St John’s College News Archive

March 21, 2025 — 
Internationally recognized artist-in-residence at UM brings unique lens to exploring relationships with water as part of the Just Waters project

March 13, 2025 — 
On March 11, 2025, St John's College hosted the 41st Annual Marjorie Ward Lecture, a series that has been focused on Canada, and in particular, Western Canada. It was established in 1980 to honour the College's long-standing Registrar, Marjorie Ward, on her retirement. Surrounded by his past and present players, friends, and passionate football fans, Coach Brian Dobie took to the stage—not to boast of his own achievements, but to celebrate the remarkable journeys of the athletes he had the privilege of coaching. As the evening drew to a close, one thing became undeniably clear: nothing is impossible!

March 3, 2025 — 
St. John’s College is pleased to welcome four distinguished scholars as new Fellows: Dr. Gerd Prehna, Dr. Punam Mehta, Dr. Patty Thille, and Dr. Shirley Thompson.

February 27, 2025 — 
As Black History Month comes to an end, stories of resilience and triumph have come to the forefront. For Edmund Opoku-Agyeman, his journey from Ghana to Canada showcases the impact of centuries of history on personal identity and opportunity.   Born and raised in Ghana, Edmund’s connection to its history runs deep. His maternal hometown, Elmina, is home to Elmina Castle (Fort St George’s) —one of the most significant landmarks of the transatlantic slave trade. Built by the Portuguese in 1482, the castle evolved from a gold trading post into a major center for the enslavement of Africans.  “In the late seventies, a few hundred years after the castle was built, an extension of it was turned into a community secondary school,” Edmund recalls. “There was enough space for classrooms, a library, a canteen, administrative offices, staff common room, and even an assembly area. I was among the fourth batch of students to attend that school in the eighties.” 

February 13, 2025 — 
St John's College is set to host the 41st Annual Marjorie Ward Lecture, featuring esteemed Bisons football head coach Brian Dobie as this year’s keynote speaker. The event will take place on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at the Robert B. Schultz Lecture Theatre. A storied career in Canadian football Dobie, a pillar of Canadian university football, has made a profound impact on the sport. He took over as head coach of the Manitoba Bisons in 1996, inheriting a team that had finished 0-8 the previous season. Under his leadership, the Bisons rapidly improved, culminating in a first-place finish and a Hardy Cup appearance in 2000. Since then, Dobie brought the Bisons to their first Hardy Cup Championship victory in over three decades, three Canada West Championships and two appearances at the Vanier Cup, including their first national championship title. Coach Dobie also earned the title of U SPORTS Coach of the Year in 2001 as well as five-time Canada West Coach of the Year.

February 11, 2025 — 
In collaboration with the Desautels Faculty of Music, St John's College is once again providing a stage for student creativity with its 3rd Annual Music & Art Competition. This much-anticipated event invites students from across campus to showcase their artistic and musical talents, and compete for cash prizes. St. John’s College oversees the art component of the competition, while the Desautels Faculty of Music manages the music component. The two come together on April 7th at the St John's Chapel for a special celebration of the arts, where students' talents will be highlighted in a live showcase and awards ceremony. Last year, we had sixteen submissions with three finalists, including Valentine Okoye Chukwukamike, Guiliana DaCunha Maoura, and Emily Ramsay.

January 28, 2025 — 
Jihad (Rosty) Othman is a Ph.D. student from the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Manitoba, supervised by Dr. Lori Wilkinson, a St John’s College fellow. Recently, Othman participated in the prestigious Global Peace Summit in Bangkok, hosted by Humanitarian Affairs Asia. The summit brought together over 400 delegates from more than 40 countries, all united with the mission to advance peace, justice, and sustainable global harmony. 

January 23, 2025 — 
Navigating new paths can be challenging, yet it can also lead to remarkable growth and success. Dr. Sarah Teetzel’s journey beautifully illustrates the importance of embracing opportunities that present themselves. With a background in Kinesiology and Chemistry from Western University, and experience as a competitive athlete, Dr. Teetzel initially aspired to work in Canada’s sport drug-testing lab. However, a pivotal conversation with her PhD supervisor changed her trajectory.

January 3, 2025 — 
New and old students of UM may be curious about our campus’ history. What’s the deal with the various colleges? What exactly is UM’s relationship with Université de Saint-Boniface? For those that have had their curiosity piqued by going into the libraries and seeing the portraits of previous chancellors, or when seeing the dates inscribed into some of the buildings on the Fort Garry campus without any context, here are some tidbits about the University’s early history.

December 8, 2024 — 
UM experts and researchers were featured in media stories locally, nationally and globally. Read on to find out who were the Top 10 UM newsmakers for 2024.