President Michael Benarroch, on Janice Ristock’s service:

It is an honour to speak here today, on behalf of the University of Manitoba to recognize Janice’s incredible service.

I have had the opportunity to do this a few times, this month, as Janice has been experiencing her “lasts”: last Provost’s Council, last Senate, last Board meeting.

It isn’t getting any easier.

She has been devoted to our academy for nearly all of her adult life and her contributions have been extraordinary.

As she retires, I want to extend my deep appreciation on behalf of the university for her leadership, alongside her commitment to our values and vision of higher education serving the greater good.  

On behalf of the University of Manitoba, I want to extend a special thank you to Dr. Ristock for her leadership on many crucial files, such as those pertaining to equity, diversity and inclusion on our campuses.

Of particular note, Dr. Ristock advanced our goals and priorities associated with Indigenous achievement.

And she helped make our campus safer and more welcoming:

• through her work improving our sexual violence policies, including the creation of a sexual violence hub;
• through her leadership in developing an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce
• and by her commitment to fostering important conversations on our campus such as those surrounding White Fragility and anti-racism.

The University also thanks her for her vision of helping students through such initiatives as:

• the expansion of experiential learning opportunities;
• the enhancement of scholarship and bursary programs and student mental health supports;
• and of course, all the work she has done to help us transition to remote learning during this most tumultuous time.

And, of course, her contributions to the renewal of leadership at the University of Manitoba abound.  A tremendously important aspect of her role has been the development of a strong, diverse and extremely capable team of deans across this university.   

I am proud to be part of a university where the Provost has demonstrated a commitment to the core values of integrity and empathy, who demonstrates dedication to teaching, learning and scholarship to advancing our university and its people.  

There is so much more to say, and so much more to thank you for.

(These notes have been lightly edited for UM Today.)

To address the growing climate challenge, UM has made significant changes to become leaders of sustainability research and practices, from building the highest standard of environmentally-sound buildings, to altering our purchasing policies to account for environmental impacts—all things you can learn more about in our Sustainability Strategy 2019-2023. Our efforts to date have earned us gold in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, and we are now aiming to earn a platinum award.

We have also recently focused on our financials. Last year, UM, alongside 14 of Canada’s other leading universities, signed a pledge to follow environmentally responsible investment practices. This pact also holds signatories to cut their institution’s emissions in half by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. UM’s Climate Action Plan, which will outline how we will meet these goals, is expected to be complete and available to the public this fall.

These are ambitious goals, and I look forward to the continued progress we need to make to reach them. We have a lot of work ahead of us, because we know we need to do things differently, as an institution and as individuals.

This year—this long pandemic year— forced us all to make behavioural changes that lessened our impact on the natural world. Indeed, ecologist Nicola Koper, from UM’s Natural Resources Institute, quickly realized that lockdowns offered an incredible opportunity to see how wildlife behaved when humans quieted their behaviour. She and her colleagues did research on 82 bird species, and almost all of them changed their habitat use during the lockdown, often increasing their use of human-altered landscapes. (UM even recently posted a cautionary notice of coyotes roaming the Fort Garry campus.)

I don’t suggest we live in lockdown, but we do need to make long-term changes to our behaviour, and the pandemic has shown us that drastic change is possible. Now we must do our part and seize this opportunity.

Our commitment must be to closely examine our past, current, and future actions to ensure that we are working towards the dismantling of racism in all its forms. And this change cannot be merely symbolic. Universities, like UM, must work in unity together to achieve this. I am honoured to be part of a community of leaders who demonstrate a sincere commitment to this effort – and I look forward to the progress we will make together going forward.

I also applaud the City of Winnipeg for declaring this week of March 21 to 27 Anti-Racism Week. I hope it will spark meaningful conversations about identifying and eliminating systemic racism and inspire people to take action towards being an anti-racist. What does that mean?

“To be anti-racist,” historian Ibram X. Kendi recently said, “is to actually say, you know what… that policy that has impoverished [that] community disproportionately, that was a racist policy and I supported it. And when I supported it, I was being racist. But I’m going to change.”

