Brandt is the 2024 recipient of the Faculty of Arts General Medal, awarded for highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts three-year General Degree Program. Joshue completed a major in English and a minor in history.

Joshua’s academic choices have been driven by his immense appreciation for literature and language. “I’ve been spellbound by stories and the mellifluousness of language since my youth,” he shared. “The characters with whom I grew intimate will never leave me – Hamlet, Britomart, Redcrosse, Falstaff and Hall. All are indelible. He added that studying history has “contextualized my world, ignited an interest in philosophy and deeply fascinated me.” Joshua is grateful to have been able to share and hone his interests and talents as a reporter and editor at The Manitoban for two years. He leaves fellow students and graduates with a message, “In all things, Soli Deo Gloria.”

Congratulations to the Faculty of Arts medal winners.

At its 2024 UM Convocation, the University of Manitoba will confer degrees, diplomas and certificates to over 4,300 graduates.

Visit the UM Student Instagram  and Faculty of Arts Instagram to learn more about some of the students graduating in 2024. You’ll find congratulations messages from fellow graduates and professors, stories about fellow graduates, more information about convocation and tips for new alumni. You can also join the ‘Convocation conversation’ on social media by following #umanitoba2024.

Asian Heritage Month is celebrated at UM with stories and events that highlight members of various Asian communities, along with the research, teaching and advocacy work they do.

 “Asian Heritage Month is an opportunity to increase understanding and appreciation of the diversity and richness of Asian cultures, communities and individuals, and to recognize the impactful work and accomplishments of so many at UM,” says Tina Chen, Vice-Provost (Equity) and Distinguished Professor of Chinese History.

“Asian Heritage builds solidarities amongst different Asian communities as we continue our work to dismantle oppression and eliminate anti-Asian racism, and all racisms, on our campuses. At UM, we commit to carrying forward the work from the National Forums on Anti-Asian Racism.”

UM research, teaching and community engagement advances critical understanding of the lives and cultures of Asians in Canada and globally. During her time as director of the UM Institute for the Humanities from 2018 to 2024, professor of English, theatre, film & media Hee-jung Serenity Joo has created models that centre community knowledges and creative projects in post-secondary learning, research and action for anti-racism. Another example is the interdisciplinary project Dried Fish Matters (anthropology), which focusses on a fisheries sub-sector particularly important in Asia and Africa, where women comprise a significant portion of this workforce. Asian Studies courses in the Faculty of Arts further provide opportunities to learn Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages and to study the cultures, politics, and histories of Asian nations, people, and diaspora.

Read on for stories, resources and upcoming events that are open to all.

Celebrating our unique stories

Watch for related content on UM platforms through May in celebration of Asian Heritage Month.

The Racial Equity and Inclusion Alliance (REIA) is a student-led community group founded last year by fourth year Faculty of Arts student Allisther De Castro. She is proud of her Filipino heritage and eager to promote multiculturalism and inclusion within the university. (Learn more about Allisther’s story!)

This year REIA hosted its first Empowerment Gala to recognize the diverse cultures at UM. The gala, which took place Sunday, Mar. 31, awarded racialized students and staff based on accomplishments in athletics and sportsmanship, academics, visual and performing arts, and advocacy and representation. 

As a first-generation academic and former international student in Canada, assistant professor of pharmacy Abdullah Al Maruf supports justice, equity, diversity and inclusiveness in his personal and professional life. He co-founded a research network to connect scientists interested in pharmacogenomics research in Bangladesh (BdPGRN) and also founded Prospective Bangladeshi Students in Canadian Universities, a not-for-profit, virtual peer-to-peer support and discussion platform. 

Wayne Chan [BSc/93, BA/00], who works as a data analyst at UM, is also a bit of a history detective — his passion for tracking down stories and tracing unknown histories has led to gems like Winnipeg’s forgotten song and Lost campus, a Google Earth tour that recreates historical UM spaces. His latest, about decoding cryptograms in an antique silk dress (CBC), came from his hobby in cryptography and codebreaking and made world-wide news.

Dr. Gigi Osler [BSc/92, MD/92] is a UM assistant professor of medicine who in 2018 became the first female surgeon and racialized woman elected as president of the Canadian Medical Association. Born in Winnipeg to immigrant parents from India and the Philippines, she was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 2022. “We have to be advocates for justice, racial justice, equity and social change,” she says.

