University of Manitoba: Annual Report 1999-2000 - Message from the President
Message from the PresidentMessage from the PresidentUniversity of Manitoba Annual Report 1999-2000
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President Szathmáry
Emőke Szathmáry
President and Vice-Chancellor


The University of Manitoba's
tradition of doing our best in all ways and at all levels provides sound grounding for transmitting the leadership skills and knowledge that will be required tomorrow.


Message From The President

The vision for The University of Manitoba set out in Building on Strengths, the final report of the Task Force for Strategic Planning says that, among other things, we aim to become one of Canada's outstanding universities, respected for our knowledge of the world. The report recommended investment in four areas to attain our vision, one of which was that of building partnerships, especially with the external community.

Have we moved closer in 1999-2000 in attaining elements of our vision? I leave it to you to make your own judgment, as you read through the pages of this report. In my view, however, the report contains an impressive list of achievements by faculty, staff and students, by any standard. Look at what our research knowledge can do in partnership with others - as manifested by Stephen Moses of medical microbiology, who is leading an $11.2 million project supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to fight HIV/AIDS in two states of India.

Or regard partnerships between the Manitoba Innovation Fund, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and industry, which together provided the funds for projects such as the Grain Storage Research Facility, headed by Digvir Jayas of biosystems engineering, and the Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology (CAST), headed by Mark West, architecture. Our mission includes the provision of service, and one way of providing service externally is by partnerships that benefit others as well as the University.

A core function of the University is teaching, and offering high quality educational programs. This report is a testament to our staying true to this aspect of our core. In 1999-2000, a year after its launching, University 1 showed it was an enormous success. And if you want to see the names of truly outstanding teachers, consider the list of 19 professors who have been honoured more than once with the Students' Recognition Award. The fact that so many of our professors regard teaching as a vocation says much about their commitment to students.

Our students' accomplishments continue to be amazing. One can highlight these by pointing to David Gratzer's prize from the Donner Foundation for writing the best book in Canadian public policy - a significant accomplishment in itself, but all the more outstanding when one considers that Dr. Gratzer was a fourth year medical student when he published the book! One of our graduates, now at Columbia University, received a Rhodes Scholarship - the fourth student in five years from the University of Manitoba to receive this award. This kind of performance highlights why our University ranks third in the nation in the total number of Rhodes scholarships received since the 1960s. And there are many other prizes, successes individually and in teams in a variety of competitions across a variety of disciplines in national and international settings.

Private contributions were up by 40% over last year, indicating to me that Manitobans and former Manitobans want to be proud of their University, and when we let them know that their confidence and pride in their University is well founded, their friendship and support follow.

In closing, I want to emphasize that attaining our vision requires the co-operation of faculty, staff and students. We continue to improve, we continue to excel, and kudos to everyone who has done his or her part in such changes, big or small. On behalf of the University, I thank the Board of Governors, especially its Chair, Mr. Paul Soubry, for dedication and support of our great institution of learning. The University of Manitoba's tradition of doing our best in all ways and at all levels provides sound grounding for transmitting the leadership skills and knowledge that will be required tomorrow. Our vision is within our grasp!



Emőke Szathmáry
President and Vice-Chancellor






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