An invitation to participate

The following is a message from University of Manitoba President and Vice-Chancellor David Barnard, sent via email to all faculty, staff and students on February 5, 2020:

In October of last year, the President’s Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) was established to provide recommendations on the process and actions required to identify and address obstacles and inequities facing faculty, staff and students at the University of Manitoba. 

The Task Force will, as part of its mandate, consult with members of our community to respond to the question, “What is needed to ensure that EDI principles are embraced and supported within the UM community?” 

All students, faculty and staff are urged to take part in these consultations and to lend their voices to this important work. We want to ensure that all members of our UM community feel included and safe, and able to be authentic and to contribute in meaningful ways to our learning and work environment.

A series of open focus group sessions for students, faculty, and staff will begin February 13. The open focus sessions will be held during February, March and April at the Fort Garry, Bannatyne and Selkirk Avenue campuses. A list of dates, times, and locations can be found on the EDI website. If you are a member of a community on campus that would like to host a focus group, please contact EDI@umanitoba.ca.

If you require accommodation to support your participation, please email EDI@umanitoba.ca. 

If you are unable to attend a focus group but would like to provide your input, you can respond to the EDI questions online. All online responses are anonymous.

Advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion at the University of Manitoba is critical to moving our community forward, and I hope that you will take part in these important conversations.

Let’s work together to make the University of Manitoba a place where all students, staff and faculty feel recognized, valued, respected and treated fairly.