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The University of Manitoba campuses are located on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Ojibwe-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. More

University of Manitoba History: University of Manitoba Chronological History

 

 
1877
  • On 28 February 1877  a bill introduced by Attorney-General Joseph Royal to establish a “Provincial University”is passed in the provincial legislature.  The University of Manitoba Act establishes a corporation for the government of the University consisting of a Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor with a Council. The Chancellor is to be appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council for a term of 3 years.  The Council is to consist of seven representatives from each affiliated college, three from the Convocation, and one from each of the two sections of the Board of Education.  The University of Manitoba is formed by the federation of three existing colleges; St. Boniface College which traces its roots back to the arrival of Fathers Provencher and Dumoulin in 1818; St. John’s College which traces its roots back to the mission of Reverend John West in 1820; and Manitoba College which sprang from the Presbyterian faith of the Selkirk settlers and the Reverend John Black in 1851.  The University of Manitoba Act provides a grant from the provincial government of not more than $250.00.  This amount is granted annually from 1877 to 1883 when it is increased to $500.00 and to $1,000.00 in 1886.  By 1889 it rises to $2,000.00.
  • The Most Reverend John Machray, Bishop and later Archbishop of Rupert’s Land is appointed the University of Manitoba’s first Chancellor, a position he holds until his death on March 9, 1904.  The Honorable Joseph Royal is appointed the first Vice-Chancellor of the University, a position he holds until 1889.  Royal presided over the University’s Council, as there was no chief executive officer of the University until 1913.  The first registrar of the University is Major E. W. Jarvis, a graduate of Cambridge and engineer who served with distinction with Sir Sanford Fleming in surveying the route of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
  • A provincial act provides for the five year collection of marriage license receipts to be turned over to the University and apportioned among the colleges.


1878

  • On 27 May 1878,  the first examinations at the University of Manitoba are held with seven students, all from Manitoba College, writing them.


1880

  • The first degree of the University is conferred on Reginald William Gunn, a Métis student of Manitoba College, who takes honors in Natural Sciences and is awarded the Governor General’s Silver Medal.


1882

  • The Manitoba Medical College becomes affiliated with the University of Manitoba.


1883

  • Alexander Kennedy Isbister, a Métis lawyer, bequeaths $83,000 to the University for the establishment of “a general scholarship or prize fund for the encouragement of meritorious students and scholars.” By 1917, the Isbister fund has grown to nearly $130,000 and generated an annual revenue of approximately $8,000.  As part of the bequest, Isbister also leaves the University his library of over 4,000 volumes which becomes the nucleus of the University library.  With no building or librarian to house and manage the collection the books are kept in rooms rented from the Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba, which had assembled and managed the reference library from which the Winnipeg Public Library was formed.  The University library is later housed from 1890 to 1898 in rooms rented by the University in the old McIntyre Block for $12.00 per month.


1884

  • The University’s Board of Studies debates the issue of paying examiners.  After assurances from the Bursar that sufficient funds were available for these payments a scale of pay based on the volume of work and the difficulty of the subject area is established.  Examiners in Classics and Mathematics are paid $40.00; examiners in the Moral, Mental and Natural Sciences are paid $30.00, and examiners in Modern Languages and History are paid $20.00.  A total of $410.00 for 17 examiners is expended.  The sum increases to $705.00 the following year.
  • A reading course in law, providing for three annual examinations leading to the L.L.B. degree is arranged.


1885

  • The federal government approves legislation granting the University up to 150,000 acres of crown land in Manitoba as an endowment.  The University establishes the Land Board and begins framing how these lands and their proceeds would be used.  This process takes until 1887 when land selection begins.  By 1889  over 42,000 acres are recommended.  The selection of lands continues until 1891.


1886

  • Miss Jessie Holmes passes her matriculation and becomes the first women student admitted to the University of Manitoba.  She graduates in 1889.


1888

  • Wesley College, the college of the Methodist church, becomes affiliated with the University.
  • The Honorable Joseph Dubuc succeeds the Honorable Joseph Royal as Vice-Chancellor of the University.


1889

  • Duncan MacArthur, the University’s first Bursar since his appointment in 1884, is replaced by J.A.M. Aikins (later Sir James Aikins).


1890

  • In June 1890,  a new statute governing preliminary or matriculation examinations is adopted and provides for examinations in the fixed subjects of Latin, Mathematics, English or French, History or Geography, and one from an optional group of subjects which included Greek, French or English, and German, French or English, and Botany, German and Physics.


1892

  • Miss Hattie Foxton becomes the first female graduate of the Manitoba Medical College with first-class standing in the examinations for Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery.


1893

  • A committee is appointed to consider available sites in Winnipeg for the construction of “a university building with lecture theatres and laboratories”.  A number of sites are considered and the matter is turned over to the provincial government for its consideration.  The issue is put on hold until the issues of land patents and an increase in the University’s provincial grant are resolved.


1895

  • The University of Manitoba Act is amended to give the denominational colleges the power to confer degrees in divinity.


1897

  • The University of Manitoba Act is amended to allow the provincial government to expend up to $60,000 for the University and a normal school (teaching college).


1898

  • The patents for the University’s land grant are issued and the lands are transferred to the University.  The patents contain no restrictions on how the land could be used by the University.  A minority of the members of the University Council argue that the entire land grant be held in trust as an endowment for the University.
  • A fire destroys the McIntyre Block, which houses the University’s offices.  Much of the University’s scientific equipment and early university records are destroyed in the blaze.


1902

  • The Manitoba College of Pharmacy becomes affiliated with the University of Manitoba.
  • The Synod of the Icelandic Lutheran Congregation agrees to pay the salary of a professor in the Icelandic language and an Icelandic language course is placed on the curriculum as an option for Icelandic students in the First and Second Years.


1904

  • Lord Strathcona donates $20,000 (4 instalments of $5,000 in 1904,1905, 1906 and 1907) to the University.  This gift and the prospective increase in the University’s annual revenue results in the establishment of the Faculty of Science with chairs in physics, botany, chemistry, physiology and zoology, and mathematics at a salary of $2,500 annually.  A Chair in Bacteriology is also established on the condition that the provincial bacteriologist be appointed to the position and that the provincial government continue to pay his salary.
  • The first professors of the University of Manitoba are appointed.  They are A.H.R. Buller (Botany and Geology), Frank Allen (Physics and Minerology), M.A. Parker (Chemistry), R.R. Cochrane (Mathematics), Swale Vincent (Physiology and Biology) and Gordon Bell (Bacteriology, Pathology and Histology).


1906

  • The University of Manitoba Students’ Union is organized and in 1907 its representative Council is recognized by the University Council.


