UM hosts third-annual Budget Town Hall to discuss financial health and investments
On Oct. 16, 2024, President Michael Benarroch hosted the University of Manitoba’s third-annual Budget Town Hall, providing an overview of the university’s financial health and highlighting increased investments in faculty, staff, and students.
“It’s our priority to continue to hold these type of events—to engage in our community, to listen to you, and to take that information back,” Benarroch said. “It’s important to understand how we are able to move forward. Budget 2024 does this by supporting the commitments in our latest strategic plan ‘MomentUM: Leading Change Together.’”
As in previous years, Benarroch was joined by Dr. Diane Hiebert-Murphy, Provost and Vice-President (Academic), and Mike Emslie, CFO and comptroller. They presented an update on UM’s $820 million operating budget, which was approved in May by the Board of Governors.
Their presentation, available in full on the Budget Town Hall website, discussed how UM’s budget model works, how the operating budget is allocated, how it is changing in the coming years, and what our major sources of revenue and expenditures are (details of which can be found in the Annual Financial Report.)
The presentation acknowledged the financial challenges UM faces in the coming years, most of which are difficult to accurately predict, but that overall UM is in a healthy financial state.
“We do have some clear and unexpected financial challenges that we’re going to be facing over the next few years,” Hiebert-Murphy said. “But we are going to continue to resource in fiscally responsible ways and do the best that we can to continue to invest in our core mission at the university and make some gains in some of the areas that we have identified as strategic priorities.”
The 2024-25 budget outlines key areas of increased investment, including:
- Student Services: Expanding support for admissions, registration, and permanent student resources.
- Competitive Wages: Funding negotiated salary increases across faculties and units.
- Program Expansions: Increasing seats in healthcare-related programs funded by additional provincial grant revenue.
- Financial Support: Enhancing financial aid for graduate and domestic students, with new needs-based aid for international students.
- Capital Renewal: Accessibility improvements, teaching and learning space upgrades, and campus-wide renovations.
- Strategic Research: Investing in interdisciplinary research team grants.
- New Project Funding: Establishing a $3 million pool for proposals aligned with the strategic plan.
Anyone with further questions or comments can submit them to Budget.consultation@umanitoba.ca.