Part of what attracted me to return to UM as president was the clear commitment in the UM community to eliminate systemic racism. The President’s Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is completing an action plan, informed by our community, that will transform our campus in the coming years. Dr. Catherine Cook, UM’s first Vice-President (Indigenous), is also incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing into all we do and working to embed Indigenous leaders in every part of the University. And following the leadership of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, UM is developing an anti-racism policy that clearly defines the various expressions of racisms and provides an accountability framework for eliminating these forms of racism on our campuses.

I welcome us all to engage this week. Explore the workshops hosted by the City, UM’s new “Dismantling Racism” workshop, and the new “Our Path to Reconciliation” workshop.

Education is a crucial first step to unravelling the complex challenges we must face together. It empowers us to become an anti-racist community. There is a lot of hard work to be done, and we will do it together, for everyone.

Thank you,
Michael Benarroch

So, let’s talk.

The University of Manitoba will again join more than 200 post-secondary institutions across Canada for a conversation about mental health on Bell Let’s Talk day, which this year is on Jan. 28. I encourage everyone in our community to take part in this day as we collectively work to remove the stigma of talking about, and addressing, mental health issues. 

UM is a community that exists to help one another thrive. Though mental health challenges can be complex, asking for help should be simple. We should all feel welcome to pursue the support we need.

If you see someone in distress, or if you feel—even to the slightest degree—that you want to speak to someone, reach out today. UM offers access to professionals who are highly trained and dedicated to offering help. Asking for help is one of the strongest things we can do, and asking others if they need help can be one of the most meaningful acts of compassion.

In April of 2020, one of our faculty members, Roberta Woodgate, a Canada Research Chair in Child and Family Engagement in Health Research and Healthcare, released a study that revealed what it is like for many youth living with anxiety. And in speaking with UM Today she said something that stuck with me. She said, “Many people assume anxiety is not a real thing, but it is very real and it’s not something you ‘just get over with’.”

That is why UM developed our mental health strategy Success Through Wellness after extensive consultations with community members and experts. The program offers an array of resources and it continues to expand. This year, for instance, the Student Counselling Centre hired three new counsellors and one intake/triage specialist.

I’m proud of the UM’s holistic strategy to mental health services and I want our community to use them. And as we continue our work in providing an outstanding experience for all our community members, let us be mindful of each other, and encourage each other to seek out ways to maintain positive mental health no matter where we are currently working or studying.

Let’s talk.

Join the conversation:
#BellLetsTalk 
#umanitoba 
#umstudent 
 

Tansi. Happy New Year.

As we embark on 2021, we know that together we will continue to make our community proud. Looking forward with optimism and hope, I want to share an update on Summer Term 2021 as well as some of the innovative ways we are supporting our collective success.

Summer Term 2021 will be primarily remote

The health, safety, and well-being of our community continues to guide all decisions. That is why the University of Manitoba has decided that Summer Term 2021 will be delivered primarily remotely, with the exception of a small number of in-person courses, similar to your Winter Term experience.

We made this prudent decision as early as possible to supporting planning the rest of our academic year. Further communications regarding Summer Term will follow, and I encourage everyone to keep using the resources on our COVID-19 page, which is updated regularly and provides information on support services, study spaces, precautions and programming.

Thank you to faculty, students, staff and everyone for your continued resilience and commitment to UM’s mission and vision.

Continue to stay safe

I encourage everyone to continue to follow public health advice, despite the immense sacrifices that requires for so many of us. We all look forward to the day we can begin to safely welcome our community back to campus, but for now, we must stay the course while we continue to find new ways to support each other—students especially.

Supporting our students

I am excited about the many new initiatives we are piloting, including the launch of a Virtual Advising Help Centre, expanded options for virtual study halls, improved digital communications to students, as well as expanded workshops and counselling services.

We are also looking forward to offering an additional intake for student bursaries this winter term. More information will be coming soon. In recognition of how challenging this time has been for our students, the provincial government has provided an additional $3.1M through their Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative (MSBI). Thanks to this support and the generosity of UM alumni and donors, an additional $4 million in bursary support will be made available to provide immediate financial assistance to over 5,000 UM students.