1907

  • The Department of Civil Engineering is established with E.E. Brydone-Jack appointed as its first Chair.
  • In an attempt to bring the general public into closer touch with the work of the University, a series of popular lectures by University professors is established.
  • On 6 June 1907, Frederick William Heubach offers the University on behalf of the Tuxedo Park Co. 150 acres of land for a university site adjacent to the southern boundary of the new city park (Assiniboine Park).
  • The Isbister Trust is consolidated with the University’s Land Board to facilitate better university management.


1908

  • The Most Reverend S.P. Matheson, Archbishop of Rupert’s Land is appointed the second Chancellor of the University of Manitoba.


1909

  • The Departments of Electrical Engineering, English, Political Economy and History are established.  E.P. Fetherstonhaugh, A.W. Crawford, A.B. Clark and Chester Martin are appointed as Chairs of these new departments.
  • A $12,000 temporary building is constructed north of the first University building on Broadway to accommodate the increase in the number of new departments.
  • In October 1909 the initial experiment into university extension work at the University of Manitoba is undertaken when Professor A.W. Crawford organizes a course in English literature to meet the needs of teachers and other special students.


1910

  • The Report of the Royal Commission on the University of Manitoba is tabled but does not provide any unanimous agreement on the future of the University.  The minority report calls for a University based on traditional lines with denominational colleges controlling the University and keeping it free from government control and interference.  The majority report calls for full government responsibility and control of the University.  It also calls for the establishment of a Board of Governors appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to manage the University, a large permanent site and president to be chosen, and the extension of teaching departments as rapidly as required by demand.


1911-1912

  • The first honorary degrees of the University of Manitoba are conferred on Robert Alexander Falconer, President of the University of Toronto and Daniel Hunter Macmillan, Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba.  The first degrees in Agriculture are also conferred at the University.
  • An amendment to the University of Manitoba Act provides the University Council the power to appoint a President and define his duties.  On February 15, 1912 a Committee is chosen and empowered to choose the first President of the University.  On December 12, 1912 the Committee reports that it has offered the appointment to Dr. James Alexander Maclean, President of the University of Idaho and that he has accepted the appointment.


1912

  • Having failed to secure degree-granting powers for itself, Brandon College affiliates with McMaster University.
  • The Manitoba Agricultural College’s affiliation with the University of Manitoba is dissolved and the College is granted degree conferring powers.


1913

  • On 1 January 1913 Dr. James Alexander Maclean becomes the first President of the University of Manitoba.  He is officially installed as President at a Special Convocation on November 20, 1913.
  • On 15 February 1913 an act of the legislature creating the Manitoba Association of Graduate Nurses gives the University of Manitoba the power to conduct examinations in nursing and thus control admission to the Association.
  • On 31 July 1913 in anticipation of the union of the Presbyterian and Methodist churches, Manitoba and Wesley Colleges amalgamate their administrations including the undertaking of a common registration, the establishment of a joint Board of Governors and the appointment of one principal to oversee both Colleges.  United College is formally opened on September 25, 1913.
  • The Departments of Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, French and German are established.  A.A. Stoughton is appointed the first Chair of Architecture.
  • With the University Council unwilling to agree to the Broadway site as the permanent site for the University and the provincial government unwilling to provide money for new university buildings on the Tuxedo site, the provincial government lets it be known that it would be willing to convey to the University some 137 acres lying between the recently transplanted Manitoba Agricultural College grounds and the Red River in St. Vital, and would proceed to erect and equip an Engineering building or buildings required by the University.  The offer is agreed to by the University in September 1913.


1913-1914

  • The University organizes the University Extension Popular Lecture series.  Seventy lectures are given in eighteen towns across Manitoba.  The estimated total attendance at these lectures is 9,875.


1914

  • The Department of Pharmacy is created to take over the work of the affiliated Manitoba College of Pharmacy.  H.E. Bletcher is appointed as the first Chair of Pharmacy.
  • The Manitoba Law School is established under the joint control of the University of Manitoba and the Law Society of Manitoba.  The Manitoba Law School is formally opened on October 3, 1914.
  • The student body begins publication of a semi-monthly University journal, The Manitoban, with all the departments of the University represented on its editorial staff.
  • In the early fall, the first track meet is held with the University of North Dakota on the Winnipeg Exhibition Grounds.  The University of Manitoba is victorious and the meet is such a decided success that the universities decide to make it an annual event.
  • A university theatre night is instituted and the Dramatic Society presents Bjornson’s “The Bankrupt” at the Walker Theatre to a large and appreciative audience.


1914-1915

  • University Council establishes a Committee on Military Instruction and authorizes the teaching of military science and tactics.  A university corps is organized and during the term men drill and sixty-four of them take extra classes to qualify as officers.


1915

  • The Western Universities Battalion (the 196th) of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces is formed.
  • The C.O.T.C. of the University of Manitoba contributes “A” Company and a platoon of “B” Company.  On March 1, 1915 the Canadian Officers Training Corps of the University is gazetted.  Professor E.P. Fetherstonhaugh is selected as captain and adjutant.
  • On April 23, 1915 for the first time in the history of the University, a Baccalaureate Address is given at the close of the session.  The address is delivered by Professor W.F. Osborne at the Central Congregation Church.
  • On October 1, 1915 Dr. J.B. Reynolds becomes President of the Manitoba Agricultural College.


1916

  • The Department of Arts including Mathematics, the Department of  Architecture, the Library and the administrative offices of the University are moved into the former Law Courts Building.
  • Frank E. Nuttall, of Manchester, England is engaged as the first trained librarian for the University.
  • An Overseas Correspondence Club is established to write letters to University of Manitoba students serving in England and France during World War I in order to keep them in touch with activities at the University during their absence.


1917

  • At a March Faculty Council meeting, the Faculty takes note of the Russian Revolution and orders the sending of a congratulatory telegram to the Provisional Government of Russia.  The telegram is answered subsequently by the Foreign Minister Milukoff.
  • The reduction in enrollment resulting from military enlistment results in a drop in students from 925 in 1914-1915 to 662 in 1916-1917.
  • At a joint meeting of five important commercial associations on July 10, 1917, resolutions are passed favoring the establishment of a Department of Commerce at the University, with a four-year course leading to a degree, and evening lectures in commercial subjects leading to a diploma or certificate.


1918

  • Mary Kelso is appointed as the first Director of Home Economics at the Manitoba Agricultural College.
  • The Board of Governors arranges for all men with a record of overseas service in the Canadian Expeditionary Force or who have served for a year or more in Canada to receive full tuition remission in Arts and half tuition fees in Engineering, Architecture, Pharmacy and Medicine.
  • An influenza epidemic and the subsequent ban on public meetings closes the University for seven weeks from October 11 to December 2, 1918.
  • World War I ends on November 11, 1918.  A total of 1160 students and 14 faculty and staff  from the University enlisted.  123 were killed or died during the war and 142 received military honors.