Associate Vice-President (Administration) Raman Dhaliwal [B.Comm/07] is the first racially marginalized woman to hold the position and was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2022. “Most of the time when I’m at different meetings, there aren’t a lot of people my age, my colour and even my gender sitting around the table with me,” she notes. Dhaliwal counts her parents, who left their homes in India to start a new life in Canada, as her biggest inspiration.

You may be familiar with the colourful artwork of acclaimed Winnipeg artist Takashi Iwasaki [BFA(Hons)/06] — including UM tunnel murals) — he and his wife Shih-Han Iwasaki are currently pursuing graduate degrees at UM. Iwasaki, who is back doing his MFA, grew up in northern Japan and arrived here at age 20, while Shih-Han, who is pursuing her master’s degree at Asper, is from Taiwan. Their two children speak both Japanese and Mandarin, along with English. (Watch for Takashi’s story later this month!)

Community events and resources

Join the learning journey on advancing equity, diversity, accessibility and anti-oppression at UM.

Support the work being done by the Office of Equity Transformation, UM’s Anti-Racism Taskforce and the Office of Anti-Racism (Rady Faculty of Health Sciences).

Check out the many ethnocultural student groups on campus.

Events

Stop by Taste of Asia – Asian Pop Fest! CN Stage at the Forks, May 25 and 26, 2-7 PM daily. Food, music, dance, art, fashion and more! Organized by Foodtrip and Asian Heritage Society MB.

Enjoy special screenings at the FascinAsian Film Festival, coming to Winnipeg May 24 to 26. Celebrating Asian perspectives, culture and integrity in film and media.

Check out additional local events throughout the month listed at Asian Heritage Society of Manitoba.

Watch CanAsian Arts On the Move: An online tour of Canada through its Asian artists in one evening! May 29, 8 P.M.

Upcoming: National Asian Heritage Symposium in Winnipeg. Nov. 6 to 9, 2024.

Resources

See “A Brief History of Asian Canadians,” “Asians in Early Canada,” and “Demographics of Asian Canadians in Manitoba” (Asian Heritage Society of Manitoba).

Winnipeg Public Library Guides: Asian Heritage. Deepen your learning about Asian history and heritage, with information that focuses on Manitoba and Canada. Resources including historical events and timelines, book recommendations!

Visit the Virtual Museum of Asian Canadian Culture and Heritage. 

Sean Carleton, a historian at the University of Manitoba, said the documents provide important evidence to back what Indigenous leaders long argued and suspected.

“These documents help us see the disjuncture between the ways Canada presents itself on the world stage and what it’s doing behind closed doors,” he said.

“There’s a disingenuous nature to the way that Canada presents itself and the work that it does to facilitate ongoing colonization.”

Read more

“Since telegraph companies charged by the number of words in a telegram, codes to compress a message to reduce the number of words became popular,” wrote researcher Wayne Chan from the University of Manitoba, when explaining the topic in an academic paper published in August of 2022.

For example, Chan notes, “A phrase such as “The crew are all drunk” may be substituted with a codeword such as “CRIMPING.”

It’s not all that different from what people do with texts on their cell phones today, Chan explains.

Read here

It has twists and turns that will leave you questioning “how did he figure that out?, and will leave you with possibly even more questions than answers at the end. One thing is certain, none of this could have happened without the brilliant mind of one UM expert.

So grab some popcorn and buckle up, the story begins now!

Picture it, Maine 2013!

Archeological curator Sara Rivers Cofield was out antiquing with her mom. Sara is an avid collector of Victorian-era clothing and she had admired a bronze-coloured dress a couple times but the $100 price tag was a bit too steep for her. But on this day her mom convinced her to buy the silk bustle dress and this is where our adventure really takes off.

The Victorian-era silk dress containing coded messages in a hidden pocket. (Image courtesy of  Sara Rivers Cofield.)

When Sara got the dress home she examined it and to her surprise, found a hidden pocket. Tucked away from prying eyes was two pieces of paper with a series of sentences made up of random words. Sara had a feeling they weren’t so random but perhaps a mysterious handwritten message or a secret code. She posted the papers on her blog and for the next 9 years those two pieces of paper became one of the world’s toughest codes to crack and was dubbed the “Silk Dress cryptogram”  it was on the same list of uncrackable codes as the Zodiac Killer cipher.