Donors have also partnered with the University to help eligible students acquire financial support for needed technology. The COVID-19 UM Student Technology Fund has raised $245,000 to offer meaningful support to students in continuing their studies remotely.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

I am proud to lead a community that continues to advance equity, diversity and inclusion. As part of that effort, the University of Manitoba is releasing an important document: Upholding the Principles of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion During COVID-19. I encourage everyone to watch for the release of this handbook in the coming weeks as we work together to ensure EDI is embedded in all that we do.  

Our impact continues

Thank you again to our community for supporting enriching research and scholarship, and empowering students with a world-class education. As I look forward to 2021, I believe we have a bright year ahead. Our hard work, innovation and resilience have truly been worth it and we will make it to the other side of this pandemic with renewed strength and vision.

Miigwech.

Universities have stories to tell: about who they are, their values, their priorities. At the University of Manitoba, we are all a part of that story, and our visual identity—the look and feel of the materials we produce—provides us with a recognizable vehicle with which to express ourselves and connect with those who care about us and the work we do.

That visual identity, like the other components of our collective story, occasionally requires refreshing. Over time, we evolve, we grow, we change. And so do our story and the means of telling that story.

Today, the launch of our new brand begins with the introduction of a new logo.

When we started down this road a year ago, many of you shared your ideas and perspectives. Thank you for this. Our journey has been one of thoughtful dialogue and exchange. A logo has been developed that reflects who we are, acknowledges our past, and also, most importantly, looks forward to our future, to who we can and want to be. In particular, I am pleased that the new logo has been informed by Indigenous perspectives, true to this university’s vision statement.

In the accompanying video, you will see and hear from some participants who brought their voice to the brand development process. They worked closely together and with others involved in this process challenged this institution to deliver a logo that is authentic, powerful and resonant.

In the coming days and weeks, you will see our new logo revealed. My sincere hope is that all of us who are a part of the University of Manitoba community find something in the new visual expression that speaks to our understanding of this transformative institution.

This new visual identity is one part of our collective story, intended to help all us build bridges with our partners and audiences. As it launches and enables new, more meaningful connections, we will continue to engage in the vibrant conversation with our community on how the University of Manitoba can best serve its core mission of learning, discovery and outreach.

Sincerely,
David T. Barnard, Ph.D.
President and Vice-Chancellor

Two projects the U of M is well known for involve our work in Karnataka, India, and in Kenya. But the U of M has a footprint in virtually every country – the latest issue of UM Today The Magazine recently told stories of some of our 140,000 alumni living in 137 countries and the work our researchers do in far-flung places.

Such a global presence can make one ask, why? Why do we do so much work abroad? UM Today sat down with President and Vice-Chancellor David Barnard to get his perspective on the benefits U of M and our community receive from this international reach.

UM Today: What benefits do Manitobans receive from the U of M’s international partnerships?

President and Vice-Chancellor David T. Barnard.

Barnard: I think from an international research perspective, there are a number of things that directly impact the province, and then there are a number of impacts that are indirect.

To draw from some of our signature areas, for example, with respect to communicable diseases, we had people working in Kenya more than 35 years ago when the AIDS epidemic first broke out. As a result, University of Manitoba scientists were among the first people to witness it and try to figure out what this unknown disease was. That’s had real benefits in terms of developing expertise here: Dr. Alan Ronald and his students, Dr. Frank Plummer and his students. There is a long line of expertise. That’s one of the reasons the National Microbiology Lab was established in Winnipeg.

The collaborative science our researchers do attracts investments and experts here, and we have better, more cutting-edge health care because of it, and more visibility nationally on the health care front. So that’s an example of one.

I think another example from our signature areas is Arctic research. That’s something that clearly matters to Canada. Our people are world-renowned experts—these two areas I mention, there is no question we have world-leading scientists, and that attracts other people here, and it attracts research grants here.

Specifically, what does this mean to the person on the street? Well, in one case, it leads to better health care. In the other, it leads to economic advantage and also to understanding what is happening in the North, which is clearly a really big concern and opportunity for Canada and Manitoba.