1919

  • The Manitoba Medical College, its buildings and equipment are transferred to the University.  Dr. S. Welles Prowse is appointed dean of the new Faculty of Medicine and the Rockefeller Foundation donates $500,000 to the University to establish a general endowment for the Faculty of Medicine.
  • The University experiences a huge increase in post-war enrolment with 2,013 students enrolling in various degree and special courses.  To accommodate the overcrowded conditions in University laboratories and classrooms, a number of temporary laboratories and lecture rooms are hastily constructed on the Broadway site.


1920

  • On August 1, 1920 John Bracken is appointed President of the Manitoba Agricultural College.  He resigns in 1922 to become Premier of Manitoba.


1920-1921

  • The teaching faculty is reorganized, with a General University Faculty Council and individual Faculties in Arts and Science, Engineering and Medicine.  In 1921, William Tier is appointed the first Dean of Arts and Science and E.P. Fetherstonhaugh the first Dean of Engineering.


1921

  • The University Alumni Association is created by the graduates of the University with local chapters established in various towns and cities of the province.
  • The University of Manitoba enters into an agreement with the Manitoba  Association of Architects to conduct examinations for membership into the association.
  • J.T. Thorson is appointed as the first Dean of  the Manitoba Law School.
  • The University opens its own book store in the Arts Building.  It proves to be a great convenience to students and increases the efficiency of University instruction.
  • In June, the University of Manitoba hosts the Conference of Canadian Universities which serves as an interchange for ideas on the many problems of University administration, teaching and community educational service.


1921-1922

  • A survey of 265 students reveals that 110 of the students are entirely dependent on themselves for their own support.  Of the remainder, 100 earned more than 50 per cent of the cost of their own maintenance, and only 17 indicated that they were entirely dependent on others for their support.


1922

  • Tragedy befalls St. Boniface College in November as the building containing its classrooms, chapel, assembly hall and resident students’ dormitory is totally destroyed by fire.


1923

  • The University of Manitoba Summer School is inaugurated enrolling 85 students.
  • On March 15, 1923 the University’s Extension Department launches its “University Hour” radio program, a series of lectures presented by University Faculty members over an 11 week period.  The program is broadcast by the Manitoba Government Telephone System to the Canadian prairie provinces and eight adjoining U.S. states.


1924

  • The Department of  Architecture is transferred from the Faculty of Arts and Science to the Faculty of  Engineering which becomes the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture.
  • The Administration of the Manitoba Agricultural College is returned to the University of Manitoba.  The College becomes the Faculty of Agriculture and Home Economics with W.C. MacKillican, former Superintendent of  the Dominion Experimental Farm at Brandon being appointed as Dean.
 
1926
  • A University committee is struck under the chairmanship of Professor R.C. Wallace to work on a plan for establishing retirement allowances for teaching and administrative staff members.  The University establishes a contributory plan under the Teachers’ Insurance and Annuity Association of America to be put into effect on  December 1, 1927. It also receives an $80,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching New York to assist in providing retirement allowances to senior staff who are close to retirement.


1927

  • The University of Manitoba celebrates its 50th anniversary with a Semi-Centennial Celebration from October 6 to 8, 1927.  The Alumni Association participates actively in the arrangements for the celebration by holding the first homecoming of graduates of the University.


1928

  • The membership of the Alumni Association grows to more than 500.  The Association establishes a journal, The University of Manitoba Quarterly which is circulated to the membership of the Association, carrying news of the graduates and articles on general literary and scientific questions, and on University problems.
  • Professor R.C. Wallace, head of the Department of Geology and Mineralogy and Provincial Commissioner of Mines resigns his position to become the President of the University of Alberta.
  • In May 1928, the compilation of the University’s first register of graduates is completed.  The compiled data reveals that since its inception the University has conferred approximately 5,000 degrees on some 4,700 persons.  375 graduates were identified as being deceased while 88 per cent of University of Manitoba graduates were identified as residing in Canada.
  • Also in May 1928, the Provincial Legislature approves an appropriation of $1,000,000 for additional University accommodation.  This money would only become available to the University after a legislative committee made a study of all the various proposed University sites and reached a final decision as to the one on which the development would take place.


1930

  • On January 23, the Board of Governors formally accepts the decision of the legislative committee on the University site question to select the Fort Garry site as the permanent site of the University of Manitoba.  A.A. Schoughton, Architect and Professor Emeritus of Architecture is engaged to prepare plans for the grouping and location of the buildings.


1931

  • St. Paul’s College becomes affiliated with the University of Manitoba.
  • The Arts Building on the Fort Garry campus is completed and construction on the Science Building is begun.
  • In October, the University imposes salary reductions of between 2 per cent  and 12 per cent on the teaching and administrative staff in accordance with scales of pay adopted by the Government of Manitoba for members of the Civil Service.  The salary reductions are accepted without protest by the University of Manitoba staff.


1931-1932

  • The Annual Survey of Education in Canada issued by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics indicates that the University of Manitoba is ranked second in student enrollment among universities in Canada.


1932

  • On August 25, 1932 published newspaper reports reveal that John A. Machray, Chairman of the Board of Governors, Honorary Bursar of the University, Chancellor of St. John’s College and the Diocese of Rupert’s Land, senior partner of the law firm of Machray and Sharpe, and nephew of Archbishop Robert Machray, has lost through bad investments the university endowments entrusted to his care (the Defalcation).
  • On September 23, John A. Machray is sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment when he pleads guilty to theft of University funds.
  • On September 24, Premier John Bracken appoints Mr. Justice W.F.A. Turgeon, of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, Dr. W.C. Murray, President of the University of Saskatchewan, and C.G.K. Norse, former manager of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, to a board of inquiry to investigate the impairment and depletion of University trust funds during the period when John Machray was Bursar.


1933

  • The University of Manitoba’s grant is cut from $500,000 to $400,000 in the 1932 provincial budget.
  • A new Board of Governors is created consisting of  nine members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council, three  members elected by the Alumni, with the President and Chancellor as ex-officio members.
  • F.W. Crawford is hired as the University’s first full-time salaried Bursar.  The office of Honorary Bursar is abolished.
  • The Faculty of Agriculture and Home Economics is reorganized and Dr. Alfred Savage is appointed  Dean on September 1.
  • On March 29, 1933 the report of the Turgeon Royal Commission is tabled in the provincial Legislature.  The report identifies a shortfall in University trust accounts controlled by the firm of Machray and Sharpe to be $1,917,044.60.  Severe criticism of successive Boards of Governors and a condemnation of successive provincial governments and public officials for their lack of control and accountability is also outlined.
  • On October 9, the Right Honorable R.B. Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada addresses students at the morning ceremonies of the inaugural University Day.


