The Bison women's hockey team bring home the gold in the U SPORTS National Championships. // PHOTO COURTESY BRANDON VANDECAVEYE, WESTERN UNIVERSITY
Top stories of 2018
Another incredible year reaches its conclusion at the University of Manitoba and we would like to share some of our most notable stories from 2018.
Expedition Churchill: A Gateway to Arctic Research
Expedition Churchill: A Gateway to Arctic Research launched in November, unveiling a creative public education and outreach campaign sharing insight into the world-leading Arctic climate change research done in the Churchill and Hudson Bay region by University of Manitoba scientists and collaborators.
The project includes a visual multimedia e-book and interactive kiosks located across Manitoba, including in the Wallace Building on the U of M campus. A unique feature of this initiative is the use of the VIA Rail passenger train that travels between Winnipeg and Churchill as a platform to communicate and promote awareness. Read more.
Women’s Hockey gets the job done
The University of Manitoba Bison women’s hockey team was crowned 2018 U SPORTS Champions after shutting out the Western Mustangs 2-0 in March in London, Ont.
This was the first time the Bisons were seeded number one at a women’s hockey national championship. With the win, the Bisons impressively earned their first national championship in the program’s 21-year history. Read more.
U of M’s 99th Rhodes Scholar ‘beat the odds’ to get an education
The U of M was honoured to announce in November that Faculty of Arts graduate Annette Riziki is the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship for 2019. For Riziki, her personal life experience and struggles growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo made her all the more determined to make a difference in the lives of others.
The U of M has produced more Rhodes Scholars than any other university in western Canada. Riziki is one of 11 recipients of Rhodes Scholarships in Canada for 2019. Read more.
Rock-solid performance wows judges at 3MT
A student who saw firsthand the destructive power of earthquakes upon poorly designed buildings in his native Iran gave a rock-solid performance at the Three-Minute Thesis competition in March, wowing judges and touching the hearts of the audience. Shervin Khalili Ghomi, a doctoral student in civil engineering, won the competition at the U of M with his thesis on creating a path to earthquake-resistant buildings.
Ghomi hopes to help build safer and more efficient structures through constantly seeking a better design through state-of-the-art research. Read more.
U of M prof named one of Canada’s most powerful women
For bolstering Indigenous medical education and health care delivery in Northern Manitoba, Dr. Marcia Anderson from the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences was named in November as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women in 2018 by Women’s Executive Network (WXN).
Dr. Anderson, a Cree-Saulteaux women with roots in Norway House Cree Nation and Peguis First Nation, is the Executive Director of Indigenous Academic Affairs in the Ongomiizwin Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing at the U of M. Read more.
Pioneer of dental implants gifts $7.5 million
The College of Dentistry received the largest gift in its history, from Dr. Gerald and Mrs. Reesa Niznick, in May.
Recognized as the originator of modern implant dentistry, Dr. Niznick [DMD/66, LLD (Hon)/02] announced a historic $7.5 million donation towards his alma mater through the Front and Centre campaign. Their gift will enhance clinical training space, fund special initiatives that enrich our community’s health and wellbeing and create reliable endowed funding for the College. In recognition, the U of M renamed the college the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry. Read more.
New chancellor elected
With the election of celebrated writer, volunteer, philanthropist and alumna Anne Mahon as its new chancellor, the University of Manitoba affirms its abiding commitment to forge empowering connections with communities near and far.
Ms. Mahon’s election as the University of Manitoba’s 14th chancellor was announced in November. Effective June 1, 2019 for a three-year term, she succeeds the current chancellor, Dr. Harvey Secter. Read more.
U of M receives 10 Canada Research Chairs
Federal Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan visited the U of M campus in November to announce investments in the Canada Research Chairs Program, of which the University of Manitoba is a major recipient, with 10 Chairs named. Seven of the 10 chairs named at the U of M will be held by women. Read more.
Defining moments celebrated at 2018 Distinguished Alumni Awards Celebration of Excellence
The celebration in May brought together more than 350 enthusiastic supporters of the University of Manitoba for an inspiring evening of music, tributes, and videos in acknowledgment of five outstanding individuals: Jan Lederman, Dr. Shayne Reitmeier, Tina Jones, Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum and Paul Soubry. Read more.
The power of 400
In November, more than 400 students, alumni and members of the U of M community gathered to hear from panelists at the Visionary Conversations event, entitled The power of one: what’s my responsibility as a global citizen?
Hosted by U of M President David Barnard, the event featured panelists Nahlah Ayed [BSc(Hons)/92, MA/02, LLD(Hon)/08], Laura Michalchyshyn [BA/89] and Brenda Gunn [BA(Adv)/02] discussing global citizenship and empowering the individual to take action. Read more.