So that’s one aspect of international work: what comes back here. But another aspect is what happens when people go abroad. And it’s an amazingly expanding experience. It’s a life-stretching, life-altering experience and people bring that experience back with them.

On that topic then, the U of M sets up labs across the world that we send people to. We have partnerships throughout Asia and the African continent. How do we ensure we do not bring a colonial framework to these relationships?

Allan Ronald, a pioneer in HIV/AIDS research. Credited with helping to create the discipline of infectious diseases at the U of M and across Canada.

I think our people are really good about that. In the areas already mentioned, we’ve had collaborations for years, where our people work with local people. So on the health care front, for example, on AIDS and STIs and mother-and-child care, our researchers and staff work through people locally. Our efforts help set up the offices, but the number of North Americans there is petty small; the number of local professionals and volunteers is much larger.

These relationships have enabled interested individuals from Africa and India, for example, to come here as grad students and then go to these labs to work there. We’ve had medical doctors come here for training and vice versa.

My sense from visiting our partners is that our researchers and staff work exceptionally well at embedding themselves and their staff in the local culture.

The first time I went there, part way through one of the meetings in a clinic in downtown Nairobi, I said, “I just want to ask you a more general question about this work. We’ve been going to places that are really on the margins of society. You go to people who are ill, poor, some are dying from this disease. And yet we walk into these clinics and these people jump up and are happy and giving hugs to you. And you know their names, they know your names. Where does this involvement come from? Where do you learn how to do this level of emotional engagement?”

Plummer sits with his friend Jennifer in Kenya, whom he met in his 17 years working in the country. He met her when she was 17 and diagnosed with HIV. Today she has 3 healthy children thanks, in part, to the work of Dr. Plummer // Submitted photo

A doctor from Kenya, his name is Joshua, said to me, “Well, I was a student of Frank Plummer’s. That what he does and that’s where I learned it.”

And I turned to the other doctor, I think his name was Moses, and asked him where he learned it. And he pointed to Joshua and says, “Well I’m a student of his. I learned it from him.”

What was really clear was this deeply humane contact being passed on from generation to generation. And I think our researchers and staff really have been very sensitive to making it local projects – giving advice and expertise, but embedding the knowledge locally and letting local people lead things.

It’s quite amazing to witness, to see the leadership of local people, and the partnership and the deep, emotional connections between people. I think our people are amazing and I’m proud to be part of the same community with them.

Did you ever go abroad as a student?

I went abroad just before I went to university. I went to Colombia for a summer, part of a church-based team. It was a life-changing experience.

Why do you think students should take advantage of our international opportunities?

Because they provide such a broadening experience. You see how other people live and the circumstances they live in, and you get an appreciation for how, in many cases, our lives here are privileged. And when you do it as part of an academic program, you usually engage in a more substantial way. If you go abroad as a student or professor on sabbatical, you get involved in more depth with the academic life, and you see what it’s like, what another culture offers, what another approach to university can be. It’s just tremendously broadening. You can’t go abroad and not be changed.

The new tuition legislation was introduced by the Province as part of the Advanced Education Administration Amendment Act and comes into effect for the 2018-19 academic year.

“It is of critical importance that students in Manitoba have access to a post-secondary education at modern, well-equipped, nationally and internationally competitive institutions,” commented President and Vice-Chancellor David Barnard. “At the University of Manitoba we have maintained consistently that increasing tuition rates to bring them more in line with those at similar universities across Canada will help achieve this goal.”

To illustrate, the president pointed out that if the University of Manitoba applied the same tuition rates as the nearest research-intensive university, the University of Saskatchewan, last year’s budget would have increased by $43 million. Those additional funds would enable the University to provide access to more students with financial challenges through improved scholarships and bursaries, and at the same time enhance programming and facilities to meet ever-evolving student needs.

“Given that post-secondary tuition in Manitoba has been held at low rates for many years, increases in the order of 5 per cent could allow those students who have the means to pay to continue to find the cost affordable,” added President Barnard, “while those students with financial challenges could have access to increased scholarships and bursaries.”

Any flexibility enabled by the changes to tuition caps announced today will not, of course, be fully known until the Province has shared details of its upcoming budget on April 11, most notably as regards operating grants for post-secondary institutions.