1934

  • President Maclean resigns effective April 30, 1934.  Sidney Smith, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Dalhousie is appointed as the University’s 2nd President.  He is officially installed at the University Day ceremonies on October 12, 1934.
  • John Dafoe succeeds Archbishop S.P. Matheson as the University’s 3rd Chancellor.  He is officially installed at the University Day ceremonies on October 12, 1934.
  • The University of Manitoba Quarterly is replaced by the Alumni Journal.


1935

  • The Faculty of Education is established by the University to give instruction in education and lead to the granting of an Interim Collegiate Certificate by the Provincial Department of Education and the degree of Bachelor of Education and Master of Education by the University.  D.S. Woods is appointed as the Faculty’s first Dean.
  • Alumni Week is celebrated and the Alumni Association of the University of Manitoba is incorporated.  The Manitoba Agricultural and Home Economics Alumni Association merges with the Alumni Association and a six year, $5.00 membership is authorized.


1935-1936

  • The 1935-1936 session is the first in which the Sellers Scholarships are offered.  The awards in the amount of $100 go to ten students registered in Arts and Science and come as a welcome cash influx to a campus still reeling from the Machray Defalcation and the Depression.


1936

  • Major revisions to the University of Manitoba Act are passed by the provincial legislature.  The University Council is abolished and is replaced by a remodeled body called the Senate which becomes in charge of all academic matters.  The President becomes ex officio Vice-Chancellor and presiding officer at all University functions.  The method of electing the Chancellor is also changed with that responsibility being vested in a committee comprising the Board of Governors, Senate and six Alumni delegates.  The Office of Bursar is abolished and replaced by a Comptroller with enlarged powers.
  • The year marks the end of an era with the retirement of the esteemed botanist Dr. Reginald Buller, one of the six original professors and founding faculty members of the University of Manitoba in 1904. 
  • For the first time the university offers examinations in all grades of music and established diplomas.  The Senior Division students are in for a humorous experience when Stephen Leacock presents an address on December 3 at the Fort Garry Campus.  Lord Tweedsmuir receives an Honorary Degree that December.


1937

  • The trend of founding professors retiring continues when Professor M. A. Parker, Head of the Chemistry Department, steps down. 
  • A Bachelor of Commerce to be awarded through the Faculty of Arts and Science is offered for the first time. 
  • Three hundred and fifty students join with the professors in a written protest of the recently imposed Quebec Padlock Laws.
  • On 22 January 1937 Dr. Bruce Chown lectures on psychic research, a popular phenomenon in Winnipeg at that time, to the Manitoba Medical Students Association. 
  • Wally Bertrand of Science establishes a Canadian record in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 31 seconds at an interfaculty meet.


1938

  • Courses in Political Science and Government are offered for the first time and a Home Management House is erected on the Fort Garry campus. 
  • Magnus Henrikson of Churchbridge, Saskatchewan bequeaths $3000 for the establishment of an Chair of Icelandic Language. The Alumni Jubilee Award is initiated. 
  • In 1938 Brandon College begins its affiliation with the University of Manitoba; the Baptist college had earlier been linked to McMaster University.
  • Frederick Banting spends two days in Winnipeg visiting the Manitoba Medical College on November 28-29th.  Banting is favourably impressed by the level of research being conducted despite the limited funds available.  As Chairman of the Medical Sub-Committee of the National Research Council, he expresses an interest in funding units outside of Toronto and Montreal.
  • The Arts Student Body begins publication of the Manitoba Arts Review, a journal of intellectual articles written primarily by students and faculty of the University.


1939

  • The University realizes the need to expand its profile into the community.  The Carnegie Corporation provides $100, 000 to provide adult education in rural communities.  The Manitoba Government provides funding for an increase in courses offered by the Workers’ Educational Association.  The Ashdown scholarships are initiated in 1939.
  • An explosion in the Science Building on January 12, causes $55, 000 damage, blowing out the third floor ceiling and injuring two employees. 
  • On February 21 the World Premiere of the University’s movie “And So to College” is shown.
  • The University Women’s Club takes over the old “Ralph Connor House” as their headquarters.
  • The University of Manitoba Band record their theme song “Brown and Gold” at radio station CJRC.


1940-1941

  • The War has a dramatic effect on the University not only in its enrollment but in the physical presence of soldiers as the Army took over the Fort Garry residence.  All fit 18-year-old male students are required to take six hours a week in military training.  Students over the age of 21 receive two weeks of practical military training in a camp.  By 1941 90 per cent of women students have enrolled in a variety of courses to aid in the war.  Dean of Women, Ursulla Macdonnell, receives requests from across Canada as to how Manitoba’s successful program was implemented.  Auto mechanics proved to be a favorite course among the women.  For the first time women wear slacks in residence and the library.


1943-1944

  • The School of Social Work  is established within the Faculty of Arts and Science. 
  • In 1943 the first degrees are conferred in the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and the diploma course is abandoned.  The Senate also establishes two new honorary degrees:  Doctor of Science (D. Sc.) and  Doctor of Letters (D. Litt.). 
  • Dr. Frank Allen, founder of the Physics Department, retires.
  • A scarlet fever outbreak has the Home Economic House under quarantine in January 1944.
  • The U.M.S.U. president Albert Hamilton is called before the Board of Governors for his anti-war poem “Atrocities” that appeares in the Manitoban’s Literary Supplement.  Hamilton’s marks in his graduating year are held up until he joins active service.
  • President Sidney Smith leaves the University of Manitoba to become President of the University of Toronto.  H. P. Armes, the Dean of Arts and Science, becomes the University’s 3rd President on Sept. 19, 1944.  Mr. Justice A. K. Dysart replaces the late J. W. Dafoe as the University’s 4th Chancellor.


1945

  • The University of Manitoba Press and the departments of Psychology, Agricultural Engineering and Medical Research are established.
  • In March 1945 four members of the French Resistance Movement address the student body.
  • Albert Trueman, a graduate of the University of New Brunswick and Oxford and a professor of English, becomes the University’s 4th President in June 1945.


1946

  • Margaret McWilliams, historian, social advocate and the Chatelaine of Government House, is the recipient of an LLD in 1946.
  • An influx of 3125 veterans swells registration to 9514, causing a space and equipment crisis.  The University constructs married veterans huts which are ready for occupancy in September 1946, making the university even more of a community.
  • That same year Grant MacEwan, the celebrated historian, becomes head of the Department of Agriculture and Home Economics.
  • The Provincial Government offers a $150,000 interest-free loan for an Athletic and Student Union Building on the Fort Garry campus.  Students canvass door to door for donations to the building fund. 
  • Guest speakers at the University in 1946 include Randolph Churchill and the Conservative M.P., John Diefenbaker.