Hidden pocket of dress. (Image courtesy of Sara Rivers Cofield.)

Enter Wayne Chan

By day, Wayne Chan is an analyst with the Centre for Earth Observation Science at UM, but by night, he dabbles as a historian, storyteller and has a panache for code-cracking. When he found the “Silk Dress cryptogram” online, he knew immediately those words meant something. But what was the code saying, who was it meant for and why was it hidden away in that dress? These questions would take him on an unexpected journey that was hiding in his own backyard.

Right out of the gate, Wayne knew it was a telegraph code. But there are hundreds, if not thousands of different types of codes used to send to telegraphs, so narrowing it down was going to be a challenge. He began scouring through all the telegraph books online and held in the University of Manitoba archives to systematically rule them out. He then had to fan out his search to other universities and federal archives. His big breakthrough happened during the holiday season of 2022.

Wayne discovered the messages were encoded using a 19th-century telegraphic weather code used by the United States Army Signal Corps, which served as the national weather service for the U.S. during the late 1800s. That now narrowed down the age of the dress to roughly 125 years old.

Code sheet 1. (Image courtesy of Sara Rivers Cofield.)

These are the pieces of paper (Code sheet 1 & 2) found in the dress and what you are looking for here is the order of the words, Wayne says this is what is the most important item to read in this transmission. The first codeword had to be the station name, followed by the codeword representing the pressure and temperature, etc. Wayne says “The codewords for each weather element were not mutually exclusive. The same codeword might be used for more than one weather element, hence the position of the word on the line was notable in determining its meaning.”

Code sheet 2. (Image courtesy of Sara Rivers Cofield.)

Getting to this point required the help of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Experts there were instrumental in finding the American weather records from the late 1800’s. Now, Wayne was getting closer to cracking the code, but there was one more surprise waiting to be found.

Using records from NOAA, Wayne was now able to pinpoint the exact cities in the U.S. mentioned in the code and even the date, Sunday May 27th, 1888. And to his surprise, several of those codes were from Canada, including Winnipeg.

Go back to the codes and look at the last six messages of Code Sheet 2.  That is where it says “GARRY”  and that is referring to Fort Garry, a Hudson’s Bay Company fur trading post located near the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. The observations were not actually taken at the fort but rather it was the name chosen for the meteorological station. We know this because the fort was demolished in 1882.

In fact, the weather station the code is referring to is UM’s St. John’s College weather station. In 1888, St. John’s College was home to the official weather station for Winnipeg. It was located in the heart of what we now know as downtown Winnipeg on Main Street and Church Avenue (a Manitoba Public Insurance building is now there).

St. John’s College weather station 1876 – Photo from UM Archives

Mystery solved, right?!

Well, yes and no. The code was definitely cracked which was a huge triumph for Wayne and marveled by fellow code crackers around the world but there were/are a couple loose ends to tidy up.

As for who owned the dress, Sara noted a nametag stitched into the bodice of the dress that read “Bennett”. Wayne discovered in the 1888 Signal Service annual report it lists a number of women who were voluntary weather observers, including a “Miss Mary C. Bennett” who was a voluntary weather observer in Fairview, Fulton County, Illinois.

Name tag sewn on bodice of dress. (Image courtesy of Sara Rivers Cofield.)

Wayne and Sara have not been able to 100 per cent connect the woman and the dress together.

Some people have speculated because the weather was coded on a Sunday, perhaps it was an important date— and this is where it gets more like a Mission Impossible movie—was she up to something nefarious. One detail Sara noted about the pocket in the dress is that it was in a very discreet location and very private, making her and Wayne wonder why were these two pieces of paper tucked away essentially in a secret compartment and why did it include Canada? What were you up to, Ms. Bennett?

Any code crackers out there?

This is where you come in—all you internet sleuths—can you crack these final two mysteries?

We skipped over a lot of amazing, intricate details in this article and it would be a shame if you didn’t read all the lengths Wayne went to, to crack this code that baffled some of the top cipher busters around the world. You can read his full report on how he cracked the “Silk Dress cryptogram”.

You can also see this frock up close and hear more from these two dress detectives in this video .