“We look forward to continuing the conversation with government, students and other partners as important pieces of the overall fiscal picture come together over the coming year,” said President Barnard. 

With all these stories, you may have missed some. So, the UM Today team thought we’d share some of our favourites with you from this past year.

Have a great break.

Cecil the Lion // Photo: Brent Stapelkamp, researcher, Oxford University

Q&A with prof about the killing of Cecil the lion

Professor Michael Campbell studies the relationship between various forms of nature-based tourism, outdoor recreation and the environment in which these activities take place. We asked him about his thoughts on a dentist killing a famous lion.

Restoring Climax

You’ve probably seen the sculpture. Bright orange and standing by the river outside of the Drake Centre for the past 45 years. In 2015 it was restored, through a few twists of fate.

Building better Bison athletes

The High Performance Centre, or HPC for short, is not your average gym.

Convocation

Watch Convocation unfold in just 40 seconds

Experience the May 26th morning session of the 136th Annual Spring Convocation in time-lapse.

A new view of insect beauty

Sophisticated photo shoots have become a regular occurrence in the department of entomology.

Protect yourself from tick bites

There has been a sudden increase of Powassan infections, a rare but virulent virus transmitted by blacklegged ticks, but a U of M entomologist doesn’t want people to focus on this aspect of the story.

David Barnard at city hall with Mayor Brian Bowman in call to end racism in Winnipeg

Reflecting on the day Winnipeg changed

On January 22, Maclean’s magazine published a story that jolted the nation and even received international press attention: Canada, especially Winnipeg, has a racism problem. President David Barnard responds.

This is as true at the U of M as elsewhere, and is true in every aspect of our work: learning, discovery and engagement. Late last year, our Senate and Board of Governors approved a new strategic plan for the university, which—after an extensive period of consultation and conversation—affirms the path we have been following while also defining how we will evolve over the next five years.

For instance, support for and recognition of the critical role teaching plays within the university have never been greater. The traditional model of lectures and labs has evolved to include rich experiences in community service-learning, cooperative education, undergraduate research and student exchanges. Advances in technology have shifted how we think about what constitutes a classroom, and how students can and should engage in their learning. And opportunities continue to increase for faculty members to grow their expertise in teaching, and to be recognized for it.

Discovery—the U of M’s scholarly and research work—enhances our common human experience, and addresses fundamental questions and applied issues in many disciplines and geographical settings. Once considered to be primarily the domain of faculty and graduate students, research now plays an important role in undergraduate work. We know that such experiences inform and enhance our students’ learning and support their future success. Our expertise in a wide variety of disciplines means that students from across the university will be able to engage with high-quality and innovative research, scholarly work and other creative activities.

The third essential activity, engagement, occurs because scholars embrace the opportunity to have their work understood and used to enrich our collective experience. The curiosity and love for a discipline that make good researchers, coupled with a caring commitment, fuel the broad engagement that U of M researchers—faculty and students—have with the larger community of alumni and citizens. We have changed the ways in which we connect with our communities through means such as providing easier ways for those outside the university to work in partnership with our researchers, broadening the service 
and internship opportunities available to students, and modernizing the ways in which we communicate.

In all of this, the university’s commitment to Indigenous achievement has assumed even greater prominence, demonstrating our resolve to make a major contribution to the necessary reconciliation between Indigenous people and other Canadians. As fundamental as the university’s mission, vision and values is our pledge to pursue “a renewed relationship and dialogue with First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples based on the principles of mutual trust, respect and reciprocity” and “to move forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.”

I am inspired by the commitments we have made in our strategic plan, and I am confident that as a community we will achieve our goals. Much of this confidence rests in the fact that supporting our strategic plan is the Front and Centre campaign, which launches on October 3, 
2015 as part of Homecoming celebrations. The largest philanthropic campaign in the history of this province, Front and Centre aligns closely with the university’s strategic plan.

Together, Taking our Place: University of Manitoba Strategic Plan 2015–2020, and the Front and Centre campaign, will transform our university, our province and our world. I encourage you to find your place in this truly momentous change.