1947

  • After years of complaints regarding a quota system within the Medical School, the provincial legislature passes a unanimous resolution to increase student registrations.  Past practice held to an unwritten rule that not more than five "Jews" or women would be allowed entrance.
  • Dr. Harold Innis, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Toronto, receives an L.L.D.  at the Spring Convocation .
  • A new literature and art magazine, “Creative Campus,” appears under the editorship of Alvin Goldman.
  • The university announces in September 1947 that they plan to spend $200, 000 on construction.  More veterans huts are added, an addition is made to the Engineering Building and repairs are done on the Medical College.
  • More than $100, 000 is brought in by research contracts, nearly doubling the previous high.
  • Dr. John Russell of Architecture receivea $24, 500 to study the planning and designing of farm homes, farm kitchens and rural community centres.
  • Twelve hundred fans attend the Homecoming Football game between the Manitoba Bisons and the Minnesota State Teachers College at Osborne Stadium.


1948-1949

  • In a surprise move President Trueman announces his intention to resign at the end of the term to take the presidency at the University of New Brunswick.  This move receives a great deal of negative press coverage and both faculty and students wish to appear before the Board of Governors.  It is widely speculated that Trueman’s dislike for the comptroller and secretary of the board, F. W. Crawford, prompted his resignation.
  • In July 1948 A. H. S. Gillson, former Dean of Arts and Science at McGill, becomes the University’s 5th President.
  • In late November medical student Norm Hill scores the winning touchdown for the Calgary Stampeders in an 8-5 victory over the Ottawa Roughriders.
  • In February 1949 the International Student Services launches a campaign to raise $5000 for D.P. (Displaced Persons) Scholarships.
  • In March of 1949 the University confers a L.L.D. on Eleanor Roosevelt in a Special Convocation.
  • Later that same month the University of Manitoba debating team wins the National Championships.  The team is comprised of Roland Penner, Art Mauro, Sha Sabzali and Charles Smith.  Penner and Mauro clinched the championship in Hamilton, arguing the affirmative on “Should Canada have a Bill of Rights.”
  • The University of Manitoba’s 70th Annual Convocation, held on May 18 1949, is the largest to date with 1,520 students graduating , easily surpassing the previous record of  932 in 1948.
  • In the fall of 1949 Nat “King” Cole is one of the Judges for the best float in the annual Freshie Parade.
  • That same autumn Manitoban alumnus Bob Halparin (Monty Hall’s brother), a special events announcer with CHUM radio in Toronto, is one of the first reporters on the scene at the Noronic disaster on the Toronto docks.  Halparin stood in his slippers with light clothing thrown over his pajamas in a biting wind and 40° temperatures to get the story.  He stuffed newspapers into his pants to ward off the cold and carried out interviews with survivors and officials.
  • In October a probe is underway to discover why the Northwest corner of the new U.M.S.U. mysteriously collapsed.


1950

  • The 1950 flood devastates the campus.  For 29 days (May 5 to June 8) water covers 1100 acres of university property, leaving only a ¼ acre visible.  At its peak the water reaches depths of 22 inches on the road in front of the Administration Building.
  • Art Mauro is elected U.M.S.U. President for the 1950-1951 session.
  • The Department of Judaic Studies was established in 1950 under the guidance of Rabbi Chiel.
  • Students in the news are fourth-year law student and chess master Abe Yanofsky and medical student Tom Casey, who wrote a column for the Manitoban and also starred as halfback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
  • On December 1, 1950 the University of Manitoba Varsity Grads play the Harlem Globetrotters in an exhibition.
  • In January former student  Alan Gottlieb, who spent two years as an undergrad at United College, is named Rhodes Scholar.
  • The Alumni Fund is instrumental in the purchase of the Palliser Report for the university library.

1951

  • In 1951 the Department of Geography is established.  That same year the Department of Slavic Studies begins under the chairmanship of Professor J. B. Rudnyckyj, and the Chair of Icelandic Language and Literature is established.
  • Bill Norrie is U.M.S.U. president in 1951 while John Hirsch is an undergraduate with an interest in theater.


1952

  • Chancellor Dysart dies on July 24, 1952 and is replaced by Victor Sifton, the Chairman of the Board of Governors as the University’s 5th Chancellor.  Sifton had served as General Manager and Publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press from 1935-1949.  He was President of the Canadian Press from 1948-1950.
  • In October 1952 His Excellency, the Right Honorable Vincent Massey lays the cornerstone for the new library.  That same evening the University celebrates its 75th Anniversary at a colorful ceremony at the Winnipeg Auditorium attended by the Governor-General and representatives from 29 Canadian universities and colleges.  New Chancellor Sifton’s first official act is to bestow L.L.D.’s on Vincent Massey and artist LeMoine Fitzgerald.


1953

  • The new library is officially opened by Premier Campbell at the Fall Convocation.  Canadian painter Lawren Harris received an L.L.D. and the Samuel Rosner Chair in Agronomy is bequeathed by the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation of Montreal.
  • Dave Bowman, a two-time McGown Debate winner, and Dr. Athol Gordon, honorary president of U.M.S.U., tender their resignations over the choice of the Kinsey Report as the subject for a debate in Vancouver.


1954

  • Dr. A. H. S. Gillson resigns as President on September 1 and dies nine days later at his residence on campus.  Hugh Saunderson becomes the first University of Manitoba graduate to be appointed president; he becomes  the University’s 6th.  Dr. Saunderson joined the Chemistry Department in 1932.  In 1944 he replaced W. P. Armes as the Acting Dean of Arts and Science.  The following year his appointment was confirmed and he served in this position for three years.  From 1947 to 1954 Dr. Saunderson served in Ottawa, first as Director of Information Services for the National Research Council and later as attaché to the Department of Defense Production.
  • In December 1954 Professor Richard Glover is elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, an exclusive honor seldom bestowed on a North American scholar.


1955

  • Dr. Wilder Penfield, Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute, receives an honorary degree in May 1955.
  • President Saunderson confirms the loss of seven young scholars, evidence of the University’s inability to compete in the salaries market.


1956

  • Agriculture celebrates its Golden Jubilee on June 21-22, 1956.  On October 19 leading literary figure Laurens Van der Post is the featured speaker at the Festival of Arts.


1957

  • On March 1, 1957 the Government announces a $298, 000 grant to increase professors’ salaries and make the University’s pay scale competitive with other Western Canadian universities.
  • W. L. Morton’s book One University is available for sale at the May 22 Convocation.
  • U. of M. graduates Tom Hendry and John Hirsch open Theatre 77.
  • Sir Herbert Read, noted poetry and art critic, is the guest speaker at the Festival of the Arts.


1958

  • Flying fish, oranges, lunch bags and assorted paraphernalia bring U.M.S.U. election speeches to an abrupt and premature end in February 1958.  Engineering students reacting to some earlier comments by candidate Dave Stinson unleashed their barrage of missiles.
  • In September 1958 United College becomes the centre of one of the most hotly disputed academic controversies in the history of Canadian universities.  Professor Harry Crowe of the History Department was on sabbatical at Queen’s when he wrote a letter to his colleague William Packer at United.  The letter, which contained several disparaging comments about faculty members and the United Church, never reached Professor Packer and ultimately found its way to the desk of United College’s Principal Dr. W. L. Lockhart and the College’s Board of Regents.  The Board of Regents offered Crowe another year’s service with United at no increase in pay.  When news of the letter reached the press United came under heavy fire.  An investigation into charges that Crowe’s academic freedom was infringed upon was about to get underway when he was fired.  In all, fourteen professors left United College in protest, virtually gutting the Arts Department.


1959

  • On February 3, 1959 the first Slotin Memorial Lecture in honour of the 1933 graduate who was killed at Los Alamos, New Mexico during the development of the atomic bomb, is given by Dr. Joseph Kaplan, the Chairman of the United States National Committee for the International Geophysical Year.
  • Mitchell Sharp, a distinguished graduate from the class of 1934, receives the first Alumni Jubilee Award.  Mr. Sharp resigned his post of Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce in 1958 to become vice-president of  Brazilian Traction, Light & Power in Toronto.
  • Samuel Freedman replaces Victor Sifton as the University’s 6th Chancellor on June 1, 1959.  Freedman, a 1933 law graduate, becomes Chief Justice of Manitoba in 1971.
  • That fall U.K. debaters tour Canada for the first time since 1930.  University of Manitoba members Roland Penner and Frank Lamont face the British duo at the Uptown Theatre.
  • Creative Campus ‘59’, branded as a disgrace to the university, is banned from the university and downtown bookstores.  A member of the administration called the publication “pornographic”.
  • On November 20, 1959 Communist Alderman Jacob Penner is shouted off the stage by 100 students.  Penner was speaking at a meeting scheduled by the Socialist Youth League.  Demonstrators raised their hands shouting “Heil” in the Nazi fashion.


1960

  • 1960 marks the introduction of three new vice-president positions.  Former Dean of Arts and Science W. J. Waines becomes V.P. Academic, former Comptroller W. J. Condo becomes V.P. Administration and Jack Hoogstraten becomes V.P. Development.
  • The Friends of the University is established in 1960.
  • On September 23, 1960 German industrialist Alfred Krupp writes an exclusive column for the Manitoban.


1961-1962

  • In November 1961 United students vote to sever ties with U.M.S.U.  Orde Morton joins his father, University of Manitoba History professor W. L. Morton as a Manitoba Rhodes Scholar.
  • In 1962 Medicine’s Freshie Parade float depicting an oral contraceptive sparks a controversy that involves Winnipeg City Council, the Winnipeg and District Labor Council and the two daily newspapers.


1962

  • The Manitoba Law School Journal publishes its first issue which is dedicated to Harvey M. Streight Q.C. who served the School as lecturer and Recorder from 1930 until his death in 1960.


1963-1964

  • Editorials condemning a perceived R.C.M.P. presence on campus are common in 1963-1964.  This predated drug use on North American campuses, but radical groups felt that they were under surveillance.
  • Northrop Frye receives an Honorary L.L.D. in 1964.
  • In October 1964 the University’s cyclotron is working after four years of effort.  When fully operational, the cyclotron accelerated sub-atomic particles – protons – to one-third of the speed of light.  The particles were then used to bombard thin metal sails and other substances to produce their radioactive isotopes.
  • On December 6, 1964 Isaac Pitblado, the University’s oldest living graduate, dies at the age of 97.  Pitblado received his B.A. in 1886, Master’s degree in 1893 and his Bachelor of Law in 1889.  Pitblado was Chairman of the Board of Governors from 1917-1924.


1965

  • On February 1, 1965 students stage a ½ day boycott to protest a $75 fee hike for the following year.  1500 students pack the Civic Auditorium before a march on the Manitoba Legislature.
  • On March 22, Mulford Sibley, a University of Minnesota political scientist, is denied entry into Canada, thwarting a proposed lecture that was to be given at the University of Manitoba.  Sibley, a radical pacifist, was to lecture on “The Meaning of the Student Revolt at Berkeley” but was deemed a subversive and denied entry to Canada, while 200 students protested at the Winnipeg Airport.
  • In 1965 the University of Manitoba, under a Colombo Plan contract, sends advisors in engineering and agriculture to Khon Kaen University in Thailand.


1967

  • The film And No Birds Sang, written by English professor Victor Cowie, is shot at the University of Manitoba.
  • In the fall of 1967 the first issue of Mosaic:  A Journal for the Comparative Study of Literature & Ideas  is published by the University of Manitoba.  The editors were R. P. Hoople and Ken McRobbie.
  • United College becomes the University of Winnipeg.
  • Brandon College becomes the University of Brandon.


1968

  • In January the University of Manitoba’s TV program “A View of Our Own” premiers on CBC.  The show was aimed at students in the 15-23 bracket.  That same month the University administration examines the on-campus use of LSD and marijuana.  The Manitoban carries a story on January 9 that claims that four professors admitted to smoking pot.
  • Peter Curry becomes the University’s 7th Chancellor in 1968.
  • Seven student members are added to the University Senate.
  • Students protest recruitment by Dow Chemical on campus.
  • The Stanton Teaching Awards and the Isaac Walton Killam Awards of the Canada Council are introduced.
  • Manitoba Theatre Centre and the English Department of the University of Manitoba combine to offer theatre courses.


1970

  • Rae Masai Hewitt, Minister of Education for the Black Panther Party, fails to show up for a lecture on July 1, 1970, leaving U.M.S.U. out $700.
  • Former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science A. Lloyd Dulmage becomes president of Brandon College.
  • The University of Manitoba’s Jan Madden equals the world record in the 300-yard track-and-field event.
  • Dr. Ernest Sirluck is appointed the University's 7th President.
  •  The Learned Societies Conference is held at the University of Manitoba in the summer of 1970.
  • The first French/English bursary program is offered to give French-Canadian students the opportunity to study English at the University of Manitoba.
  • The Faculty of Arts and Science separates to form the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science.


1971

  • In 1971 Dr. H. E. Duckworth is named the president of the University of Winnipeg.
  • The Junior Bisons basketball team win the Canadian Championship.
  • Professor W. N. Fox-Decent of the Political Studies Department at St. John’s becomes the first Canadian to be elected President of the World University Services.
  • Following the unauthorized release of the budget to U.M.S.U. and its subsequent publication, a joint Senate/B.O.G. Committee is appointed to review current university policy on confidentiality and the release of information was struck.  The CORI committee on release of information resulted.


1973

  • In 1973 Dr. Bruce Chown, a graduate of the University of Manitoba Medical School and renowned for his work on RH diseases in babies, receives the Order of Canada.  That same year the R.H. Institute Awards are inaugurated.
  • On February 1, 1973 the University of Manitoba Faculty Association applies to the Manitoba Labor Relations Board for certification as a union.
  • In March 1973 the Office of Industrial Research under the Vice-President (Research and Graduate Studies) comes into being.  The Employee Relations office is also opened.
            

1974

  • On June 1, 1974 R. S. Bowles, former Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba, is named the University’s   8th Chancellor.
  • That same year the first Manitoba Medical Service Foundation Inc. awards are granted.
  • The Department of Native Studies is established in the Faculty of Arts, with Raoul McKay appointed as its first head in 1975.
  • In 1974 a program of Women’s Studies is introduced through the Faculty of Arts.  Courses for the program are offered through the Departments of History, Psychology, Religion, Sociology and English.
  • The Program for Canadian Armed Forces personnel and their dependents is launched in June 1974 with the signing of an agreement between the university with the Department of National Defense.

 

1976

  • Ralph Campbell becomes the 8th President of the University of Manitoba.
  • St. John’s College offers its first Colin Inkster Memorial Awards.
  • A team of three students from the Faculty of Administrative Studies win the seventh annual Intercollegiate Marketing Management Competition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
  • The one-millionth book is added to the University Library at a ceremony held April 12, 1976.  The historic occasion is commemorated by the presentation of a volume of Canadian historical significance:  a handwritten document of the North West Traders concerning the discovery of a new route from Lake Superior to the River Jainipique (Winnipeg) addressed to Gov. Frederick Haldimand in 1784.
  • The University of Manitoba enters its Joint Masters Agreement in English, History and Religion with the University of Winnipeg.
  • The University of Manitoba offers a joint program in Industrial Arts and Business Education with Red River Community College.


1977

  • The University marks its centennial with the launch of a major fund-raising campaign.  Jim Daly takes over as the head of the newly created Office of Private Funding.


1978

  • Isabel Auld becomes the University’s 9th Chancellor.  Inter-Universities North, a joint effort between all three Manitoba universities to offer university courses north of the 53rd parallel, becomes an official grant program of the Universities Grants Commission.
  • The Department of Archives and Special Collections is established with Richard Bennett as the first formally trained archivist.


1980-1981

  • Four new programs are developed in 1980-1981.  They are:  Ukrainian-Canadian Heritage Studies; Bachelor of Science in Dentistry; Bachelor of Recreation Studies; and Labour Studies.
  • Arnold Naimark becomes the University’s 9th President in 1981.
  • New programs include a Master’s program in Education offered in French at St. Boniface College.  Ph.D. programs are also offered in Education, Sociology and in Food and Nutritional Sciences.
  • The Office of University Ombudsman is established with Christine McKee, Professor of Urban Planning, as the inaugural appointment.
  • St. Andrew’s College formally affiliates with the University of Manitoba on January 28, 1981, cementing a relationship dating back to 1959.
  • The Faculty of Agriculture, through the Department of Plant Science, receives a five year contract to work with the Government of Kenya in a program to strengthen Kenya’s potential in agricultural research and development relating to wheat and oilseeds.


1982

  • In 1982 Gloria Steinem lectures on campus as part of the School of Social Work’s Distinguished Visitors program.  The theme was “Perspective on Women in the 1980’s.”
  • The H. E. Sellers Foundation endows a chair in Medicine for $1.2 million on January 29, 1982.


1983

  • In 1983 the position of Student Advocate and Director of Special Programs for Student Affairs is created.  Professor James Burke is the first to hold the position.  President Naimark accepts an invitation to chair the North Portage Development Corporation.  The 1983 Entrepreneur Award is presented to Albert D. Cohen, President of Gendis Inc.


1984

  • Queen Elizabeth II turns the sod for the new Administrative Studies of Transport Institute in October 1984.
  • The Peter D. Curry Award for governance and development at the University is created by Investors Group.
  • The Canadian Forces Program marks its tenth anniversary with the awarding of the program’s first doctoral degree.  Major Atholl Malcolm obtains his Ph.D. in chemical psychology.


1985

  • In 1985 the Faculty of Administrative Studies establishes the International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award.  Paul Desmarais, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Power Corp., is the initial recipient.
  • New programs includes the Manitoba Nursing Research Institute, the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics and the Institute for Technological Development.
  • Marilyn McKenzie is appointed as the first sexual harassment officer.
  • In October the Hon. Samuel Freedman and Mr. Justice R. G. B. Dickson are named honorary professors.


1986

  • In 1986, with funding from the International Development Research Centre, University of Manitoba researchers under the coordination of Dr. John Rogge of the Department of Geography are collaborating in a research project with Jahangunagis University in Dhaka, Bangladesh to examine the social and economic effects of floods and riverbank erosion.  Such issues as population development, land reallocation and the technical aspects of riverbank erosion were being investigated; the information provided was to be compiled into a database for planning.
  • The Board of Governors approve Ph.D. programs for Administrative Studies in the areas of marketing, organizational behaviour and management science.
  • Three University of Manitoba scholars receive Killam Research Fellowships:  Dr. B. R. Henry, Chemistry; Dr. Robert Kroetsch, English; and Dr. G. A. Gratzer, Mathematics.
  • Dr. D. O. Wells, Vice-President (Administration) since 1975, accepts an appointment as president of Mount Allison in Sackville, N.B.
  • The Learned Societies Conference opens on May 25 and runs for 15 days. 
  • Dr. Henry Duckworth is named the University of Manitoba’s 10th  Chancellor.


1987

  • In 1987 the Medical Research Council of Canada (MRC) awards a four-year grant of more than $1.1 million per year in continued support of the research program of the M.R.I. Group for Allergy Research in the Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine.


1988

  • Haraldur Bessason, head of the Icelandic Department, assumes the position of rektor at the University of Iceland, Akureyre in January 1988.
  • The Department of Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts is established and a Ph.D. program in Agricultural Engineering is developed and approved.
  • In 1988 Dr. Gerald Goldenberg, Faculty of Medicine, is awarded a $500,000 (U.S.) grant from the inaugural Bristol Myers Company research grant program for studies in tumor resistance to chemotherapy.
  • Prairie Theatre Exchange is approved as a teaching centre for the University’s Theatre program.
  • The first Vilhjalmur Stefansson Award for Excellence in Canadian Northern Studies is awarded to Professor Jillian Oakes, Clothing and Textiles.
  • The Department of Linguistics receives Senate approval to offer masters’ and Ph.D. programs.


1989

  • In February 1989 Andrei Sakharov, physicist and a leading champion for human rights in the Soviet Union, is awarded a honorary degree from the University of Manitoba during his visit to Winnipeg.
  • Professor John Haiman, Professor of Linguistics and a Killan recipient, is awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
  • In October 1989 the Duff Roblin Fellowship Program is introduced; 25 students benefited from the $200,000 bequest.


1991

  • In 1991 the Robert and Elizabeth Knight Distinguished Visitors Program is announced with a contribution of $1million dollars by the Knights.  Both are University of Manitoba graduates.  Robert had received his B.A. in 1920 while Elizabeth graduated with a B.A. in 1922.
  • The Masters of Archival Studies program is launched as part of the Joint Masters program in history with the University of Winnipeg.
  • Dr. Henry Friesen of the Department of Physiology is named President of the Medical Research Council.


1992

  • In 1992 the papers of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry are donated to the E. K. Williams Law Library.
  • Formal approval is granted for a Ph.D. in religion.
  • The University of Manitoba signs a major contract with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Canamera Foods Ltd, who teamed up to provide joint funding to support the University’s breeding and crop development program in the area of high erucic acid rapeseed and low linolenic acid canola.  The contract was for $930, 000 and extended over a five-year period.  Drs. Rachel Scarth, Roger Rimmer and Peter McVetty of the Department of Plant Science were the principal researchers involved in the project.


1993-1994

  • In 1993-1994 the Universities Grants Commission approves the development of full proposals for a Master of Science in Recreation Studies, a Ph.D. in Social Work and a B.Sc. (Major) in Medical Laboratory Science provided jointly with Red River Community College.
  • Dr. Jon Gerrard, Pediatrics and Child Health, is appointed Secretary of State for Science, Research and Development.  Dr. Gerrard is internationally known for his research on blood cells and the clinical care of young patients with cancer and blood disorders.
  • Professor Carol Shields, English, wins the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction for her newest novel, The Stone Diaries.  Professor Shields is also a finalist for Britain’s prestigious Booker Prize for the same novel.
  • Christine Coley, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine, wins two gold medals in the 400 and 800 metre track events at the Para Olympics in Barcelona.
  • James Fletcher, an Agriculture Grad (1925), leaves $300,000 for two graduate fellowships.
  • In 1993-1994 a research project to be undertaken at the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre receives $5.2 million from the Medical Research Council Group Award.  The fund was to run over six years and included a $1, 050, 878 award for operating and equipment grants in the first year.  The collaborating team, headed by Dr. Naranjan Dhalla, was composed of staff from physiology and anatomy.
  • The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba awards $1, 544, 033 to support 41 research projects at the University of Manitoba.
  • The opening of the Polo Park teaching facility of the Continuing Education Division takes place on September 21, 1993.
  • The University of Manitoba becomes the first university in Canada to offer a master’s degree in Interior Design.
  • Al Cerilli, a 40-year member of the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway, Transport and General Workers, becomes the first labor scholar-in-residence at the university.
  • English Professor Robert Kroetsch’s literary career is the theme of a literary conference in Strasbourg.  Dr. Kroetsch is considered the foremost Canadian author studied in Europe and his work is the subject of theses at universities in England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.


1995-1996

  • In 1995 Carol Shields wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Stone Diaries.
  • The University of Manitoba Bookstore receives the Store of the Year Award from the Canadian Book Publishers Council and the Western Canadian College Stores Association.
  • October 1995 sees a 17-day strike by the University of Manitoba Faculty Association.
  • The University of Manitoba Alumni Association celebrates its 75th Anniversary with a kickoff dinner at the Fort Garry Hotel on January 27, 1996.
  • Three Bison teams capture National Championships.  The Bison women’s basketball team wins its first championship since the 1987-1988 season.  The Bison men’s volleyball team repeat as champions while the men’s track and field team capture top honors for the third year in a row.
  • The first 23 graduates of the new one-year Master of Business Administration program receive their degrees at the fall convocation.
  • On July 1, 1996 Dr. Emoke Szathmary, former provost and vice-president (academic) at McMaster University, becomes the 10th President of the University of Manitoba.


1996-1997

  • The University doubles its entrance scholarships for the 1996-1997 session to 624.


1997

  • The Task Force on Strategic Planning for the University of Manitoba holds its first meeting on January 6, 1997.
  • The Libraries Exhibits Committee win an award for mounting the best exhibit in honor of McClelland and Stewart’s 90th year of Canadian publishing.
  • Terri-Lee Johanneson is named the C.I.A.U. Female Athlete of the Year at the Howard Mackie Awards in Calgary on April 3, 1997.
  • The Internet Innovation Centre opens in the Engineering Faculty.  This brought together students, staff, industry and government to explore new Internet research and applications worldwide.
  • A contract is awarded to the University of Manitoba in June 1997 by the Canadian International Development Agency for a project that sought to establish, extend and eventually consolidate links between Lanzhou University in China and the University of Manitoba.  The project, under the direction of Gwyn Williams (Physics), focussed principally on developing human resources for a modern higher education strategy with particular emphasis on modern materials science.
  • Izzy Asper, chairman and CEO of CanWest Global Communication Corp., and the Asper family donate $1 million to the Faculty of Management to establish an endowment fund for the Centre for Entrepreneurship
  • On November 14, 1997 the University of Manitoba Libraries celebrates the presentation of the two millionth volume to its collection.  The volume, Voyages and Travels of an Indian Interpreter and Trader by John Long, is chosen by President Szathmary and purchased by the Alumni Association.  The book, a first edition copy from 1791, includes a vocabulary of the Chippewyan Language. 

1998-1999

  • In September 1998 the Senate Secretariat and the Board of Governors Secretariat are amalgamated, becoming the University Secretariat.
  • Enrollment increases 1.8 % from 1997 and University 1 is introduced.
  • The William R. Newman Agriculture Library is dedicated October 30, 1998.
  • John Ralston Saul inaugurates the Templeton Lecture on Democracy on February 8, 1999.
  • Federated Research donates $500,000 to establish the Centre for Research and Treatment of Arteriosclerosis at a presentation on January 27, 1999 at the Brodie Centre Atrium.
  • Hugh Smith (B.Sc. Med. ’65, MD ’65) is appointed chair of the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors in Rochester, Minnesota.
  • Monsanto Canada Inc. announces plans to develop a $10 million crop development centre at the University of Manitoba on land adjacent to the Agriculture and Agri-Food Cereal Research Centre.
  • The Faculty of Management earns international accreditation for its business programs from the International Association for Management Education.
  • The National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada announces that 231 principal investigators will receive $6, 825, 907 in research operating and equipment grants.
  • The President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, receives an Honorary L.L.D. at a Special Convocation on April 28, 1999.
  • The Isbister Legacy Society, honouring all individuals known to have included the University in their estate plans, is created.